Anyone else just randomly develop seasonal allergies?

[BearBrimstone]

I can't say that I have spent my whole life outdoors since I have worked office jobs since I was around 20, but I grew up on a farm and spent the first 18 years of my life in one field or another day in day out when I wasn't at school. Not once in my first three decades did I suffer a bit from seasonal allergies. Not even a slightly runny nose during the worst pollen days of the year, but that all changed last Fall. I spent a weekend helping a family member build a storage shed in a field behind his house and spent the next three days completely stopped up and dealing with a sore throat and heavy cranial pressure. I thought that was just a fluke since my wife, who has horrendous seasonal allergies, told me that that weekend had been very bad for ragweed and once it was out of my system everything seemed fine again. Fast forward to this Spring and apparently everything is not fine. At the beginning of this month I thought I had a cold that wouldn't go away so I gave in and got an appointment with my doctor. Turns out I have gone from almost 100% resistant to pollen to allergy medication barely putting a dent in the symptoms all in less than a year.

Has this happened to anyone else? I just turned 34 a few months ago and I know that allergies can get worse as you get older, but I did not expect them to just spring on me like they have. Also, do any allergy sufferers that have been dealing with it for years have any advice for someone new to having to fear the outdoors? So far I've just been trying to figure out more indoor hobbies to replace some of the time I normally would spend outdoors.

 

[LoonWulf]

I can't say that I have spent my whole life outdoors since I have worked office jobs since I was around 20, but I grew up on a farm and spent the first 18 years of my life in one field or another day in day out when I wasn't at school. Not once in my first three decades did I suffer a bit from seasonal allergies. Not even a slightly runny nose during the worst pollen days of the year, but that all changed last Fall. I spent a weekend helping a family member build a storage shed in a field behind his house and spent the next three days completely stopped up and dealing with a sore throat and heavy cranial pressure. I thought that was just a fluke since my wife, who has horrendous seasonal allergies, told me that that weekend had been very bad for ragweed and once it was out of my system everything seemed fine again. Fast forward to this Spring and apparently everything is not fine. At the beginning of this month I thought I had a cold that wouldn't go away so I gave in and got an appointment with my doctor. Turns out I have gone from almost 100% resistant to pollen to allergy medication barely putting a dent in the symptoms all in less than a year.

Has this happened to anyone else? I just turned 34 a few months ago and I know that allergies can get worse as you get older, but I did not expect them to just spring on me like they have. Also, do any allergy sufferers that have been dealing with it for years have any advice for someone new to having to fear the outdoors? So far I've just been trying to figure out more indoor hobbies to replace some of the time I normally would spend outdoors.

I have worse allergies to somethings now, and less from others....it's wierd.
Still can't get cats but night blooming Jasmin no longer bothers me. Grass and other plant pollen much less than it did even 5-10years ago

 

[skeeterfogger]

Couldn't even be around a yard being mowed till around 18. After that a bit of trouble with ragweed. Now basically nothing. Seems you either have it young and grow out or get it when older. Local honey used medicinaly has good results in helping body to obtain ability to overcome.

 

[1KPerDay]

I never "had allergies" as a kid but I get stuffy now starting around age 35. So apparently it's not uncommon. Cats bug me now if I pet them and then touch my eyes or nose. Never used to be a problem.

 

[Patocazador]

I never had seasonal allergies until about 10 years ago. I'm 75 now and I guess everything bothers old people more. I know those dam* huge speakers in cars going down the road just drive me nuts ... worse than the allergies.

 

[Dinosaur1]

Unfortunately, once it starts, it ain't gonna get no better. Moldy leaves are my downfall.

 

[entropy]

I've had them all my life, but SWMBO got hit by them bad this year, and she normally doesn't.

 

[armedwalleye]

Dunno about it not getting better. I developed bad seasonal allergies in the fall, ragweed primarily. Prob started around 35 or 38. They just spontaneously stopped about 4 years ago. Never had them as a kid, either. My doc said lots of people grow into them, and out of them as well.

 

[Obturation]

Yes. I never had any allergies until about age 25. None. I could stuff poison ivy in my pants and snort pollen without any reaction at all. At 25 i got fall allergies, a couple years later spring allergies. Now year round allergies including indoor stuff like dust ect. Its terrible. Even shellfish are trying to kill me. I dont know, i take claratin every day year round and it helps a lot but if i forget ill regret it. I hope they go away some day.
Best of luck.

 

[.308 Norma]

Also, do any allergy sufferers that have been dealing with it for years have any advice for someone new to having to fear the outdoors?

Well, if you're not too worried about how you look, you could do what my wife does during deer and elk seasons - she wears a paper dust mask while she's in the hills. And she carries a spare in her fanny pack. She get's some strange looks from other hunters once in a while, but nobody has ever asked.
Weird thing about her hunting season allergies though - she never had them when she was younger. But now, they're so bad they can trigger her asthma (she has asthma too) and that's why for the last 15 or 20 years she has carried a epinephrine stick in her fanny pack, right along with her spare dust mask and an inhaler.
You can get the kind of dust masks my wife wears at most any hardware store. And they're really inexpensive considering how well they work - for my wife at least.

 

[jmorris]

I think it’s called getting old.

I went to the Dr. a decade or so ago because an unexplained rash and she said I was allergic to cold temperatures...

If you want to get sick and your old, go around children.

I have one buddy that has had it bad every spring since we were kids, he now knows what meds to take to help, he suffered through it for a couple of decades.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Has this happened to anyone else? I just turned 34 a few months ago and I know that allergies can get worse as you get older, but I did not expect them to just spring on me like they have. Also, do any allergy sufferers that have been dealing with it for years have any advice for someone new to having to fear the outdoors? So far I've just been trying to figure out more indoor hobbies to replace some of the time I normally would spend outdoors.

The allergic reaction is your body being stimulated to make more histamine. This can come from mast cells, and the number of mast cells that you have present can change over time. This is likely to be what's going on with you. It's the same reason why some folks "outgrow" asthma, only to have it return later in life..., mast cells.

What you may not know is that your body may react to other allergens without the itching and sneezing, and thus when the pollen arrives in the spring, the body over reacts, and suddenly, out-of-the-blue..., you have some nasty reactions. You may be getting some allergic stimulus and not realize it. Did you get sick over the winter? Did you or do you take echinacea or chamomile? Either of them can cause you to react to ragweed. You might want to check your cough drops just to be sure. SO..., you might want to check your house for mold and get your ducts disinfected. ALSO check the ducts in your car. Black mold exposure can cause you to be more sensitive to other allergens.

One treatment is to find a local bee keeper and get some honey. You want stuff that's cold filtered, as you don't need bee parts in your honey (though they won't hurt you), and the lack of heat in processing the honey keeps the pollens from the area from being destroyed. You want local as you want the pollens that are bothering you. You take a tablespoon of honey in a cup of hot tea in the morning. This may take a month to really help, and a lot of people find their allergies subside. The idea is that you introduce the local pollen to the body and it stops "recognizing" that as a pathogen and reduces its response to the pollen.

LD

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I feel sorry for all you folks that have developed allergies. I have lived with them my entire life. It is my 'normal,' but I see how devastating it can be for those that develop the problem and have trouble adjusting.

Loyalist Dave's bee honey idea is not a bad one. You can also get similar treatment from your doctor.

 

[Patocazador]

If you want to get sick and your old, go around children.

AMEN brother!

 

[BearBrimstone]

Its good to know its not just me that allergies have decided to sneak up on. I'll have to try some local honey to see if it helps. There is an Amish community a county over from me that I believe sells it pretty often. Worst case scenario I might have to start getting out more in the Winter. I usually just hunker down at home through the coldest months.

 

[1KPerDay]

One treatment is to find a local bee keeper and get some honey. You want stuff that's cold filtered, as you don't need bee parts in your honey (though they won't hurt you), and the lack of heat in processing the honey keeps the pollens from the area from being destroyed. You want local as you want the pollens that are bothering you. You take a tablespoon of honey in a cup of hot tea in the morning. This may take a month to really help, and a lot of people find their allergies subside. The idea is that you introduce the local pollen to the body and it stops "recognizing" that as a pathogen and reduces its response to the pollen.

LD

if the heat from filtering kills pollen why doesn't hot tea?

 

[FL-NC]

It seems like they have been getting worse over the last few years (I'm 51). Nothing debilitating, just more sneezing, more decongestants, more snot rags.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

if the heat from filtering kills pollen why doesn't hot tea?

It does to some extent, but the proteins, to which the body is reacting, remain...the honey is heated on a commercial scale by large companies, to thin it out and then the filtering pulls out the pollens. They don't cook the honey... you may see honey "pasteurized" which is heat above a temp that is below boiling, for at least 20 minutes. You adding honey to tea and then drinking it in less than 20 minutes means some die, but some don't. The best procedure is to steep the tea bag, and when you're satisfied with the color, then add the honey, stir and start drinking.

LD

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Yep, hay fever/allergies are getting into full swing out here.
Factor in ticks and chiggers as well as the poison ivy after it warms up and it's just "great" to be in the outdoors...

 

[Captcurt]

The Oak pollen is kicking my butt this year. It is hard to turkey hunt when you are coughing and sneezing every 5 minutes. I never had allergies until I hit 60, but they are getting worse every year.

 

[Gtscotty]

I've always had allergies, mowed a lot of lawns for cash when I was a kid and was often out of commission for hours afterwards, sometimes got hives as well. Grass was the big trigger for me, but I was also allergic to beef and mildly allergic to chicken. When I I compounded eating beef and heavy grass exposure is when I tended to get hives and feel the worst. Maybe there is something in your diet that is making your seasonal allergies worse.

I got allergy testing when I was a teenager and that helped a lot in figuring out individual triggers and combos to avoid.

What really helped was allergy shots, I took them for a few years in my late teens and early twenties, and they knocked out most of my sensitivity. I still take allergy medicines occasionally for drainage during the heavier seasons, but I haven't had stronger reactions like asthma or hives since the shots.

BTW, newer OTCs like Allegra, Zertec and Xyzal tend to work better than older Claritin.

 

[Speedo66]

Sorry about your allergies.

Never had allergies, then at 35 moved to a new house that was shaded by many towering oaks that rained pollen down in the spring. Developed horrible allergies, wanted to scratch my eyes out, sneezing, coughing, etc. Moved to another location after 7 years, and like magic, no more allergies.

Later in life, maybe 50, developed food allergies to peaches, kiwis, and red cherries. Serious, as in throat burning and tightening. Thankfully, somehow found out I could eat white Rainier cherries. Yes!

 

[Bfh_auto]

I started having allergies at age 25.

 

[Dunross]

Here in Florida my only sinus allergy problems have been during the rainy season (basically the hurricane season) when it rains enough for the fungal pore count to skyrocket. Annoying, but not debilitating unless I do something that really stirs them up.

Spring allergies (tree pollen mostly) have never been a problem for me. Until this year. Claritin has become an every day dietary supplement now. Glad we can get generic versions!

 

[Patocazador]

I have a place in No. Florida that I went up to this weekend. When I lived in Alabama, I loved the smell of honeysuckles in the spring. They were in bloom last weekend and my nose has been running since I smelled them .
Getting old sucks.