Tracking down and dealing with allergies

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There’s a much older thread here

Dr DiS: Allergies!

Right, to make this a thread, tell me what you’ve got and how you deal with it. Special diet? Anti-histos? Live in a bubble? Hit me! Over the last two months I’ve become covered in an itchy flakey rash that’s been getting worse. I thought it was dust mites based on internet research, so I’ve bought loads of anti-allergy bedding, have sprayed a mite-killer over everything and have started washing everything at higher temperatures. I’ve even bought a dehumidifier to help keep the damp down. Desp…

but I’m just starting fresh.

So I have a huge problem with what seems to be ‘post-nasal drip’ which sounds grim enough but is basically my nose constantly running down the back of my throat.

First encountered it in a strong way back 2001 during the Foot & Mouth outbreak. I’ve always been prone to asthma and stuff. I was diagnosed with an allergy to feathers and dust as a kid/teen and then when we changed to non-feather stuff it helped a lot and I developed hayfever in my early 20s but it wasn’t hugely problematic.

But during summer 2001 I could barely speak. In fact after a 3 hour rehearsal I was generally okay because I’d been drinking water and using my throat so much I seemed to warm it up but it was terrible, then it went away as autumn came around. The doctor basically said: “Post-nasal drip, you’re allergic to grass pollen and this year with all the cows dead there’s a huge amount more of it in the air”.

Over the last few years it’s got a LOT worse. Currently I am taking Benedryl relief and Becodefence 3x a day, and also occasionally beconaise and I still sound pretty husky most of the time. It was happening in Melbourne and it’s happening here.

Things I’ve observed:

• it pretty much went away over the trip back to the UK. I was even thinking maybe it was down to Melbourne but a week or so after we were here it came back.
• I thought it might have been our cat because she was taken away the Friday before we flew and we got her back the Tuesday after we came back
• BUT I’ve recently noticed that when I wake in the morning I’m actually pretty good, my voice is the strongest it can be in fact, so if it’s the cat then that makes no sense
• Probably something I eat, which is the fucker, but then I didn’t noticeably change anything I ate over the flight here and so forth.
• If I have sugar-free gum or mints it seems to make it much much worse, which is very annoying because I liked to have those to give me something to chew on when I was working.

Anyway, arse. That’s really all I’ve got to say.

ARSE