Allergy Season Has Got Me Wheezin’

Springtime allergies are gross.

This Guy Is On Fire

Springtime used to be absolute torture for me. Back when I was in high school, I would have so many different symptoms from the pollen in the air. And medication did little to nothing to mitigate the effects.

My eyes would burn like someone had poured acid into them. Tears would be constantly pouring from my eyes. But no matter how much lubrication there was, they would continue to feel on fire.

I’d have to go through my entire day with one eye closed. When it became too unbearable to keep the other open, I’d switch to the other. I’d do this during the walk to school, in all my classes, and on the walk home.

I could barely see where I was going.

If that was the only symptom, maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad. It felt like I was being tear-gassed, but at least it wasn’t that visible to others. But unfortunately, there was something else. And it was really gross.

I would have the worse runny nose in existence. Almost nonstop, there would be snot pouring from my noseholes. I don’t know how that much mucus could come out. But it did.

To make matters worse, I didn’t have any tissues. Sometimes, the classroom would have a box. But I felt like such a tool getting up and taking one every other minute.

I was so self-conscious.

So most of the time, I would just wipe it with my hand. The problem was that it was a viscous liquid, and it wouldn’t just disappear. So I’d basically have to rub it on my thumb until it dried out into this film.

Obviously, I didn’t touch anything or anyone with that hand. I’m not that unsanitary. Once class would end, I’d rush to the bathroom to wash it away. But it was still gross.

There was a time I was taking a test, and there weren’t any tissues in the class. One girl was nice enough to lend me one from her own box. And then a second one after that.

But the tissues quickly reached their absorption limit.

After that, I felt too embarrassed to ask the teacher or the girl again. I had already raised my hand and disrupted the silence twice. Doing it a third time would bother everybody again.

So I had to keep wiping away. And whatever I couldn’t rub dry, I’d have to wipe off on the inside of my pockets. I had no choice but to do so. I couldn’t just let it dribble onto my desk…

Changing Reactions

It’s peculiar how my allergic reactions have changed since then. I’ve stopped getting runny noses entirely. And the eye burns aren’t nearly as bad as they used to be.

Furthermore, there’s no more snot-nose when I sneeze either. I guess my immune system figured out that all that goop wasn’t serving me well. And so it stopped producing most of it.

I’m not missing any of that, for sure.

I can’t even sneeze out of my nose without hurting myself anymore. I tried it once, and my head felt like it was going to explode. All that air pressure couldn’t be released fast enough.

I had to become a certified mouth sneezer. I could never do it as a child. I always wondered how they sneezed without all that snot. And through their mouth, for that matter.

The one time I tried, instead of all the stuff coming out of my nose, it went into the other portion connected to the airways...

(ಠ_ಠ) …you know…

It’s normal for me to sneeze this way now. But there has been a tradeoff for losing those symptoms. Now, allergy season seems to trigger an immense amount of coughing. And it’s not just any normal coughing.

I’m talking about the type like when you drink water and it goes down the wrong pipe and you start wheezing. Imagine that happening for most of the day, and that’s pretty much the predicament I’m in.

*cut* *wheeze* *gag* *help me*

It feels like I’m choking on air. Though if I’m honest, I still prefer the cough over the old symptoms. Even if it makes me double over due to the force of the exhalation, it’s still much more manageable. Not to mention mess-free.

My lungs are probably not happy with me. But it’s not like I have much of a choice. This is what my immune system decided for me. It’s not my fault my organs are being traumatized.

I’ll give it another 10 years to go away.