If nothing else, life is definitely not boring these days!
For most of my adult life — at least since I moved from Denmark to Austin, Texas in 1981 — I have had my more than adequate share of spring pollen allergies.
Maybe I always had a bit of what we used to call "Hay Fever," but after living in Austin for two or three years, I developed what was locally known as "Cedar Fever," an ailment that affected many people from every December through March, when the plentiful mountain cedar was throwing pollen.
Source Yes, it really DOES look like that!
I don't know if this stuff gradually weakened my immune system, but it seemed to get a little worse every year, the longer I lived there. Sneezing, itchy eyes, scratch throat, fatigue, mild headache and /or sinus pressure.
Of course, now I live a little further north where the tree pollen seasons are a little later/different. But I still feel the effects of spring through allergic reactions.
Meanwhile, There's a Pandemic!
I have to admit that even though I am trying my best to keep an "even keel" through the current crisis, it's very nervousmaking to have spring allergies like these at a time when there's a potentially deadly pandemic on the loose!
Why? Because my "baseline" for how I normally feel during February and March to some degree overlaps with the symptoms of mild cases of COVID-19.
And when I feel a lot of so-called "sinus pressure" and find myself blowing my nose and coughing a bit? Well, it also tends to raise my body temperature to "very mildly feverish."
It presents a bit of a dilemma. On one hand, I don't want to freak out and call the doctor simply because I feel just like I have felt pretty much every spring for the past 30 years. On the other hand, I don't want to ignore something potentially far worse by leaving it till it's too late.
I guess I just need to sit my butt down and not worry about things I can't control...
In the meantime, thanks for reading, and I'll see you on HIVE tomorrow!
Are you a fellow allergy sufferer in the time of the Corona Virus? How do you feel about that? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform.)
Created at 20200319 14:10 PDT
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