Allergy symptoms at same time as attack

[CHfather]

My daughter (the person in my family with CH) gets intense allergy symptoms at the same time as her attacks -- starting just before an attack and ending just after it.  Itchy eyes, nasal congestion, a lot of sneezing.  I know some of this is CH symptoms, but she knows the difference.  We are wondering whether this is true for anyone else.

This is not a D3 question. She's on the full regimen and some of the "Full Monty" elements. There are zero reported pollens where she lives.  Her attacks are so mild (right now) that she isn't using O2 to abort, just tea -- so it isn't anything in her O2 system.  Like I say, just wondering whether anyone else has had this odd thing happen.

[jon019]

....i'd bang some Benadryl...even with the FM. sounds like a "histamine bomb" from an allergic reaction.....more likely leading to a CH vs the other way round. it is almost spring, pollen could be around, check for house mold, new carpet?, new whatever?....  and brush any pets outside before they come in....allergens on fur maybe....

[BoscoPiko]

4 hours ago, CHfather said:

There are zero reported pollens where she lives.

Could she possibly just be around something that she is unknowingly allergic to when the attacks come on?

[BoscoPiko]

Guess I should have read Jon's post all the way through as he basically said the same thing 

[dmlonghorn]

This describes mine as well. I refer to it as a histamine cascade.

Sometimes the sneezing is absolutely uncontrollable... My face builds up like a pressure cooker.

I take a daily Zyrtec to mitigate this. My heavy cycle period is right around the corner, we'll see how this year goes.

[CHfather]

3 hours ago, dmlonghorn said:

I take a daily Zyrtec to mitigate this. My heavy cycle period is right around the corner, we'll see how this year goes.

Thanks, dm',

The daily Zyrtec reduces but doesn't eliminate the "allergy" symptoms?

And fingers crossed for you anticipated heavy cycle not to be too darn heavy.

[Rod H]

Yes ChJedimaster I have experienced the same prior to some of my clusters.

[dmlonghorn]

22 hours ago, CHfather said:

The daily Zyrtec reduces but doesn't eliminate the "allergy" symptoms?

That's correct.

[Tony Only]

I have this. For me it started to be a problem though as recent as 2017 and by that time I had CH more or less under control. So I am not sure have I had minor allergy attacks along with CH attacks when I was having lots of them and they still were brutal (CCH over 10 years ago).

I think there are many factors in my past that have contributed to this; as a child my father built a house and then it turned out there was glue that contained formaldehyde that was too toxic for children to live in and we abandoned the house but my little brother already had lung damage from it (asthma like allergic symptoms). I have lived in apartments that have had more or less severe indoor air quality issues (mold, chemicals used in the past that have now been banned etc.). I smoked for over 20 years but do not consider that a big contributing factor but quitting smoking is another thing, having all that tar being removed from my pipes ! When I quit, pretty soon I started to have these allergy attacks, even without CH activity, then asthma broke. None of the antihistamines have never touched these. Now I usually get allergy attacks if I get CH activity but not every time. It depends have I had exposure to something in the air recently. I get these year around evenly, even when there's zero amount of any kind of pollen - like now, we are having -10 to -20 celcius cold period, snow covered ground, no pets.

I also think that in my case this could be linked to my gut health to some extent. The healthier I eat the less I have these allergy attacks.

Nowadays if I have to talk to doctors about this, I call it "non-allergic oversensitive rhinitis" because that is the most accurate match in finnish medical literature - although I do not think that's what this exactly is. Everytime I get told to use nasal sprays with cortisone, which I never do because they trigger CH and more of this all.

I also have self-diagnosed rather mild multichemical sensitivity (MCS) related to this.

Edited March 12, 2023 by Tony Only

[Tony Only]

If I have worse symptoms (like severe burning in my nose on the CH side) before or related to these allergy attacks, I usually start to track any items that are new or are presumably been exposed to outdoor molds. These are not always very clear or obvious. Last time it was a rug bought from a second hand store, before that a kitchen table friends donated (visible mold beneath the table) to us and even a garden statue that was bought as a new item at store.

Dry air and dust may also be irritating factors in my case, probably the "nasty particles" spread more efficiently this way.

EDIT: in Finland we have a nice combination of four seasons, very little sunlight in 3 of them and shitty building skills and use of plastic compared to how houses were built 100 years ago. The phenomenon of people getting sick due to bad indoor air is still very much denied and debated (especially by the responsible parties)
https://yle.fi/a/3-11242805

Edited March 13, 2023 by Tony Only

[spiny]

I get the formaldehyde mess. I looked at one place years ago Tony, with a 7 year old in tow. His eyes were bright red in minutes and mine were burning. Nope, cannot live here! 

I told my doc once that I needed something for my mold and mildew allergies. I was told 'Leave the planet.' So, that is a problem. 

I know that you think that in the dead of winter there can be no allergens. I used to think the same. When I moved from the deep south to the near north over 30 years ago, I had the idea that my kids and I would suffer less from allergies and asthma. I was informed that actually, that was wrong! I had moved from an area with one allergy free month to one with no allergy free months! It depends on the winds transporting pollen junk to you apparently. The winds can blow mess from the Sahara  around the world. 

Do you have access to Trelegy for your asthma? It has been the biggest help for me over the years. It gets my O2 above 90% if I am up and moving around and that is a huge help!! 

It is good to hear from you again Dude!! Give the little one a squeeze from me. 

[Tony Only]

On 3/13/2023 at 7:42 PM, spiny said:

Do you have access to Trelegy for your asthma? It has been the biggest help for me over the years. It gets my O2 above 90% if I am up and moving around and that is a huge help!! 

It is good to hear from you again Dude!! Give the little one a squeeze from me. 

Mild and mildew allergies over here are a thing that everyone knows are real (and probably knows someone severely affected by them) but no one "officially" wants to admit this - before they need to take down entire buildings and build new ones. But the admission is still local.

Our meds are pretty strictly regulated over here, it looks like one can only get Trelegy for COPD in Finland and it is strictly prohibitied to use in asthma. I am managing quite well when I am able to stay in healthy spaces. Being stuffy during sleep is the biggest challenge CH wise. I'm doing very well atm on a bit higher dosed Batch regimen.

Always nice to pop in here - warm loving squeeze is delivered ! He is sending one back right at ya 

Edited March 16, 2023 by Tony Only

[spiny]

I have done the same Tony. My base D3 intake was increased last year from 10k to 15k. 

That is surprising for Trelegy since it is marketed here for asthma too! Sorry you cannot try it. Finding a place that is new enough and dry enough not to have mold or mildew can be hard!! 

Thanks for the sweet squeeze!! 

[Tony Only]

21 hours ago, spiny said:

I have done the same Tony. My base D3 intake was increased last year from 10k to 15k. 

Same for me too ! Doing 10k I still got migraine activity and sometimes CH too, now 15k keeps me pain free.

Happy for you @spiny