Sleep better on a bad allergy (hay fever) day- five tips!

1) Eucalyptus oil

Nothing is better than eucalyptus oil to ease the stuffiness. The impact is short lived but enough to let you sleep in peace. Eucalyptus oil come in user friendly roller bottles than are very easy to apply on your nose and throat area.

I use this one from the Kaveri emporium

2) Wash your feet and face with warm water before sleeping

Wash your face and feet with warm water , it helps to ease the stuffy sinus area.

3) Steam 

Is possible have a steam diffuser by your side always, you can use it before sleeping. warm and moist air is easier to breath. This can give you a temporary relief before sleeping.

There are abundant of diffusers available . Anyone should solve the purpose.

4) Air purifier

This is a little expensive tip to follow but could be of great relief . Air purifiers can reduce the allergen load in the air to a great extend.I will review the air purifier I am using and others available in Indian market and all about them in a few days ( will add the link later, sorry)

5) Change into clean clothes 

Before going to bed, it is a good idea to change into clothes that you don't wear outside. This will ensure that the clothes you are wearing are allergen free(that you could be bringing from outside). Try covering your bed and pillow with a cover when you are not sleeping. Using a different bed and pillow cover for the day time can protect your bedding from allergens during the day .

Five Symptoms that you might have Allergic Rhinitis

The symptoms that we see are our bodies mechanism to shake off , remove or fight against the allergens. A pollen or any other 'allergen' might not be an allergen for you but for someone else. It depends on the make-up of our immune system which is defined genetically as well by the environment we have been exposed to. Research show that people can also grow allergic with time (Miller, 1996).

1 . Starts with sneezing

I sneezed mostly  during the first four month of my stay in Bangalore (Feb- April). It was more than just occasional sneezing.  One can  know that this is not normal sneezing. Like I would sneeze continuously 6-7 times, several times a day.  I kept thinking it was the dust. I kept taking cetrizine (antihistamine) as most of Indians do.

2. Runny/stuffy nose

Initially,  I would mostly have runny nose during the spring season and sometime in autumn season too. Every time I would wake up I will start sneezing and have a terrible runny nose.  Mostly, this worsens in the evenings as the temperature drops.

Side note: some information on the internet indicates that temperature difference while you step out of the bed can also lead to sneezing or temperature induced rhinitis (Graudenz,2006). 

3. Irritation in ears

This depends on your exposure level. Some  people I have learnt tend  to just suffer from intense sneezing. On a heavy pollen day you might feel heavy tickly kind of irritation in the ears.

4.Teary eyes

Some people just tend to sneeze and occasionally  have teary eyes. For me I get teary eyes only sometimes accompanied with the itchiness. 

5. Wheezing

This is the most dreaded stage for me , it is when you might need a heavy anti-histamine or nasal spray (do consult a doctor for any medication).. Wheezing happens when the respiratory tubes start constricting as a response to the allergy . The chest feels extremely heavy. If this is happening for the first time to you do call or see a doctor . Try taking steam as humid air is easy to beath for making your life easy till you cannot see a doctor. Wheezing does not generally starts immediately  for me, either I will be coughing or feeling tightness in the chest. So, by now I know where I am heading to. I generally pop in a light antihistamine at this point.

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References:

Miller, Richard A. "The aging immune system: primer and prospectus." Science 273.5271 (1996): 70.

Graudenz, Gustavo Silveira, et al. "The role of allergic rhinitis in nasal responses to sudden temperature changes." Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 118.5 (2006): 1126-1132.

About me

This blog is a result of my long sufferings with pollen and dust allergies. The devil has been in my life for almost 5 years now, since I moved to Bangalore. In these last years I have experimented with kinds of things from 'dadi ma ke nuskhe' to western world blog suggestions to all kinds of 'pathies' known to work on Homo sapiens and of course consulting a dozen of 'allergy-specialists' . Very few things have really turned out to have worked for me but I am still the process of trying everything possible. The four months of every year, Jan-april are dreadful and horrible , my nose is stuffy most of time and the most embarrassing part is to be sneezing and coughing in a work space that I share with other people. I never thought a thing like an allergy can make my life so difficult , during my periods of sneezing and wheezing I tend to hate and dislike every other happy person around.

My miseries and my ways of coping with them have inspired me to reach out to other such people , especially after learning from a allergy specialist that there are many people like me in Bangalore. I thought of sharing my  experiences, experiments and learning about allergr rhinitis. Here I have put together my personal experiences along with what other people  and academic world has to say about respiratory allergies. I hope to help people in whatever way I can . 

P.S I am no allergy specialist. Just a PhD student in a subject not related to medicine. But I tend to spend a lot of time outdoors either in the jungle or in the beautiful campus of IISc. Whatever I have shared here is just my wisdom (if I may say so) for others who enjoy outdoors but can't do so.