Allergies

[Kevin]

I went through one small container of honey a few weeks ago and have been taking vitamine C.
Allergies have dropped off but I`m very careful when sawing cedar.

[CHARLIE]

That did it Jeff! I'm going to take a picture for sure and prove to you that the whole DanG body of Paul Bunyan is buried just north of Rochester. Maybe that's Kevin's feet you're smelling in Michigan...... ;D

[Jeff]

Oh, I can take pictures too. It'll take more then that. Like, say, um, some souviniers for my Paul Bunyan collection.

[SawBilly]

Ain't heard nobody say much about SHOTS. My allergist gives an injection every week for now until I reach maintaince then once or twice a month. I went from using an Inhaler 3-4 times a day, plus feeling bad a lot to keeping the inhaler with me for safety and haven't blown my nose in 2 months. I am allergic to everything I think, certinaly everything with hair, dogs, cats, mice, horses, cows (like Noble's that drink milk...other post) ;D even deer. The one I killed last year, field dressed it, loaded it in the truck, broke out from head to toe with big whelps like giant mosquito bites, had to stop and use the inhaler 4-5 times before I got home.

Shots work like the bee polen or honey. They give you little tiny amounts of what bothers you until you can tolerate it more. Only shots can include other problems like dust, cedar maybe?? An allergist can tell you.

[Kevin]

Here`s an interesting read ...

http://www.trifl.org/cedar.html

[Linda]

WOW!  

Very interesting!  Especially since I was just looking for a natural breathing mask to help with my allergies minutes ago and I came across this site:

http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/diseases/asthma.html


Linda

[Jeff]

I finally broke down and asked for a medication. Doc gave me zertec D(sp?). WoW! what a difference. The very first day I woke up able to breath through my nose. First time in months. I always would be congeted in the morning and I thought it was a sinus thing when it turned out to be an allergy to sumthun in the bedroom. I won't try to figure out what it is cause pretty much everything in there is STAYING in there. All I care is the stuff seems to work. I hope you don't get immune to it after awhile. :-/

[L. Wakefield]

   You notice that both of the references mentioned leukotrienes. There is a class of compounds now in use to treat asthma known as leukotriene inhibitors. Singulaire is the type that I have tried.

   My sequence of triggers is; get an upper respiratory infection. (sometimes) get bronchitis. THEN- all my trigger substances activate an I am hopelessly reacting to hay, dust, cold, exertion, pepper, yatayatayata. It sux. Albuterol inhalers help, and the progression if that is not enough is- flovent (steroid) inhalers- prednisone- and finally if necessary, singulaire. I've only had to resort to 'the ultimate weapon' twice.

   It seems (fortunately!) to put the asthma 'to sleep'- and the triggers are not effective.

   I think what happens is that something in the virus or bacteria responsible for the bronchitis gives a bit of a lock/and/key activation, and the other triggers complete the activation. The specific cells acting in the lungs are hit by the singulaire.

   I haven't looked up to find what the classification of zyrtec is, but it seems to help a lot of people. Jeff, your reaction was mostly upper airway, right?

   My stepson started working in a sawmill- and I think I've seen him with Zyrtec..

   I'd like to know what the aging factor is- if it's just chronic exposure or if there is something more specific there.

   I always had a little bit of a problem but it wasn't until I was doing firefighting that it got bad. I'm just glad I CAN reverse it.
   lw

[L. Wakefield]

   Oh, and I meant also to post- in many cases the honey/pollen technique assists in desensitization- but in a few unfortunate cases the pollen and honey have the precise substance that is resposible for the asthma attack, and can trigger one. Be wary. I myself have a great deal of confidence in the desensitization technique but I would start with a very small bit. A friend of mine who had a son allergic to beestings once had me remove a swarm from the wall of his house. This guy 'lived with gusto'- know what I mean?- and when he saw that honeycomb coming out of the wall he grabbed it like so much of a bear and started eating large amounts.. thirty minutes later he was red-faced, wheezing, and in need of his son's epi-pen.. just be careful. Moderation in all things..lw

[Norm]

That's good advice about the bee pollen LW, when I posted about the use of bee pollen I should have mentioned that neither my wife nor I really have an asthma syndrome but plain old mild allergies. What works for me may be the wrong thing for someone with more serious allergies. Going out and buying bee pollen in a capsule may cause someone with serious allergies to have a bad reaction. I liked Linda's idea of using local honey which would have a fair amount of pollen in it from the plants that are in your area. I use it in my bread recipies whenever I can get it. The only downside to our local honey is that us farmers use alot of chemical on plants that the honey bees may be feeding on. I used to keep a couple of hives next to our alfalfa and clover field which we never spray but lost them to mites.

[Jeff]

We spent the day yesterday up to Corley5's sawing cedar. The wind was blowing good and the mill was positioned where the sawdust blew away from me. I dont know if my syptoms today are related to that or if its simply some other aquired allergy. My older sisters warned me that once I hit 40 that I would start getting them and they were right.  Today I am walking around with a head that feels like its about 3 times its normal size because its so stuffed up. None of the usual remedies is helping. I never suffered spring allergies before but I guess its now my time.

If you could be a bobblehead, I think this is how you would feel.

[SwampDonkey]

I don't think I have allergies, but in this damp cool weather the nose always runs. I have noticed I sneeze alot when in the hazel brush pollen. Man the air is just yellow with that stuff on a dry day in a breeze. Course it ain't been dry for over 2 weeks.  :

[Michigan Mike]

I also have some allergies.  The vitamin C helps me a lot during the time of year when I have a reaction I take 1000 mg in the  morning and the same at night. I have had the same reaction Saw Billy had to deer but find that if  I use latex gloves when I field dress the deer it helps a lot. I still skin and cut up my own venison doesent seem to be a problem at that stage.

[Linda]

Vitamin C works best if you take smaller amounts more frequently.  Chewable works the best.  When the C is dissolved in your mouth for awhile it must absorb into your blood faster and more efficiently.  Unfortunately, the plain tablets aren't very tasty (unless mixed with something sweet like honey or fruit).

We dissolve 100-250mg of Natural Vit. C in our mouth when symptoms appear.  It takes only 5-10 minutes to start working.  The down side is that it only lasts 2-4 hours before you might need more.

There are some herbs that work well for longer periods of time (1-2 capsules twice daily).  We found that 2 parts Nettle Leaf, 2 parts Mullien Leaf, and 1 part Hyssop mixed together work well.  There are others that claim to help, but these are the only ones we found to work well.

Vitamin C seems to give the most dramatic results.

Honey is good if it is from local bees, but you have to use it for several weeks/months before it really does much.  Then it works great.  Also, cooking it may interfere with its useful properties.

[OneWithWood]

Local honey and getting past 40 have really made a difference with my many allergies.  Eliminating carpeting from my house and office was another major help.
The 3M 7500 series of respirators are also good things to wear when milling woods that cause you to stuff up.  These respirators are actually comfortable enough as to not be overly bothersome and the design keeps your safety glasses from fogging up - a definate plus!

[Linda]

One With Wood's mention about carpet is a great suggestion.  We couldn't live with it.   The chemicals and dust in carpet are atrocious.  Not to mention upholstered cloth furniture.

Household cleaners are being recognized more and more as triggers for allergies/asthma.  So are exhaust and paints, etc.