‘Tis The Season To Be Sneezy…
May 30th, Oregon. In the Willamette Valley. Enough said!
I am sure every allergy-sufferer will empathize with me. Willamette Valley has pollen counts nearly four times what is considered “very high.” Grass pollen counts in the Willamette Valley are among the highest in the world. A recent report from Oregon Allergy Associates says they have measured grass pollen counts above 750 parts per cubic meter. Anything above 200 is considered “very high.” And among all the various allergens I was tested for once upon a time, I happen to be the most allergic to the grass pollen!
I have been allergic to seasonal pollen for the longest I can remember. It used to be dust allergies while I was growing up in India. I was also miserable during the “allergy season” when I landed in Pittsburgh about 2 decades back. Constantly tired and not able to focus on my research, I decided to visit an Allergist. I had recently discovered that such a doctor existed. It used to be the same Homeopathy or Allopathy doctor who treated my common cold and accidental falls who was employed to treat my allergies. Safe to say, I never got cured or found much relief back in India in the 80s and 90s.
The allergist in Pittsburgh put me through a series of tests and concluded that I was allergic to 20 of the 24 allergens he exposed my forearm skin to as part of the ‘prick test’. The notorious 20 included grass of various types (I didn’t even know grass came in different varieties until then), maple trees (which were abundant in Pittsburgh), various types of weed (not the smoking variety), and some chosen pet types including cats & dogs. He pretty much told me I was very sick and needed treatment — fortunately, we’re only talking about allergies. The treatment was duly started. Boy! was it painful? An allergy shot to my triceps every week, alternating between my left and right arm, for 3 years straight. Good news: It helped. I was as near to being cured as can be. My immunity to the majority pollen found in the Pittsburgh area had become very robust. I was supposedly also getting treated for other pollen types but I didn’t care. I could go outside for a run and play cricket without being afraid of itchy nose, headache, bad throat and sleepless nights. But then, I graduated.
Finishing my PhD meant I had to relocate out of Pittsburgh. It also meant I was going to get exposed to new types of pollen. And I chose IBM in upstate NY for my first job after graduate school — great choice for my professional career; really bad choice for somebody with my allergies. I was fresh meat for the pollen community of Poughkeepsie region. Zyrtec, Claritin, Allegra and Singulair became my best buddies. Flonase was a lifesaver. And the age-old Benadryl became my sleeping partner during those 4 weeks of hell…every year. Office work and kids in my life meant I could not afford the time commitment that getting another 3 years of allergy shots demanded. Neither was I looking forward to that experience all over again. Neti-pot came to the rescue, briefly. Eventually, I just learned to live with it. Between Poughkeepsie and later Malta (a small town near Albany, NY), I had lived in the upstate-NY region for almost a dozen years, which helped. Apparently, human body “adjusts”. I had learned about a phenomenon called Homeostasis back in middle-school Biology. More than homeostasis, I think my body just grew enough antibodies to fight those allergens. I still needed a daily dose of Zyrtec or Allegra but the symptoms were far better, much mellower and much more manageable. I could bear 4 weeks of mini-hell.
And then we relocated to Beaverton, OR in 2018. In the middle of Willamette Valley. Famed for it’s grapes and wines. Famed for its scenic beauty and great weather. Famed for the evergreen forests, nearby ocean beaches, and gorgeous mountain peaks, all within a 2 hour drive. But also called one of the pollen capitals of America. In 2013, pollen counts in the valley jumped up to 694, prompting a doctor from the Oregon Allergy Associates to deem the region as the place with the “highest grass pollen counts in the world which will easily be higher than any count in the country — really, in the world,” he said. The only saving grace, if you can call that, is that though pollen counts in Oregon are above much of the U.S., the city of Islamabad is actually the true allergy capital of the world. The city regularly sees pollen counts of 30,000. Not that I was ever planning a trip to Islamabad, highest pollen count is another reason for me to avoid that city.
I used to think rain is a good thing, to squash and drown the airborne pollen. So I used to go out during slight drizzles or immediately after it had rained. But my allergy symptoms were unrelenting. And then I found out that apparently, the rain isn’t supposed to help me at all: When it rains, grass pollen is often just broken down into smaller pieces. Go figure.
I suffered much last year but this year is different for many reasons. 2020 has been different than any year anybody alive today has ever experienced in their lives. Yes, I am talking about COVID-19. Everything has a bright side though. Every cloud has a silver lining. When it comes to the ongoing COVID-19 induced lock-down, the bright side for me is the fact that I stay indoors most of the time and the few times I go outside, wearing masks is the “in-thing.” Take that you pollen!
