Some people love when the seasons change. Daylight either stays a bit longer or disappears earlier.

The temperature either warms enough for us to haul out our shorts or cools enough to bring out the long pants.

The change also brings a visitor.

This visitor is unwelcome.

This visitor is a nuisance, mostly in the morning.

The visitor?

Seasonal allergies.

I don’t need the weather folks to tell me when the season is changing. My allergies alert me the minute a front starts to roll in.

The allergies start with a stuffy nose when I wake up. The first sign is my nose feels like it’s stuffed with cotton. Then my eyes start to itch, my throat feels scratchy and, as an added bonus, there’s the sinus headache.

That one hits about 4 a.m. After years of battling the pounding in my forehead, I found what works. I take two Migraine Strength Excedrins and get a bag of frozen peas out of the freezer. The peas, a blanket and my miserable self huddle down on the couch, the frozen peas over my eyes.

After a couple of hours, the headache’s gone, and I feel like I’ve gotten a spa treatment as the puffy eyes, another byproduct of allergy season, have gone down a bit.

Then there’s the sneezing.

When the allergies arrive, I don’t sneeze a quiet, gentle lady-like “ah-choo” into the crook of my elbow. It’s a loud honk that scared the dog.

Plus, I don’t sneeze just once. My allergies make sure I sneeze at least a dozen times to be sure I’m good and aggravated. They don’t want me to forget I’m allergic to whatever pollen, dust or mold spores are floating around the atmosphere.

I stopped keeping a box of Kleenex next to my computer because that’s gone in a few hours. I use a roll of toilet tissue – it’s soft, inexpensive and lasts through two days of sneezing and sniffling.

I’ve tried a variety of medications. There’s the pill you’re supposed to take before allergy season rolls around to potentially ward off the unwelcome visitor.

After a month of taking the pills, when allergy season arrived, I was still sneezing on the couch with a bag of frozen peas on my face.

Some of the medications have side effects. One type I tried made me a zombie. I practically fell asleep on my lunch sandwich but at least I wasn’t sneezing. Another drug dried my nose up so much, I had nose bleeds.

I’ve tried natural ways to deal with allergy symptoms. Hot, herbal tea works well, but even the non-caffeinated ones keep me awake.

Honey is supposed to help the throat, but I pour so much honey in the cup, I might as well eat a Snickers bar and a bag of peanut M&Ms.

One year, I tried a neti pot. They are advertised as being magical in helping clear out one’s sinus passages.

Getting the hang of a neti pot is a feat in acrobatics. My first few tries, the water spilled over in my eyes and dribbled down into my ears.

After I got the hang of using the pot, I did feel a little better. That is until I read an article that the improper use of a neti pot can increase the chances of an infection in, horrors, the brain.

I weighed the pros and cons and decided I’d rather sneeze than risk anything else compromising my brain.

Here we are, a few days into this seasonal shift. Once again, I’m back to sneezing and rubbing my eyes, waiting for the unwelcome visitor to realize it has outstayed its welcome and move on.

At least until the weather changes again.

And then it’s time to buy another bag of frozen peas.

 

   This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.