Last spring my love for being outside was slightly impaired by a record-year of hayfeverish symptoms.
I never had hayfever as a kid, but I do remember always reacting sneezily to dust, and feeling a bit itchy after playing in straw.
A few days ago I started noticing familiar sniffly symptoms: itchy eyes, a runny nose, sneezles and a scratchy throat.
This felt a bit earlier in the year than expected, so I wasn’t quite sure at first whether it was an allergic reaction or perhaps just a cold coming up.
Then I encountered this gorgeous view on my way home from ballet class:
Moonlit pollen-laden hazel catkins.
Yes.
I’ve had (slight) allergic reactions to eating hazelnuts before in the past, so this makes sense.
The good news:
- Now I literally know what’s in the air.
- I adore the word catkin.
The other news:
- This is a new-to-me hayfever allergy
- Birch season is still coming up
So, what to do?
One option I’ve pondered is to start taking allergy medication a bit earlier this year – I dislike taking medication, so I usually try to put it off for as long as possible, but last year it did help.
Before that though, I want to try something different.
One of the first chapters of ’Dreaming yourself Awake‘ (last week’s book recommendation) contains instructions for a very simple breath focus and relaxation/awareness meditation.
I want to test if this can help relieve my symptoms. It just might work – as allergies, immune regulation and relaxation are so closely related.
I’ll report back on my findings next week, and I’ll do my best to write out my version of the book’s meditation routine I am working with in tomorrow’s post.
I’ve also downloaded a nifty free (though allergy-medication sponsored, of course) Pollen Count App (Apple Version here, Android Version here) to compare results with what’s up in the air.
Wish me luck!
If this works I can re-befriend my most pollen-producing tree friends in the woods again with open eyes, nose, and heart.
What about you? Do you get hay-feverish in spring? If yes, what are your favorite ways to cope with the symptoms?
EDIT: It WORKED! HAHAHA! Check out my Blog Post on the results.