Mofussil Monday

mofussil ~ provincial; rural

You know, I always thought allergy season was in the spring when everything started blooming, and I thought allergies were for other people not me. But I was wrong on both counts.

If you suffer from allergies, you can suffer all year ‘round (as you probably already know). The worst part is, it doesn’t matter if you’re indoors or out, there’s just no escaping it.

Winter’s the time for dust and mold allergies, and let’s not forget pet dander. The spring is when you’ll see more of the tree pollen allergies, as well as flowers and grass. Summer’s okay as far as pollen allergies, but this is when you need to watch out for fungus spores and mold. And fall is when we have the dreaded ragweed, goldenrod, and other pollen producing weed allergies.

So what brought on this sudden interest in allergies? Well, for the last few years I’ve been suffering from a lot of sinus infections and when I finally got to see a specialist about it he told me it was just allergies. His advice was to take a 24 hour allergy pill before bed at night, changing brands every month or two so I don’t get too used to one kind. After a while they tend to lose their efficiency.

So I did, and what do you know? It worked. I didn’t have one sinus cold this winter.

And then I happened to catch an episode of Mutant Weather on Cottage Life and it talked about how because the earth’s temperature is rising, it’s creating longer growing seasons, which in turn extends the pollen seasons. Global warming is also responsible for the increasingly strong winds we’ve been experiencing over the last few years. These winds increase the range of the pollen and the length of time it stays in the air.

Believe it or not, most people have a genetic predisposition to develop a variety of common allergies that can occur at any age. But usually this occurs when you’ve been exposed repeatedly to a particular allergen, or when you move to an area with a plant or tree pollen you’ve never been exposed to before. My next door neighbour came over from England and found out he was allergic to ragweed, which he’d never been exposed to before.

So now you know. If you’ve been sneezing and sniffling more than usual, you’ve probably developed an allergy. But check with your doctor to be sure.