Even though
I've been told drinking a lot of water can't help allergies -- apparently,
allergens aren't as easy to purge from the system as toxins -- I have
to give my water drinking habit at least partial credit. Or maybe it's
the wide array of vitamins I take each morning (multivitamin, chromium
picolinate, vitamin C, vitamin E, glucosomine chondrotin, baby aspirin),
which takes an entire glass of water to wash them all down.
This year,
instead of the sniffling and sneezing, my allergies are making me itchy.
Before I take my morning shower, I feel as if I've been rolling in itching
powder.
The problem
with these new symptoms is my habit of waiting until after I hit the gym
to take a shower. This makes sense, of course, because otherwise I'd have
to take two showers. But lately, it takes enormous self-control not to
bounce around the gym, scratching wildly, like a Warner Brothers cartoon.
This is
further proof, of course, that I'm turning into my dog. I asked my vet
once why my dog was scratching a lot when I knew she had flea protection
and didn't have any skin problems. The vet said she had sensitive skin
and allergies. Una spent all of last fall with a bright pink belly due
to her allergies. I had to keep a close eye on her, to prevent her from
scratching.
When the
itching gets the worst, I'd almost be willing to exchange it for my previous
symptoms. However, I do think that it's best not to medicate and with
these symptoms, meds are less necessary.
I remember
once, as a reporter, when I was in the county courthouse writing down
the week's real estate transactions, marriage licenses and divorce decrees.
My allergies were particularly bad that day, and I had taken a Benedryl
for relief. Suddenly, as I'm pouring through the black binder of property
transactions, I'm thinking, "I'm really enjoying this! I feel really
great!" A pause while this sunk in. "How in the hell am I going
to drive home?"
I guess
it's better, then, that I'm turning into my dog, because at least I can
avoid Benedryl head.
The neighbors
on the corner finally put a fence in their backyard for their two dogs.
They got these dogs because they loved Una and used to love petting her
when she went by. Then they got two puppies who rapidly became big dogs
with puppy mentalities. Una always wants to play with them, but if my
neighbors have them on a leash, this makes a heck of a scene, dogs pulling
wildly and dragging humans after.
So they
finally got themselves a fence and can now let their boys out in the yard.
The fence isn't very tall. It's like a standard split-rail fence that
you'd see in a field, with green chickenwire to cover the holes. When
we walked by the other day and Una went up to the fence to rub noses with
them, one of the dogs got up on his hind legs and put his paws on top
of the fence. So, really, the only thing that's really keeping those dogs
in the yard is psychology. It's because they don't really want to leave.
And that, after all, is the most effective fence you can build.
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