Ragweed: What is this thing you speak of?

I don't know about the rest of you, but this weather is KILLING me. I, as many of you know, have allergies. Allergies so bad that I get shots twice a month. Big deal, right? Well, I suspect some of you may not have the commitment to going every two weeks to get your shots. I know there have been plenty of times I haven't wanted to go, haven't made time to go and just don't want to deal with it.

But then...

You have to go MORE OFTEN when you miss your timeframe. It's like this. When you first start getting shots, they give you a small dose, then it gradually gets bigger until you are at your maintenance level. For some that's once a month, one a season, etc. For me, it's twice a month, or every two weeks. They have a 7 day grace period and I sometimes I have to use that if I'm going to be out of town. But when you miss your window altogether, they drop your dose down & have to build it back up - meaning you have to go to get shots more often! See, this is not a good thing to miss!

(And let me add, the more you have to go to get shots, the more you have to pay!)

When I was tested to see what I was allergic to, some things were a given like dogs & cats. I have known I was allergic to them since I was a kid & my eyes would itch like crazy if i got a face-full of animal fur. What they also discovered was that I was allergic to pollen, grass, dust mites and ragweed.

Just what is ragweed, you ask... It's a weed, most common in the Eastern states (hello, blogging from VA!!!), that lives only one season (right now?!) but produces up to...

are you sitting down???

... O.N.E. Billion. pollen grains. That's PER PLANT, people! Not only does it have lots to spread, it can spread it quite far. Ragweed has been measured in the air 400 miles out to sea and 2 miles up in the atmosphere.

It really looks like there's not running from it!

Needless to say, this has been an 'icky' week for me with the hot, post-Labor Day temps & dry, windy days. Bet that ragweed is in every nook & cranny of my world about now!

There is good news (albeit pointless in my book)! I'm not allergic to mold & those levels are quite high right now. I would like someone to tell me how that works with the drought we are in!

Anyway, i'll just keep plugging along, plugging things up, coughing & sneezing things out... all around annoying my husband with the sounds one with allergies has!

Someone pass me a tissue, please!