I've been having a lot of headaches, lately. Some in one eye, some in the other, and it has been bugging me. I figured stress from Back to school. Well, Saturday, I woke up with a red gunky eye. I immediately thought the worst. Pinkeye. Gross. I mean, GROSS! How could I have gotten it? My kids are all fine, I always sanitize the shopping carts before I shop, I always sanitize in the car after I've packed up, how did I get it?
I didn't want to have it all weekend, so off to the CVS Minute Clinic I went. I told her I suspected pinkeye. She asked me if I had any other symptoms. I said no. Well, now that I thought about it, I'd had a headache in that same eye the night before. Not a super bad one, but bad enough. She checked my ears, my nose, and my throat.
HER: "You've got allergies. It's allergic conjunctivitis."
ME: "Come again?"
HER: "Allergies. We're just starting Ragweed season, it makes sense."
ME: "But (sputtering) But I've NEVER had allergies in my whole life! EVER!!!!"
HER: "Welcome to North Carolina."
Okay, is it just me, or am I hearing that a lot lately? "Welcome to North Carolina" is code for "Yeah, we have freaky ways of doing things sometimes completely different from what you're used to, and yeah, things happen to you here that don't normally happen to you. Deal with it."
But talk about a wake-up call! She said I had allergies!!! My left sinus was almost completely occluded, whatever that means, and even though I could breathe just fine, the headaches were actually allergies. She prescribed antihistamine eye drops and Zyrtec D.
Guess who got better almost instantly? I am freaking out. I mean, I've always been so allergy-free! I could mow the lawn, roll in the grass (not so much these days, heh heh) stick my face in a bale of hay and dance through a field of pollinating flowers without so much as a sniffle...until now. Apparently I now have allergies. I know millions of people live with them every day but for me, it's a new experience. At least now I can control the headaches! And I've never lived in a climate this warm/pollen producing before, so that explains a lot.
Go figure. Huh.
This weekend was soooo lazy. Mostly because I stayed home because of the ugly eye, and also because I just didn't want to go anywhere. Bad Lara. And for those of you who don't think I take a nap, don't worry, I will on occasion! I just have guilt over it. To me, taking a nap is the ultimate indulgence. :-)
Time to get cracking! Welcome to North Carolina!!! ;-)
4 comments:
Oh, you poor thing! I remember when I first discovered I'd grown into allergies, I was like, "Are you kidding me? It must be something else."
At least it's something that's reasonably easy to treat and you can get relief.
Thinking of you!
Yep. I never had allergies until I moved here. Mine too, started with headaches.
Try the OTC Claritin before you move into the heavy precription stuff. Zyrtec knocks me out, so if I happen to take some of hubby's, I have to take it at night.
Also, instead of Flonase, go to CVS and get yourself a netti-pot. They're disgusting to use, but it does clean out the junk that tends to start the infections. I know many people around here that swear by them. I quickly became a convert and use mine two to three time a week.
Ahem . . . Welcome to Charlotte!
Oh yes, been there, done that...adult onset of allergies. I'm sorry honey.
Mom
Ouch sis!! They always seem to come around in different climates. I started getting mine around 18 yrs old..I feel your pain. I just use Claritin otc. One small pill a day for a couple of months and I am allergy free for the season. Oh and yes, North Carolina is a very strange place. Expect the unexpected...Miss you!
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