allergies

[pianistimo]

does anyone else have them?  yesterday i went biking and whew- i was sneezing and wheezing when i got back home. red eyes,e tc.  the only thing that helps is to decontaminate from the pollen or whatever.  shower and clothing that doesn't have any allergens on it.  also, i'm finding those children's chewable benadryl helpful bEFORE going out.

did you know there is such a thing as the National Air Duct Cleaners Association.  they can hook you up with someone who can also clean the air ducts in your home with 'negative pressure.'  it's a powerful HEPA vaccum that inserts varous brushes and cleaners into the ducts to dislodge debris, and it goes into the vaccum.  a thorough cleaning takes 4-8 hours. 

so far, we've only done the air filter change - which is always really dirty after 6 months.  i think you're really supposed to change them after three.  also, i'mf inding that keeping the laundry out of the rooms helps with allergy. 

fiber clean is another de-allergen company   www.fiberclean.com 

[jre58591]

i, too, ahve allergies. this past week has been one of the worst, thanks to school and allergies, a bad combination. the only things ive been doing is taking lots of vitamin C, drinking a lot of orange juice, and taking anti-allergy medications (allegra, zyrtec, etc). it seems to be subsiding now, thanks to these measures i have taken.

[pianistimo]

yes!  it's rough when you go through a 1/2 box of kleenex in one day.  allegra is good, too.  sometimes i don't want to take a lot of medicine - but somehow this year is worse than others and my usual 'don't take anything until you have symptoms' isn't working. 

am thinking that a lo tof bicyclists use those wrap around sunglasses, too.  i think i'm going to splurge and get some.  between bugs and whatever dust is in the air - it's really  hard to manage.  plus they keep the glare of sunlight out. 

last year, towards the fall, i saw a lot of cyclists wearing masks.  i guess for bugs - as they were getting bad.  usually i put on suntan lotion before going out - but that just makes the bugs stick to you better. 

[elspeth]

I'm allergic to nicotine - and I don't just mean in the politically correct sense...

When I was growing up I couldn't stand any exposure to smoke, it made me vomit a lot and really quite badly ill. Now I'm a bit older my sensitivity is a little diminished, but still bad enough that I can't spend more than twenty minutes or so in an averagely smoky pub before I start developing symptoms - sore eyes, sore throat, coughing - and if I don't get home, put my clothes straight in the wash and shower it develops into flu-like symptoms, headache, nausea, dizziness, aching... it's really very unpleasant and I could do without it! At worst it can easily put me in bed for a couple of days.

Unfortunately I've never found anything that will prevent it, so all I can do is avoid exposure to smoke... which isn't always as easy as it sounds, particularly when you work in public buildings and use public transport. Hurrah for the smoking ban, that's all I can say. I'll actually be able to go spend an evening in a pub with my friends without being made ill! These smokers make a lot of noise about their civil liberties being infringed by the ban, but I wonder if they ever stop to consider those of us who don't have choices...

[pianistimo]

my husband is just like that.  even with perfume and gum smells.  it's hard to explain to others the severe effects of allergies on some people.  it's just something you live with and get used to - but it's nice to have restaurants, pubs, and airlines that stick to it.

[tac-tics]

I have some flower-type stuff, but moreso, every girl I've ever dated (all three of them ) has had an allergy to perfume and perfumed detergent.

Most commical allergy: my exgirlfriend Dawn was allergic to Dawn-brand dishsoap.

[trunks]

Used to have a big allergy to dust mites.
Much better now after using aloe vera, bee propolis and pollen.

[ahinton]

Used to have a big allergy to dust mites.
Much better now after using aloe vera, bee propolis and pollen.

I think that most of us have allergic reactions to dust mites to some degree (although some have it far worse than others); as to me, the mite to which I have more allergic reaction than any other is vegemite, as certain people on this forum will already be aware...

Best,

Alistair

[trunks]

I think that most of us have allergic reactions to dust mites to some degree (although some have it far worse than others); as to me, the mite to which I have more allergic reaction than any other is vegemite, as certain people on this forum will already be aware...

Best,

Alistair

Haha!! 
What about Marmite?
Or dynamite?
Or termite?

[ahinton]

Haha!! 
What about Marmite?
Or dynamite?
Or termite?

Marmite likewise (it's hard to tell which would incite the worse reaction).
Dynamite is a very good preparation if used appropriately and constructively, although I've never been close enough to a detonation of it to know whether or not I would be allergic to it.
Termites are a real pest, although not one that we encounter much in UK; certain parts of neighbouring France are very seriously affected by it, however.

I don't have a problem with stalagmites, either (not that potholing is something in which I indulge), although "Stalag" something else might well have induced a less than positive reaction had I experienced it...

Best,

Alistair

[trunks]

Marmite likewise (it's hard to tell which would incite the worse reaction).
Dynamite is a very good preparation if used appropriately and constructively, although I've never been close enough to a detonation of it to know whether or not I would be allergic to it.
Termites are a real pest, although not one that we encounter much in UK; certain parts of neighbouring France are very seriously affected by it, however.

I don't have a problem with stalagmites, either (not that potholing is something in which I indulge), although "Stalag" something else might well have induced a less than positive reaction had I experienced it...

Best,

Alistair

Um, so you're sort of a stalacite (to couple with the stalagmite), right?

By the way, a curiosity arising from your name (Alistair).
I have come across at least three very similar spellings - Alistair, Alasdair, Alister.
Are they variants of the same name? (like Lewis = Louis)

[ahinton]

Um, so you're sort of a stalacite (to couple with the stalagmite), right?

I cannot comment on that...

By the way, a curiosity arising from your name (Alistair).
I have come across at least three very similar spellings - Alistair, Alasdair, Alister.
Are they variants of the same name? (like Lewis = Louis)

Yes, there are indeed several variants, which can on occasion seem abit irritating, as it means that I am often obliged to have to spell it out on the phone when asked who I am.

Best,

Alistair

[wishful thinker]

the mite to which I have more allergic reaction than any other is vegemite

Now methinks that this is becoming an obsession   I guess in which case you will need therapy   Tell us when it all started; did some awful bully at school, make you eat vegemite sandwiches (perhaps with processed cheese as an added filling?).  Moreover where did they get the vegemite from, it not being freely available in the Home Counties?

There are many mysteries in this world, and I think that a great many might yet be solved here on Piano Forum  

[ahinton]

Now methinks that this is becoming an obsession  

Just as one man's meat (or vegemite, or marmite) is another man's poison, so one man's obsession is another man's joke...

I guess in which case you will need therapy  

Since it's very easy to avoid the stuff, that hardly seems likely.

Tell us when it all started; did some awful bully at school, make you eat vegemite sandwiches (perhaps with processed cheese as an added filling?).  Moreover where did they get the vegemite from,

The above attempt to answer your own qustion with a question suggests that it is you who want to offer us possibilities as to "when it all started" but, for the record, it was when some Australian friends (who are still friends, this "gift" notwithstanding) brought me some of it and I found immediately that one sniff alone was more than enough to put me off it completely.

it not being freely available in the Home Counties?

I'll take your word for that, never having shopped for it anywhere, but I do not live in the Home Counties and have in any case been known to travel...

Best,

Alistair

[wishful thinker]

Having lived in Australia, I know the absurd importance that those people place on vegemite (particularly when they are removed to the waste lands of London).

The other "food" items being Tim Tams (a sicklier verson of a penguin), and Twisties (available in cheese or chicken "flavour" and not disimilar to Italian Fonzies, or to a lesser extent Nik Naks).

As to "bush tucker" enough said 

There is, I understand a shop in Covent Garden where these delicacies are purveyed.  I am considering bringing a selection in my tuck box to get me through a certain concert to be held on Armistice Day in sarf lundin . 

[ahinton]

There is, I understand a shop in Covent Garden where these delicacies are purveyed.  I am considering bringing a selection in my tuck box to get me through a certain concert to be held on Armistice Day in sarf lundin . 

Oh, no! Why not save yourself the cost of them and forget that concert and come to mine on that day instead?(!)...

Best,

Alistair