Hayfever horrors!

I was a perfectly ordinary and healthy person in India. Well, average at least. But I was good for my first 3 years in Aotearoa. Then some long-forgotten genes started showing up. That and living in NZ make a deadly combo. Called allergic rhinitis (Commonly called hayfever).

Horror of horrors!! It has me in its grip thoughout the year. Not just in spring when the pollen is doing its rounds. It's not just hayfever. It's anything fever. Folding clothes, cooking, eating, walking, going into another room at home _ anything can set it off!

I sneeze, and sneeze and ......... My eyes start itching, my nose starting watering. I start wheezing. Quickly pop a pill in. It is supposed to have instant effect!! Ha. Whatever. I try my nasal spray, still no effect. The wheezing becomes bad and I reach for the inhaler.

Nothing works. My whole day is ruined. So y'day, I popped the second pill, against my doc's wishes. Still it was night time by the time I was ok.

I had taken off work on Wednesday and Thursday to take the kids out. On Wednesday, my hayfever wasn't too bad. We went shopping and then we went to Avalon park to feed the duckies and play. Had a picnic there. Not bad at all.

But Thursday was disaster. Went out for a walk with Lalitha. Her kids and Nandana went cycling. Nandita walked with me. I got it bad then. Got back home and after lunch, much against my better judgement, went to Queensgate shopping mall to pick some clothes for Nandana. That too by bus, as I had promised to Nandita (and anyways, this time of the year, parking is a pain in Queensgate) God, it was AWFUL!! I couldn't even enjoy my icecream!! Miserable. I spent more time trying to breathe fully and not to rub my eyes too hard (with my eyes being what they are!!) than I did shopping. Finally, I did pop pill # 2 after I got back home. But by the time the effect kicked in, it was night. I had a very good night's sleep. And I know I will be ok the next couple of days. Till the next attack.

Gosh, this is one of the things I HATE about NZ. But gotta live with it. After all, it's only here that you can take your kids with you to work during school hols (Nandana is with Shiv, at his work now). And all said and done, I love this place.