7581 - Well, I don't plan on inhaling Johnson Smut, that's for sure.

[scottobear]

I think I'll refer to GrayPumpkin as "GrayP" (grape-y)for short. Or maybe Jeep (for GP)

---

Went to the allergist yesterday.

Here are the results of the "poke test".

It turns out that I am quite allergic to:

• Grasses: Bermuda, Johnson, Bahia.



• Trees: Melaleuca, Mango, Australian Pine, Willow, Olive



• Weeds: Baccharis, Dog Fennel, Ragweed++, Cockleburr, Lambs Quarters, English Plantain



• Molds: Hormodendrum, Corn Smut, Bermuda Smut, Johnson Smut.



• Inhalants: House Dust Mites++, Cat Dander++, Dog Dander++, House Dust Mites "P"4++, Cockroach (American), Fly, Moth, Cockroach (German)

++denotes the worst possible reaction, the rest listed are rated as just "really bad".

First off, Newton will not be moving out of the house. He's family, and I can be treated for this.

What that boils down to is that I need to get allergy shots because I live on Planet Earth near other major forms of life.

It'll start at baby doses once a week, and gradually go to a maintenance dose of once a month or so. I've also been advised to get a HEPA filter for the house.

So, my periodically itchy skin and eyes should clear up soon.

Want to see pictures of my arm pierced by little distillations of bug, cat and tree parts held in solution?

Minor blood on a hairy bicep warning for the squeamish.




I was poked by approximately 90 needles. I bleed for better health.


I've got Zyrtec to suppress the symptoms if they get bad while I build up to the allergy shots. He gave me a boatload of samples, so I won't have to drop a huge wad at the pharmacy right away.

Added flattery of the day, Candice gave me her number in a book of matches. How Noir of her. She's a cutie, too... I seem to have the best "find a new mate" luck when I'm busy being loyal/monogamous and such. No Johnson Smut for me.

---

Google maps now has a "hybrid" screen, with streets and other detail overlaying sat-maps.

---

Moment of Lyric: (Flash cartoon w/sound)

I love you
I really really do
I love you
I hope you love me too
I look in your eyes
and I think that you're great
stick with me for a while and
I'll always be your mate
you know I'll always be your mate
you know I love you
you're better than ice cream
I love you
you lovely lovely dream
I fall into your arms
and everything's ok
you're my sunshine and my love
on a rainy rainy day
you know I love you
I really really do
you know I love you
I really really
really really
do

Best when sung by a freaky Newt-looking kitty. A lot nicer than this one.

---

Beneath the good, the kind, the stupid and the cruel, there's a fire just waiting for fuel.

---

1 year ago - I Robot, The Flo, LiveJournal Gallery, 1000 white cards revisited

2 years ago - Evil Fish, Bro, Brace, bazillion questions meme, crow tools, Elton Ock, LJ pings for you,

3 years ago - Janet Reno, 1000 blank white cards, lost links, Dumpster Diving, singing kitty, palm sketches, snickitty-snackitty man, managing activism

4 years ago - melted heart, epizootic ,hair bears, playing majestic

5 years ago - bedtime thoughts

Comments

You're obviously just allergic to Florida

[uberbastard.livejournal.com]

Bermuda, Johnson, Bahia. Melaleuca, Mango, Australian Pine, Willow, Olive, Baccharis, Dog Fennel, Ragweed++, Cockleburr, Lambs Quarters, English Plantain, Hormodendrum, Corn Smut, Bermuda Smut, Johnson Smut. House Dust Mites++, Cat Dander++, Dog Dander, House Dust Mites "P"4++, Cockroach (American), Fly, Moth, Cockroach (German)

Come on join us in Atlanta, I don't think there is a plantain for miles.

Oh yeah, thanks for this warning:
"Minor blood on a hairy bicep warning for the squeamish."
:::SHUDDER:::

Re: You're obviously just allergic to Florida

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

I put that warning up, because I squicked a few people when I showed the fresh staples on my back form a surgery a while ago.(behind a cut, but no gruesome warning)

The horror! What's next? Rotten.com??

How many cockroaches in atlanta? And I thought you were in orlando?

Good morning!

[missv.livejournal.com]

I guess I won't be cooking up any of this for your breakfast then. (Although I do love to say that word....."¡Huitlacoche!"...almost as fun a "¡Chupacabra!")

Re: Good morning!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

I don't know... I can eat stuff, just not rub it on my skin or inhale it. Olives give me no troubles as food, just as swadust!

Re: Good morning!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

Goatsucker!!

[juliabee.livejournal.com]

Someone else on my list had her allergy test via a blood test at the dr's. Somehow I like the thought of that better than the old-fashioned skin pricking way!

Do a google on "dust mites". Or maybe you arleady know this stuff? :)))
If you do..just ignore me...you know I'm easy-peasy!

- Some peeps get a new mattress, if the current one is old. They're notorious for containing mass dustmites.

- If you can't do that now, & even if you do get a new mattress, you can get allergen mattress covers at Bed Bath & Beyond, etc..maybe even Target or Walmart (hey..I'm poor, I can't help it) :(

- Get new pillows if yours are old. Get zippered allergen pillow covers for them. Pillow cases slide right over the covers.

Then wash bedding, including comforters, more often than you're used to. Google should be able to tell you how much.

...I knew a guy who went a month or longer before he would wash his sheets & blankets. His comforter was from college -- but he was in his late 30's. Told him to rid of the comforter, because it had to be full of mites.. (was very smelly..so something was growing in it! hehe), get new pillows..and do the other stuff. He saw a change in his allergies pretty quickly.

But..maybe that was his largest allergen deal, though. Not sure what else he was allergic to.

[juliabee.livejournal.com]

Oh and! I had some massive allergy problems awhile back. My doc told me to stop sleeping with my cats. He said although dander is all around our homes, sleeping with it in your bed is worse. When we sleep in it, our noses are pressed right into the dander, for 8 hours per night.

Well..I hafta sleep with my cats! I threw them out of the room for a week, and vacuumed the heck out of it..and put new sheets on. My allergies stopped. :( Good and bad news, right? Some cats are attracted to fleece, so I bought some with the hope that they would lay on it at the bottom of the bed, instead of up near my head. It worked...they loved it -- and could still be next to me at night. My allergies have never been better. :0)

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

ah well, the pricking wasn't so bad... it was perversely a little fun to see bumps forming... though I did ask "so.... you're going to put a stick coated with dead roach into my arm... okie doke."

Newtie's going to learn how to sleep mostly by my knees... he prefers to snuggle up to my neck, but refrains when I hve bedding in the way. He enjoys the little hammock I make because I sleep on my back, legs crossed at the ankles, semi indian style.

ew on that guy's smelly comforter!!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the helpful hints!

My mattress is pretty new, only about 2, maybe 3 years old.

No worries about walmart... I'll go there if they're the only ones that have stuff that I need and can afford, too. They're the debbil, but a cost-effective debbil. I should get new pillows.

[oneeyedcat.livejournal.com]

dude you're allergic to everything! it's amazing you don't live in a bubble!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

I know! He said he'd just highlight the things on this sheet, and it would've been easier if he'd just blotted out stuff I wasn't allergic to!

[applelard.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know your pain! I was on allergy shots for 12+ years, and am allergic to nearly everything - grass, tree and weed pollen (don't know specific types, but I have an awful time during every season but winter), cat and dog dander, feathers, mold, mildew, dust, and kapok (in life preservers and some pillows). You name it, I'm probably allergic to it. All that testing so many years ago showed that I wasn't really allergic to any foods, although I did discover that I suffer from Oral Allergy Syndrome, particularly when I eat cantaloupes, watermelon, carrots and bananas.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

yikes!!

so, you don't do shots anymore?

[applelard.livejournal.com]

Nope, I've been off of them for a while. It got to the point where I was forgetting to go get them. It used to be that I could tell when I was due, because I'd start to get sinus headaches and just a yucky feeling. Then, as I began getting them once every 21-28 days, I'd lose track and go later than I was supposed to, because I stopped having those reactions. After doing that for a while, I saw my allergist for my yearly appointment, and he told me that I was pretty much at my threshold and continuing them would be a waste of time and money.

Before I started shots, though, I was sick all the time - bronchitis 3 or 4 times a year and croup quite often. These days, I might get something like that once a year, if that. I still suffer in some way from my allergies every day, but it's not nearly at the level it used to be. My problem is usually a perpetually stuffy head.

[succ33d.livejournal.com]

Ouch, I bet all those shots hurt!! I'm sorry that you're allergic to your cat. I'm allergic to cat dander too, but I can usually tolerate it.

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

I've put up with my allergy to newt for a while.. I really suspect it's the dust mites that are gettign to me the most.

[rejectomorph]

Heh. Johnson smut. I just got that! My inner Beavis must have been napping this morning.

[neptune-beach.livejournal.com]

Eep! Allergies suck, but removal of small furry family members would suck more. When I moved in with someone who had cats, the first thing I did was buy an air filter, which worked wonders. Personally I'd recommend the Living Air purifier, but there are alot of filters on the market that would probably be just as good. Good luck!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

I'll check it out! Thank you for the suggestion!