It just figures –every year, I trudge through a seemingly endless, freezing, windy winter longing to see the first tiny blades of green grass poking through the dirt, the tulips rising, the trees budding.
“Amen… spring is here!” I think to myself for about one minute. And then I sneeze twenty-five times in a row.
I sneeze so hard that the snap on my jeans pops open, my dogs bark back at me thinking I’m possessed, and people flee my aisle at the grocery store hoping to avoid the plague.
Heavy bags (even larger than normal) form under my itchy, bloodshot eyes. And if I am lucky, I won’t totally lose my voice, but just sound like a cross between Janis Joplin and an ailing frog.
From approximately March until June, my nose is glowing red and drips like a leaky faucet. When I’m writing, I shove Kleenex up my nostrils to protect my laptop. When I’m running, I look back, make sure no one is behind me, and give it the good ole’ farmer’s blow.
Last night, I lay wide awake in bed contemplating how wonderful it would feel if I could blast out my snot-filled head and sinuses with a fire hose.
Thankfully, the next best thing sat just one room away in the bathroom – my trusty allergy season sidekick named “Neil.”
Neil is short for “NeilMed Sinus Rinse.”
Basically, my new best friend, Neil, is just a clear plastic bottle with black writing on the outside (the directions for use) and a black cap with a tube attached to it and a small hole on top. The bottle is filled with a solution made from mixing a NeilRinse packet and distilled water.
Last spring, a doctor friend of mine who has watched me suffer for years with crippling allergies suggested I try flushing my sinuses. Neil just happened to be the brand and style I grabbed off the pharmacy shelf; there are other similar-working devices out there. Some people mix their own solution at home using 8 teaspoons non-iodized salt plus 1 teaspoon baking soda per gallon of distilled water.
“It feels amazing,” he added, more like he was talking about receiving a full-body massage than a nasal douche.
“Sure,” I thought, unable to fully process the suggestion because of the half-dozen prescription and over-the-counter medications fogging my ability to understand sentences longer than two words.
I didn’t believe that flooding my sinuses with a saline rinse would help tame the nasty symptoms that the strongest allergy drugs hadn’t touched. But it was worth a try – anything was worth a try.
Now, I’m hooked. Actually, many might say addicted.
I flush my nose when I wake up, before I go to bed, and sometimes in the middle of the night. I flush before and after every run, hike, any trip outdoors. I even take Neil with me on the road, placing him next to “Joe” in the car’s cup holders. With Neil at my side, that nasty pollen doesn’t have a chance to set up shop in my schnoz.
My friend was right. The nasal rinse not only feels great (I won’t go into graphic details but let’s just say the resulting snot in the sink can be startling), but it has also curbed most of my worst allergy symptoms. I still have a consistent sniffle and I sneeze every now and then, but I no longer feel like a have a bad cold for months in a row.
Another cool thing my friend passed along was www.pollen.com.
I never really knew exactly what it is that sets off my allergies. This website has a map that allows you to find out the pollen count anywhere in the country. You can also sign up for allergy alerts letting you know when allergy conditions in your area have reached medium to high range. It also gives the predominant pollens which can help determine if it’s cedar, cottonwood, juniper, poplar, aspen, ash, mulberry, maple, etc., etc. that’s turning your glorious springtime into a snot-fest.
My mom told me that I shouldn’t say the word, “snot,” in my column because it might disturb some people. But if you’re like me, suffering with allergies half the year, snot is serious; I can’t think of a better word to describe the misery.
So…. listen up. I’m s’not kidding you. Give nasal irrigation a shot. For me, it’s made tiptoeing through the tulips, trail-running in the mountains, and playing with my pollen-covered pooches so much more enjoyable.
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