I have what are known as hay fever allergies. Peaches, apples, certain flowers, long haired dogs, cats, newly cut grass, basically a nuisance but nothing extreme. Itchy eyes, itchy ears, itchy throat. Normal over the counter allergy meds do just fine.
In case you didn’t remember, one of the challenges I deal with is that my left ear is “different” than my right ear. The ear is numb, most of that side of my face is partially numb, my hearing in that ear is about half of what it is in my right ear - and it sounds like “Alvin and the Chipmunks” on a 40 year old transistor radio. Yeah, fun times. NOT!
The other day, my daughter and I were out doing her driver’s training practice (5th driver) and we were in a 15 year old Mercury Sable with no air conditioning. Oh and it was about 85 degrees and humid. We were riding with the windows down. As happens quite often in that type of situation, my allergies started acting up.
And I noticed something interesting. My right ear was feeling the typical annoying and itchy allergy “thing” that I’m very used to. It’s annoying but not much more than annoying. But…
My left ear felt nothing. No pressure, no itchy feeling, nothing different than normal. Apparently nerve damage can also impact allergies.
I have a few pet cats which throughout my life would cause absolute anarchy to my allergies. Every other day I was taking over the counter allergy medication to combat the rashes, sniffling, itchy top of the mouth, you know, the typical symptoms you have mentioned. Same goes for grass, trees, pollen, basically anything!
However, I have noticed that whenever I have a reaction, it’s only my right side that would react to the allergies. Specifically a itchy right eye or eardrum.
At first I thought it was coincidental, but overtime I have been starting to think otherwise when I was in close proximity to my cat or I am doing some garden work (which would usually lead to a fit of sneezing) and there was no reaction other than some right sided itchiness.
I want to volunteer to go to Mars, or Venus, or whoever, but somewhere there isn’t dust, or pollen, or anything else. Maybe SpaceX’ll take me. My neuro team just passed me off to my general doc. General doc referred me to neurologist. Neurologist referred me to general doc. Round and round we go. I just take Allegra. Sometimes it works, most times it don’t. So the weekend of the year I’m not sneezing, I’m writing. Microsoft narrator works pretty good. 'Scuse me, didn’t mean to sneeze there.
My wife and I went to Arizona on vacation once - loved the low humidity and the lack of growing things that caused allergy problems - they were both wonderful. However the heat was nuts. Mid October and it was in the low 90s. Employee at the hotel works 4 am to 12 noon - he said it wasn’t uncommon for temperatures to be in triple digits on his way in to work.
We had it one year in Michigan - took the week of the 4th of July off. Stayed at a big park with a pool, water slides, a lake, beeches, a cool place. The water slides were not using chlorinated water, but pumping it out of a well and then draining from there to the lake. Normally, that water, straight out of a well was around 60-65 degrees and the pool was 80 to 85. We had the camp site for a week - went home after 5 days. The lowest low temperature (at night) was 98. Hi ran between 108 and 115 every day. We decided that rather than sitting in a trailer in the air conditioning that didnt keep up with it (it was still way better than it side) we should just go home and have a fulll house with air that worked.
Not tonight, but sometime I will tell you all the story of when we got 17 inches of rain in four hours and almost flooded our travel trailer. The dam (which has a road over the top) had armed guards and no crossing allowed - they were afraid the dam would burst and wipe out probably 30 homes down stream. It didnt.
And I guess I really dont need to tell you any more about it…
