Our pear tree in full bloom
While I really, truly, with all my heart, LOVE Spring, my head does not. Allergies have gotten the best of me over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been a bit cranky and a lot tired and that combination just isn’t a good one. I take Zyrtec year-round for allergies which does help, but when Spring really hits it just doesn’t hold up. My throat gets scratchy, my eyes itch like crazy, and my nose is either running or sneezing 24/7. Plus, my entire body is just tired from trying to fight it. Sounds pleasant, doesn’t it?
The really bad part is that allergy season hits hard right around the same time that Hubby’s work picks up for the year. In his line of work winters are slow and there is little work to be done so he ends up with a lot more free time. Dinner is usually on the table when I get home with the kids and we have fairly relaxed evenings. Then, when we finally get a little bit of a heat wave in the Spring, things pick up and he’s suddenly working 11-hour days. Not only does it wear him out, but it changes our whole evening routine because he gets home later. I can barely get the kids fed and bathed before it is time for them to go to bed, much less fit in any extras.
The combination of allergy season (for me) and busy work season (for Hubby) can make for a not very pleasant household. Both of us get a little more snippy with each other and with the kids. The fun part is that I know it is coming every single year, yet it still seems to take me by surprise. And every year it takes me a while to figure out why everyone in my house is so darn cranky. Oh, yeah!
This too shall pass. I have to get myself back into the summer routine, which includes making sure we have supplies ready for our favorite quick-fix meals (which means I have to get to the grocery store on the weekends) and relaxing a little if the kids don’t quite get to bed on time. It also means I need to cut Hubby some slack and remind myself that I’m not always the easiest person to live with.
If you are having every single allergic reaction under the sun, your Zyrtec is not doing anything. I would look into a different antihistamine. Zyrtec is a second generation OTC antihistamine- so you won’t experience drowsiness- but to get rid of nasty symptoms I would try a First Generation AH (ie: Benadryl) every night before bed… just get some relief and not be drowsy in the morning. It’s not great to have histamine like that floating around your body, it causes inflammation which is just bad.
Just say the word and project allegra is coming your way. Seriously. it’s the ONLY kind I’ll use but I know you can’t get it without a script.
BTW Allegra (fexofenadine) is a third generation antihistamine.
I don’t know about where you are, but down here in Florida, it has been off-the-charts unbearable this Spring. Because we had a cooler than normal Winter, thanks to El Nino, the trees that would typically pollinate in March waited til April & now they are all having a pollen party at once. There are literally pollen drifts along the edges of the parking lots & I have to squeegee my windows before I drive in the morning because windshield wiper fluid just turns it all into a green paste.