Today we awoke to fog over the Rocky Mountains, which is a rarity in this part of the country. I appreciate the cooler weather because it means that it is not summer quite yet and it is not too hot outside.
This brings me to wonder what the summers are like in South Korea? I have only been to Seoul in the spring and fall months. Will I be able to withstand the heat during the summer there?
What about for allergy sufferers- is it tough in August for people with hay fever?
See also:
Heat Wave
Good Sleeping Weather and Death by Fan
I Survived a Swollen Uvula and the Perils of a Hay Fever Sufferer
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Monday, September 10, 2012
I Survived a Swollen Uvula and the Perils of a Hay Fever Sufferer
I did it. I survived a swollen uvula! It was an ordeal, a trial, a time that tried a man's soul, but I resolved perseverance and pulled through to the end.
When I first moved to Denver from back in the Midwest, I could definitely tell that the altitude had something to do with the way I was feeling. I would have to pause half-way up a flight of stairs to catch my breath and wait for my heart to slow down. That lasted about a week before I became acclimated. Oh, did I sleep well those first weeks in the Mile High City or what! I also made sure to keep a bottle of water with me because I got dehydrated very easily (the climate in Denver is actually like a desert, a far cry from the humid summer days back home). This was all and well and I found myself enjoying the adjustment to my new surroundings: wake up around 7:00 (that's very late for me), go about my daily work, squeeze in a walk, dinner, watch the news, in bed by 9:00. I even got adventurous in my explorations and tried a couple of hiking trails in the afternoons or after dinner. That was fun because I got to learn the birds and wildflowers of the Colorado high plains that way; this was all before I started exploring the mountains, but that is a whole other subject.
Anyways, I liked my new city and was getting used to life 5280 feet above sea level. Then, one day it hit me in late August. I woke up one morning and felt a huge gob in my throat. Now, I grew up suffering terrible hay fever every August. Around the 15th of the month, I would get that first tickle in my nose, which turned into a sneeze, and then my eyes would tear up and burn, my ears clog, my nose incessantly drip and run and itch, I would sneeze more than I could talk, and I was utterly miserable for at least two weeks. Growing up, I tried every hay fever and allergy medicine that they made. Seldane, Benadryl, Claritin and Allegra (back when they were prescription), Clarinex, Zyrtec, and Sudafed. I tried nasal sprays, eye drops, herbal teas, and homeopathic tinctures. I tried chiropractic. I tried Chinese medicine. One medication would work for one year, then the next year it was ineffective and I was on to the next method. I grew desperate and would try anything whenever August rolled around.
O God, why didst Thou create ragweed?
So, when I felt that lump of goo in my throat, I thought to myself, "Oh, great, allergies!" At least hay fever is a known quantity: I knew life was going to suck for a few weeks and more or less how I could survive: patience, a few good books (the Bible), a lot of prayer, and whatever new remedy I could find that year. I went about my morning routine, made a pot of coffee, and tried to hawk up the ball of phlegm that was in my throat, but I couldn't get it out. I squeezed and contorted my throat and made all kinds of funny noises trying to get that loogie out, but it wouldn't budge. I decided to go into the bathroom to see what was going on and looked in the mirror.
To my shock, my uvula (the hanging thing in the back of your throat) was swollen to the size of my thumb and throbbing red and laying on the back of my tongue and tickling it. I would see how I thought that it was a loogie. That was not my concern, though. I saw it and thought to myself, "How did it get so big?" I could have bitten it with my back molars if I wanted to.
Apparently, a swollen uvula is caused by several things, one of which is dehydration. I spent an hour reading all that I could find on the subject on the internet before I figured out how I was going to tackle it. The recommendation was drinking a lot of ice-cold water and gargling with salt water. I did this for three days and it went back to normal. I never did get allergies that year, nor any other year since moving to Denver. No hay fever for me!
So, the remedy that worked best for my swollen uvula was a salt water gargle twice per day and plenty of cold water. And try not to yawn in public- it draws too many questions about your uvula! If only curing hay fever were that easy...
http://www.swollenuvula.org/
http://www.swollenuvula.net/
When I first moved to Denver from back in the Midwest, I could definitely tell that the altitude had something to do with the way I was feeling. I would have to pause half-way up a flight of stairs to catch my breath and wait for my heart to slow down. That lasted about a week before I became acclimated. Oh, did I sleep well those first weeks in the Mile High City or what! I also made sure to keep a bottle of water with me because I got dehydrated very easily (the climate in Denver is actually like a desert, a far cry from the humid summer days back home). This was all and well and I found myself enjoying the adjustment to my new surroundings: wake up around 7:00 (that's very late for me), go about my daily work, squeeze in a walk, dinner, watch the news, in bed by 9:00. I even got adventurous in my explorations and tried a couple of hiking trails in the afternoons or after dinner. That was fun because I got to learn the birds and wildflowers of the Colorado high plains that way; this was all before I started exploring the mountains, but that is a whole other subject.
Anyways, I liked my new city and was getting used to life 5280 feet above sea level. Then, one day it hit me in late August. I woke up one morning and felt a huge gob in my throat. Now, I grew up suffering terrible hay fever every August. Around the 15th of the month, I would get that first tickle in my nose, which turned into a sneeze, and then my eyes would tear up and burn, my ears clog, my nose incessantly drip and run and itch, I would sneeze more than I could talk, and I was utterly miserable for at least two weeks. Growing up, I tried every hay fever and allergy medicine that they made. Seldane, Benadryl, Claritin and Allegra (back when they were prescription), Clarinex, Zyrtec, and Sudafed. I tried nasal sprays, eye drops, herbal teas, and homeopathic tinctures. I tried chiropractic. I tried Chinese medicine. One medication would work for one year, then the next year it was ineffective and I was on to the next method. I grew desperate and would try anything whenever August rolled around.
O God, why didst Thou create ragweed?
So, when I felt that lump of goo in my throat, I thought to myself, "Oh, great, allergies!" At least hay fever is a known quantity: I knew life was going to suck for a few weeks and more or less how I could survive: patience, a few good books (the Bible), a lot of prayer, and whatever new remedy I could find that year. I went about my morning routine, made a pot of coffee, and tried to hawk up the ball of phlegm that was in my throat, but I couldn't get it out. I squeezed and contorted my throat and made all kinds of funny noises trying to get that loogie out, but it wouldn't budge. I decided to go into the bathroom to see what was going on and looked in the mirror.
To my shock, my uvula (the hanging thing in the back of your throat) was swollen to the size of my thumb and throbbing red and laying on the back of my tongue and tickling it. I would see how I thought that it was a loogie. That was not my concern, though. I saw it and thought to myself, "How did it get so big?" I could have bitten it with my back molars if I wanted to.
Apparently, a swollen uvula is caused by several things, one of which is dehydration. I spent an hour reading all that I could find on the subject on the internet before I figured out how I was going to tackle it. The recommendation was drinking a lot of ice-cold water and gargling with salt water. I did this for three days and it went back to normal. I never did get allergies that year, nor any other year since moving to Denver. No hay fever for me!
So, the remedy that worked best for my swollen uvula was a salt water gargle twice per day and plenty of cold water. And try not to yawn in public- it draws too many questions about your uvula! If only curing hay fever were that easy...
http://www.swollenuvula.org/
http://www.swollenuvula.net/
Friday, August 10, 2012
Heat Wave
It is so hot outside! They say we're supposed to cool off over the weekend, but I am melting away! I get so irritable when it's hot like this and it has been absolutely stifling. I think I’ll go off on a rant about summer, as long as we’re on the subject!
I hate summer. I always have and I think that I always will. Summer gets all of the attention for the best season: sunshine, sunglasses, pretty drinks with umbrellas in them, pools, lemonade, ice cream…
You can keep it, summer. Except for the ice cream, that belongs to me.
To me, summer means one thing: heat. I hate heat. I hate being hot and sweaty. Why is summer painted as the most romantic and exciting season? I don’t think of long walks on the beach, I only think of long lines of sweat trickling slowly down my back and pooling up on my waist, leaving a mysterious stain on my shirt. I hate it! I can’t stand the heat, and yes, I will stay out of the kitchen! Unless the air conditioning is on. The only thing I like about summer is barbecue.
The thing is, I always liked being in school, so having all of that free time was nice for a few weeks, but then it was boring. I liked camping for a few weeks, and then I would miss school. Autumn is my favorite season because I like the fall colors, going back to school, football, the smell of burning leaves, apples, pumpkin pie, turkey… the list goes on. I like wearing a sweater and feeling cold.
Summer, go away! I detest you and your heat.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)