I’m on vacation and can’t leave the house. That’s right. We finally got away for more than two days to relax and I can’t go outside without feeling awful. We came north, which means the blooming season is just a hair behind where I live. My husband must be thrilled to have a sneezy, wheezy wife with him to enjoy our time off.
I am having the worst allergy year ever. At home, I finally have access to a private patio that offers the sounds of birds, a place to sit in the sun to write and the possibility of grilling our dinner. But, maybe enjoying all of that will have to wait until the spring bloom has completed, which of course means missing the best weather of the year.
After an hour on the deck nursing some grass fed beef burgers on the grill, I had a heavy chest, couldn’t really laugh without sounding like a tobacco aficionado, and a nose running like a faucet again. That night in bed, when I’m trying to relax and let myself breathe normally, I rolled over to ask my husband what happens if it’s the same next year and I’m 6 months pregnant. I don’t take allergy medicine. I have been using an herbal/vitamin antihistamine which if I catch it before a major attack, works very well for me. But once I’ve been out in the thick of it, the game is pretty much over. (Sadly, I went through my last dose and so I’m searching for a practitioner up here who carries it.)
It reminds me of the challenge of dealing with illness, allergies or chronic health problems while pregnant. Maybe I haven’t posted enough yet for you to perceive this, but I rarely if ever take any kind of pharmaceutical, over the counter or not. You would have to drag me kicking and screaming to a pharmacist if I was pregnant. I am adamant about not putting chemicals, labeled as medicine or not, in my system even now while I’m not the literal life blood of the immune system of my precious offspring. In case that wasn’t clear before, I am committed to using every possible natural remedy before even considering complicating things by ingesting drugs.
It is frightening to read of a study linking a significant increase in autism risk to babies born of mother’s diagnosed with allergies and asthma in the second trimester. While it does not discuss what treatment those pregnant women underwent once diagnosed with allergies and asthma, one wonders if it was the diagnosis and subsequent genetic influence on the baby or the treatment which prompted the increase risk.
So how will I get through my seasonal allergies next year if I’m pregnant? I suppose I will forego planting any flowers or taking walks in the park and going on vacation... I’ll fire up every air filter I can find and request that my loving husband not send me flowers. I’ll irrigate my sinuses (how sexy does that sound?) with my trusty netti pot and use hot showers to help move things through. I’ll continue with as much energy as I can, my exercise routine. And, I’ll be good to myself: resting when I need to and remembering to breathe (clean, filtered air…)
In the meantime, I’m heading to the health food store to see what I can find.
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