Allergies

As I grew up, I remember my oldest brother Jason and his itchy, red eyes. Every fall and spring, he would sneeze and have a runny nose and be just plain miserable. I remember my mom saying how lucky I was that I didn't have allergies.

Then I turned 17. 17 years old those darn allergies finally caught up with me. Now I was the one with the sinus problems. For years I suffered through them. Then, I went to college. I was complaining about my allergies to some classmates when one of them asked me why I wasn't taking any medication for them. Medicine? For allergies? I didn't know it existed! I jumped on that bandwagon immediately. My personal favorite: Alavert. I love those pills that evaporate on your tongue (I've never been a fan of swallowing pills with water).

Well, now I'm pregnant. Pregnant in prime allergy season with no allergy medicine because of this baby. I don't remember my allergies ever being any worse. I wake up in the night with itchy throat, ears, and nose. I'm sneezing and have watery eyes and a runny nose.

I finally called the OB clinic and asked a nurse what a girl should do. She told me to either take Benedryl or Neti Pot. Neti Pot? Is that some type of illegal drug? I felt funny asking about it at the store today and the reaction from a Kroger clerk gave me validation. Anyway, it's kind of a nasally remedy that supposed to take the allegies out of your nose. I'll try it tonight to see how it works. Apparently it's been on a bunch of talk shows and commercials. Where have I been?