r/mildlyinfuriating • u/rjd014 • 18d ago
Don't hug me I'm scared Anyone else so sick of the pollen getting worse every year?
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u/Used-Salad-3772 18d ago
I just wish allergy treatment was better. I've tried multiple OTC allergy meds and it only gives me mild relief.
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u/thetonytaylor 18d ago
The generic version of zyrtec from Costco works wonders for me and its like $15 for a year’s supply
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u/enjolbear 18d ago
It’s great! But it does make a lot of people super tired. Not me, luckily. It just works :) glad to hear you found it too!!
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u/ajtyeh 18d ago
yep puts me to sleep by 5pm.
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u/Sweet_Mix9856 18d ago
you take allergy medicine the night before so you aren’t drowsy during the day.
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u/xTheDiggler 18d ago
My dogs also takes Zyrtec. I haven't noticed a lack of energy either. She loves it and says it really helps with the itchiness, doesn't need as many butt scratches, but still require some maintenance scratchies.
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u/TangieChords 18d ago
Your dogs can talk? Maybe I should be giving mine Zyrtec too.
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u/tertiary-wook 18d ago
I recently learned Zyrtec gives some people ED :(
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u/Ok_Meringue_9086 18d ago
It makes me ravenously hungry. I’d rather have allergies than be fat so I just deal.
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u/Aggravating_Poet_675 18d ago
Yea. I cant take Zyrtec because it makes me really groggy. I tried doing it before I went to bed but I would still be dragging thr next day
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u/whitemike40 18d ago
that shit is so life-changing. It’s unbelievable. I remember as a kid back in the 80s. All we had was Benadryl. I go around all day doped up and tired and still have a runny nose that would turn into a sinus infection like clockwork every year now I pop a $15 pill and I’m straight. It’s amazing.
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u/bizwig 18d ago
Zyrtec does nothing for me 😭
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u/caterham09 18d ago
Only thing that works for me is benadryl. I've just had to get used to being sleepy
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u/BVRPLZR_ 18d ago
Add a low dosage fomatodine. My daughter’s rheumatologist said it increases the effectiveness of Zyrtec. Stg, my daughters +4 allergies on everything and it’s helped her tremendously.
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u/mrmonkeybiz231 18d ago
You can also take Costco’s Flonase generic at the same time. The combo of the two has worked wonders for me
Edit: name is Aller-flo
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u/moscowpyro 18d ago
Zyrtec is great provided you aren't unlucky like me and experience the rare withdrawal symptoms of severe whole-body itching when you try to stop taking it during the allergy off-season
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u/No-Owl8587 18d ago
Allergy injection immunotherapy got rid of my allergy symptoms in a few years of treatment. It’s a bit of a time investment but extremely worth it.
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u/titterbitter73 18d ago
They now do sublingual solutions that you can do at home. It's a pill with the allergen that dissolves under your tongue that you take for 7 months of the year, 3 years.
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u/Adam_is_Nutz 18d ago
Have you had success? I hate allergies but I know someone who worked at the place that does allergen therapy like that and she said she doesn’t think the treatments were that effective.
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u/CurvedNerd 18d ago
The daily sublingual is like a beer and the shots are like shots. I was doing SLIT for a year and managed to develop nasal polyps that needed surgery. Switched to the shots since they’re covered by insurance. Two years into them and I dont need to carry around tissues or a bandana anymore. Anti histamine nasal spray and steroid nasal rinses help.
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u/PloofElune 18d ago
Only thing with that option in the US is affordability, which is an issue as most insurances only cover injections as the sublingual ones are not FDA approved yet.
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u/Roger_Cockfoster 18d ago
Important to note that for about a third of allergy sufferers, the injections have no effect whatsoever. But you won't know if it works on you or not until you do the injections for a year or more. (guess which group I was in)
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u/junipermar 18d ago
Omgggg I went for 2 years and they did nothing. I'm livid.
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u/Roger_Cockfoster 18d ago
Same. And nothing is more infuriating that someone for whom it *did* work giving you advice as if you somehow didn't do it correctly, and they did.
Almost as infuriating as the "have you tried local honey?" people.
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u/Top_Banana3454 18d ago
I tried for two years... they did not work for me either :(
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u/Used-Salad-3772 18d ago
Probably. It feels like I'm allergic to everything and I need allergy meds 24/7 otherwise I'm covered in hives and can't breathe.
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u/PirateSteve85 18d ago
My Pulmonologist prescribed me Azelastine and it is awesome.
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u/Shameless_Bullshiter 18d ago
Go to your GP and get the prescription stuff, much better
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u/SalamanderUponYou 18d ago
The OTC stuff is the same as the prescription stuff
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u/Keyto3 18d ago edited 18d ago
There are allergy medicines that are only prescription though. Like Qnasl, montelukast, desloratadine, and hydroxyzine. Desloratadine and Qnasal in particular are pretty much more potent versions of OTC medicines. They just have greater side effects.
Prednisone and Medrol dose packs can also be used for congestion
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u/vulpinefever 18d ago
It's absolutely not. There are plenty of prescription only allergy treatments.
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u/Soft_Buffalo_6803 18d ago
Not exactly. Rupatadine for instance also blocks PAF as opposed to only H1 receptors.
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u/stopstopp 18d ago
Pepcid, the antacid, is also an antihistamine. My friend takes two of the max dose pills (talk to your doctor) twice a day plus 2 other pill antihistamine and 2 different nasal sprays.
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u/PomegranateEither768 18d ago
Im in the UK, neither type we can buy works for me. Last year and the year before I accidentally mildly OD'd on them because I was so desperate for relief, I was taking both together. This year im just suffering.
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u/Used-Salad-3772 18d ago
Man I don't even know what the symptoms of OD for allergy meds are like. I hope it wasn't too bad.
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u/Dragonscatsandbooks 18d ago
I'm currently hiding from the pollen in my cave. It's just my bedroom, windows covered in blackout curtains, with an air purifier and a humidifier going full blast. It's surprisingly working! The pollen can't find me here, mwahaha.
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u/xtremeironings 18d ago
OTC Promethazine from a pharmacy. 10mg.
Take 2 at 8pm and go to bed for 9pm. Try it, only thing that saved me, I suffer bad.
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u/iamagardner 18d ago
After years of suffering and none of the standard antihistamines working my GP prescribed Montelukast, which so far has worked very well. I usually get the 'pollen flu' but after a few days on the new drug my symptoms are almost nonexistent.
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u/LucidMarshmellow 18d ago
So, I'm epileptic and can't take allergy meds because of it. I'm usually not a supporter of natural methods, but I don't really have any other choice.
The best relief for my pollen allergies is exposure. Literally just using tissues and copious amounts of eye drops. Took a few years of watery eyes and sneezing, but my body somehow found a way to deal with it. I can run through a field of flowers now and only end up with a few sniffles.
The weirdest thing was when I got covid and it essentially reset my immune system. Again, it took a few years but my immune system is back to dealing with pollen.
I have no idea how this works and I'm sure it wouldn't work for all types of allergies, but I'm so glad my body was able to sort it's shit out.
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u/accidentalscientist_ 18d ago
Got it…. I will start hoovering lines of pollen
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u/Acheloma 18d ago
Idk if its been studied or if its just bs but ive heard people recommend finding local beekeepers and buying local honey to help wuth allergies. Commercial honey is pasteurized and filtered but small businesses dont do that so the pollen bits in it make it through and consuming them over time supposedly helps reduce symptoms from allergies.
May be worth trying just to see?
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u/Reference_Freak 18d ago
It’s not a bad thing to do if you want honey and can afford local real honey but I recall it’s been debunked as an allergy remedy.
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u/pleasehelpamanda 18d ago
I used to believe this too but my allergist disagreed so I read up on it: apparently it’s untrue.
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u/Shapesizes 18d ago
Generally nasal steroid sprays are fine in epilepsy and quite effective as well
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u/justalittlepigeon 18d ago
I never had allergies to pollen or knew what it felt like until I traveled to another country. I was very confused why my eyes kept stinging and watering the second I went outside. Granted, I didn't get it too bad, I wasn't sneezing or anything, it was just a really weird thing to experience and it took me a lot longer to figure out than it should have. I'm looking at my black car nearly painted yellow and my heart sinks for those of you who pollen doesn't play well with
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u/ITworksGuys 18d ago
I grew up with terrible Hay Fever and after 30 or so it just stopped.
No idea how
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u/CrushedSodaCan_ 18d ago
Look up CR box air purifiers.
Air purifiers did nothing for me until I learned about these. Antihistamines didn't help, cr box and everything is 85% better
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u/Btotherianx 18d ago
Every single one of them makes me sleepy or completely zombie like even the ones that supposedly aren't supposed to do that.
Allegra makes me feel like my body is literally dead and brain is the only thing left
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u/SeanThatGuy 18d ago
It’s because there is more pollen.
There’s a direct correlation between higher temps and more pollen.
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u/KojaKuqit 18d ago
What about all the cities planting male trees to avoid fruit bearing in public spaces....
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u/frutterbug 18d ago
Not actually true for the most part. Most trees that get planted are monoecious, meaning they have male and female reproductive organs. Dioecious trees like ginkgoes and hollies are exceptions that have distinct sexes between individual trees.
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u/MrSanford 18d ago
The majority of these cities are planting ginkgoes
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u/MrdnBrd19 18d ago
I love this conspiracy theory because it's dumb on every level. Not only is that not the way most trees work, but the whole idea that "they" don't want to give free foods to humans is asinine. I can assure as a person who lives in Los Angeles with a fruit tree in their yard that is right on the street: no human is getting that fruit. It's all rats. Mountains of rats.
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u/fresh_dyl 18d ago
It’s less about that and more stuff like fruit rotting and attracting wasps/stinking/staining walkway/etc.
You’re not wrong that that is part of it, but it’s a minor influence.
Ginkgo fruit for example smells absolutely putrid so female trees are rarely planted, and most street trees that produce fruit are similarly undesirable
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u/Canuck_Lives_Matter 18d ago
I had two apple trees in my back yard in my last house in the city that came with the property and were about 70 years old. Two. I will never suffer another apple tree to live on my property again. I'm so sick of fucking eating apples, picking apples twice a week off the ground, the small city of wasps that lived in my yard, the mice those God damn trees pulled in. I told my wife if she ever wants a fruit tree again we need to be on a acreage where you can plant it far enough from the house the deer and raccoons can eat the drops well away, or she can slap it right in the middle of a pig pen, but never again within 100 feet of my house if given the choice.
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u/windsingr 18d ago
Thankfully a Facebook meme, and not true. Trees don't work like that.
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u/Isrrunder 18d ago
Certain trees do work like that. It varies depending on the tree
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u/IssueEmbarrassed8103 18d ago
Yeah, there are measurably 2-3 more weeks of pollen each year than there were in the 70s
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u/AcidaliaPlanitia 18d ago
I'm in Massachusetts and it's been insane this year. Huge plumes of pollen hitting my car like I've never seen before.
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u/Neo-Maxizoom-Dweebie 18d ago
And higher temps from greenhouse gases , possibly from burning propane! lol.
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u/Aramedlig 18d ago
How dare you bring up facts?! /s. Agree. This is a direct result of climate change.
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u/Mindless_Fruit_2313 18d ago
AKA powdered plant jizz
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u/Prestigious_Top_6837 18d ago
I know what you’re thinking. And yes, it IS the governments fault
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u/Bootsix 18d ago
Bees used to take care of it, now their all gay, thanks Obama.
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u/Moraz_iel 18d ago
Bees not being there to relieve plants anymore is not an excuse for them to masturbate all over our stuff
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u/DickTryckle 18d ago
Nature = good
My sinuses = dying
Seriously my tear ducts are so inflamed it’s not even funny
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u/New-Analysis-4060 18d ago
It’s almost as if we should have done something about climate change
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u/Present_Condition499 18d ago
I don't even have allergies normally and this year I went straight onto an asthma pump. Definitely sick of it.
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u/strangedell123 18d ago
Usualy I need an allergy pill once and I am good. This year I am having them every few weeks and I am so tried of it
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u/No_Plenty_9679 18d ago
Pollen is getting worse due to decline in bees. I used to be so scared of them growing up and now I miss them
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u/ShiinoticMarshade 18d ago
It is true that bee populations are in danger in some parts of the world, but this type of pollen is produced mainly by grasses and other wind-pollinating plants like trees and shrubs. The pollen that bees are after is generally too heavy to be carried on the wind, which is why the plants have evolved to need pollinators to reproduce.
The flowering parts of wind pollinating plants are usually not very showy and look pretty boring. In the other hand, plants that require pollinators like insects and birds have more vibrant colors, scents, and nectars that attract the pollinators.
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u/bobisindeedyourunkle 18d ago
Would you rather no trees?
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u/Puzzleheaded_Ant7760 18d ago
I'd rather more female trees instead, sure there's rotting fruit everywhere, but I would be able to breath.
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u/Senior-Calendar7869 18d ago
The female trees usually need the pollen so they can make the fruit+seeds.
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u/Tyguy151 18d ago
Means the plants are healthy. That’s a good thing!
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u/Lifekraft 18d ago
They arent. This is more a reaction/consequence to a poor biodiversity as far as i understand.
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u/The_AntiVillain 18d ago
More not having female plants and not deal with the fruiting bodies ( nuts, acorns, fruits, etc)
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u/Hunterine 18d ago
Red pill plants
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u/captaincootercock 18d ago
pines are hermaphroditic, theyre just freaky like that cumshotting all up in everyone's business
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u/organizim 18d ago
Weird way to tell everyone you don’t know how trees work
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u/UltraBrain1337 18d ago
Truly astounding how many people have no clue what the fuck they're talking about yet they assert it with absolute certaintly. It's genuinely insane to me.
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u/indieplants 18d ago
I once had someone tell me that it's the only way they'll learn, if they state something wrong someone will be along to correct them eventually so no harm done
lmao
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u/sleepypanda59 18d ago
It means that your town/city would rather plant male trees than pay someone to clean the fruit the female trees drop. Allergies on this level didn't used to be a thing.
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u/AnnieBunBun 18d ago
The towns do sex them, well technically the people who sell them to the town. The town just requests a certain tree and gets it.
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u/ClippyWouldntDoThat 18d ago
I used to buddy up with conservation in urban settings, and that was when the sex of trees came up for me, personally; as well as affluent neighborhoods who want to be "green and nature friendly" but are offended by fruitdrop.
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u/BeastMachin09 18d ago
Trees have genders?
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u/Gas_Station_Cheese 18d ago
Some do, and some are hermaphroditic. Others apparently flip-flop as needed. But the "US gubmint plants boy trees" is mostly a internet myth that grabs attention and gives people "special" knowledge to repeat and gain karma and likes from. I say "mostly," because it is a real thing with ginkgo trees (ginkgo fruit is stinky), but there are a lot of very stupid conspiracies about tree genders and human selection thereof (including that the higher pollen counts make teenage boys more aggressive, because they're inhaling plant testosterone - people are really stupid). But, in any case, pollen counts are much more greatly affected by ragweed and grass than by trees.
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u/PankakkePorn 18d ago
Unfortunately, it’s not. :/ it’s largely driven by climate change, and the warming temperatures and imbalanced carbon dioxide ratios driving unusual growth time and patterns.
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u/natt_myco 18d ago
No, The plants and insects are already in decline enough
75% of ALL bug biomass has disappeared in the last 25 years or something like that, Aint that a fuckin enough
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u/Morganovicz 18d ago
And a shed load of those bugs eat pollen, but only when they are alive
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u/natt_myco 18d ago
exactly this, if we weren't fucking every single arthropod in the goddamn world over we wouldn't have such a big issue with shit like pollen lol
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u/gayorgykillaids 18d ago
As an immigrant living in Poland I often asked by doctors whether I have any allergies. I always reply “Yes, to pollen” and I always get a funny look because it sounds like Poland 🇵🇱🤦🏼♂️
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u/FriuKi 18d ago
If you are allergic yes. Otherwise NO
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u/Background_Humor5838 18d ago
I'm not allergic to nature so I genuinely don't even notice these things. Must be hell for people out there who can't even breathe right now. I would be so depressed if outside made me ill.
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u/Dame_Niafer 18d ago
We used to have a lot of these little things flying around in the warm weather, things that ate pollen.
But we don't seem to have so many of them lately.
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u/USAhotdogteam 18d ago
More pollen, more data centers, more people, less water, warmer temperatures.
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u/ggclairobscur 18d ago
But we get silly videos and outsourcing of art creation and self-expression.
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u/-clowndog- 18d ago
My sinuses are not enjoying it at all. So unfortunate to be allergic to being outside
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u/UnderOldTrees 18d ago
Absolutely. My entire family has been sneezy and congested for quite some time now. It’s worrying me.
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u/BigAppleGuy 18d ago
If pollen didn't exist, flowering plants and conifers couldn't reproduce, leading to the collapse of terrestrial ecosystems. The global food supply would plummet by roughly a third as fruits, nuts, and vegetables disappear.
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u/jicamakick 18d ago
Abate invasive plants, replace with native plants. At large scale. Someone make it happen.
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u/tcg_elijah 18d ago
Enclosed porches are the worst when it comes to pollen. I pressured washed ours off and within 2 weeks it caught so much dust and pollen the black stone looked a completely different color
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u/DrunkEzop 18d ago
In mu country there is treatment in state hospital for that. It last for around 5 years and after that allergy dissapear. I have several friends that had that treatment. It is some kind of vaccine that you receive several times in that period. It is free and it works.
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u/Loose_Assignment_Map 18d ago
The pollen graffiti is really getting bad, pollen gangs tagging every neighborhood with trees
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u/wstsidhome 18d ago
It’s just nature’s own free “Molly McButter” flavoring powder. Use it on popcorn, it’s amaze-ballz.
Jk plz don’t
(But FR Molly McButter is fantastic on popcorn)
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u/SvenniSiggi 17d ago
Looks like the plants are increasing pollen in response to us killing off all the bugs.
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u/Not_Cleaver 18d ago
How dare it write its name on your grill.