Seasonal Allergies Wreaking Havoc?

[Hail2Pitt]

Hi all,

I'm curious - who all has seasonal allergies, and how do they affect you?

I've always had allergies, and my only symptom has always been extremely itchy eyes. However, last year in April I got increased chest congestion seemingly out of nowhere, and struggled with it for a month or so. I didn't attribute it to allergies, and figured one of my bugs was flaring up. But, a couple weeks ago, I suddenly started dealing with increased congestion again. I had just been to my clinic, and I didn't culture anything interesting (other than my typical Abscessus), so I'm wondering what the heck is going on and if it might be allergies. My major problem areas in my lungs (in terms of scarring and bronchiectasis) are the upper-right and middle-right lobes, and I have all this congestion there that is kind of driving me crazy. I've been doing so much airway clearance (with lots of hypertonic saline) that I think I'm now dealing with some bronchospasm as well.

Any thoughts? What kinds of symptoms do you all get with allergies?

Thanks!

 

[Melissa75]

yes yes yes yes
I don't even have a pollen allergy, but my allergist said it doesn't matter. The particles can be an irritant in a non-IgE way. For several springs in a row now, I get an infection in feb or march, antibiotics eliminate the febrile state and nastier mucus, but I spend the next two months so junky and almost-sick. My lower left lobe/lingula, in particular, are heavy and whistling. I debate prednisone and I struggle to keep up with my usual exercise. I once had a CT scan during the Spring and it was like a festival in there of ground-glass opacities and nodules aka inflammation -- almost none of which appeared in a follow-up scan in the late fall.

I have no solution and no idea if I am attributing the symptoms correctly -- it could be post viral inflammation. But I'm pretty sure it's the pollen even though my nose and eyes are okay. I was itchy eyed and runny nosed as a kid when I WAS IgE allergic to pollen. Years of shots theoretically got rid of that allergy. My other allergies came back and needed another round of shots as an adult. Not pollen, though.)

 

[ethan508]

Sinus production/pressure/headache increase for me in the spring. Also sometimes pollen will hit me and just make me a little tight/asthmatic and wheezy. Claritin helps a bit with the sinus. Getting a shower shortly after I've spent any time outside working in the yard or garden also helps me feel better. It just seems to wash stuff off, and I have the humidity of the shower to help clear my upper respiratory tract.