I went to Crescent City years ago and was amazed at how good I felt!!! It was May I believe. I came back and told my allergy specialist about it and he said "it won't do you any good to move....something else will just get you". Boy was that a downer. I got a new specialist later who told me that the midwest is pretty hard on people with allergies and asthma. When I moved to FL I was absolutely astounded at how healthy I became. NO DRUGS. Zip. I really do think it's a matter of air quality. In "clean air" places I can RUN, hike, bike...walk in the woods...no problems. They say "sick buildings" make people sick because of poor air quality. I guess there are "sick cities" too.
As for Dallas...I have some friends who just moved from there to Orlando... they are feeling much better too. DLLFO... I'm real sorry to hear you have to take so many precautions. It's tough when you can't breathe and all you want to do is GO OUTSIDE.
I will check out the AQI. Sounds like you've really been searching for the right place too. Thanks for all the info
covets sun
My allergies are pretty much pollen related, and identifying the source of the allergies (pine pollen, or forcythia) is a PITA, but necessary. Your allergist (allergy specialist) can help you with the identification, then, work to control the problem. My GP had me alternating (2 weeks one, 2 weeks the other) allegra, zyrtec, and I have an albuteral inhaler (opens me up). Short of wearing a painters mask (paper one) - ??
Please see your doctor for suggestions and even check with your local hospital for allergy clinics. I too can go from inside air to outside and have the sinus drainage (severe). Grass cutting days are tough! Frequent face washing helps, and taking the allegra or zyrtec helps dry out the sinuses so there is less production/congestion. If you have forced air heat, be sure to have humidifiers or vaporizers going - makes breathing much easier.
PattieAM wrote: My allergies are pretty much pollen related, and identifying the source of the allergies (pine pollen, or forcythia) is a PITA, but necessary. Your allergist (allergy specialist) can help you with the identification, then, work to control the problem. My GP had me alternating (2 weeks one, 2 weeks the other) allegra, zyrtec, and I have an albuteral inhaler (opens me up). Short of wearing a painters mask (paper one) - ??
Please see your doctor for suggestions and even check with your local hospital for allergy clinics. I too can go from inside air to outside and have the sinus drainage (severe). Grass cutting days are tough! Frequent face washing helps, and taking the allegra or zyrtec helps dry out the sinuses so there is less production/congestion. If you have forced air heat, be sure to have humidifiers or vaporizers going - makes breathing much easier.
I had some allergy tests quite a few years ago...basically the usual mix...pollens, dander, mites, mold etc. I just started on 10mg Zyrtec otc. This is day 2 with no major sinus drainage or lung involvement. I've spent both days outside all day long doing yard work. There's been some throat clearing...but nothing like the usual. So at this point I'm hopeful. Today it's raining...so will test further.
Yup...got forced air heat which I keep to 65 at nite and 68 during day and we run two humidifiers to keep the humidity at about 60 percent or better. I do not do very well in very low humidty...I dry out and get nosebleeds.
I keep an "allergy mask" dangling on the rearview mirror of my vehicle too!!!
Thanks PattyAM for your suggestions... I really am looking for people who have experienced similar symptoms and what they did to control them...what meds etc. We may still end up moving further south since cold plays a big part. But if a med can at least keep me more comfortable and safer while I'm here...great!
covetsthesun wrote: I hope some of you can give me some advice about what I have or what to do. I've recently relocated back to Kansas City, MO from the Gulf Coast of Florida. When I lived in KC before (moving to FL) I had a lot of respiratory issues...sinus, allergies. In the winter, when I would go outside it seemed like my sinuses would start draining and it felt like my lungs would fill with fluid so fast that I could not blow my nose or cough fast enough to clear either. And I'd cough so hard it felt like I was choking. In the summer...during the more humid months...it seemed like there was never enough "air in the air". And the same thing would happen. It would last a little while and then I'd be fine the rest of the day. I took Claritin daily, Flonase...and sometimes Benydryl...and carried Visine too because I'd get itchy eyes and little blisters on the rims. When we moved to Florida...the Clearwater area...I became perfectly healthy. All of my allergy medications just expired. Didn't need them. No itchy eyes, no sinus pain...no choking breathing problems. BUT...everytime I'd come back to KC to visit family...I'd have some allergies. And as soon as I got off the plane in Tampa they'd be gone in less than an hour!!!
Well...due to family issues (elderly parents) we've moved back to Kansas City. The winter has been rather long, cold and miserable. And my breathing problems have come back...now they are much worse. Today every time I went outside I started to gag and choke and had to come back in to clear my head and lungs. This doesn't happen everyday...but it has happened often enough that I never know what's going to happen and when. Now I'm back on the Claritin and the Flonase and it doesn't really help.
Has anyone else experienced this? What do you do about it? For that matter....what the heck IS it?? I'm about ready to move back further south!!
Thanks for listening.
covet's the sun
I don't mean to sound insensitive to your commendable concerns about your parents, but it appears to me that you should move to someplace where you can breathe better. If you offered to have them move with you and they refuse, then they have made a decision that is right for them - and you should do the same for your health's sake.
I am on zertec which works fairly well, and live in Idaho, where the air is somewhat clean except for the winters where we sometimes have inversions and the summers where we sometimes have forest and range fires. That's one reason we have an RV - so we can get out of town if we need to.
About seven years ago we had to move to the Chicago area from Idaho for five months prior, and three months after my lung transplant. My Pulmonologist, who was the Head of the Transplant Dept at Loyola University Medical Center indicated that the Chicago area and parts of the midwest were a "cesspool of allergens, funguses, and bacterias" and that anyone suffering from stuffy noses or trouble breathing should move to where they could breathe better. Long term exposure to things that prevent us from breathing well can later lead to serious illnesses and health consequences.
Take care of yourself or you will not be of any good to others.
Phil
Nash 27 T pulled by a 2008 EC LB GMC 3500HD SLT 4x4 DMAX and Allison.
Living in Florida for many years now -- and suffering allergies for many years now. Mine is mostly pollen allergies.
If you move to Florida, try to stay near the strong ocean breezes that carry pollen away -- as living inland, as I do, will only bring you more allergies.
We now have late onset asthma and other respiratory issues in our family. It appears from reading all these posts that no where is perfect.
Livin Lite Quicksilver 8.0 (Folding Tent Camper) only 900 lbs!
How about a vacation to Hawaii? Strong breezes....but lots of pollen.
Move to the windward side?
Maybe Whidbey Island, Washington? Windward side? Down side is the fighter aircraft are taking off into the wind a lot.
Too many years in the Air Force. Navy gets an island and the Air Force always seemed to build with a stockyard for ambience. (Dyess AFB and Altus AFB to name a couple).
Well folks...I've been on generic Zyrtec for a few weeks now... and saline spray...and nasal steroids...and I do my darnedest to stay away from strong scents and chemicals. I can report that I am better. Much better...BUT..still have the occasional choking attacks. But for now I will take the improvement. DH is in FL discussing going back to work for previous employer. So it may be back to FL for us.
Yup...staying close to the ocean breezes is a good way to stay clear. DH called this morning to tell me how much better HE feels after just one day back.
Anyway...thanks to all who commented. I got a lot of good ideas and have passed some on to friends who have respiratory issues here.
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