During my annual health checkup I asked my family doctor if I can start the allergy shots again to try and get a better handle on my allergic reactions every summer. Maybe its just mu imagination but it seems I feel worse every year.

Dr. Saha referred me to Dr. Babu and today I had an allergy test. The last one I had was in 1997 so Dr. Babu wanted to do another test to see if my allergies have changed.

They haven't changed much but I got more detailed info this time. I am still allergic to grass, moss, weeds, pollen, trees, etc. but Birch trees affect me the most. Apparently I am slightly allergic to cats although I've never noticed it. The other items such as dust, mites, etc were in the results as well.

Dr. Babu recommended a seasonal instead of a year-long process. I will now get six shots, one per week, starting in January 2010. These six shots will concentrated enough to help me get through the entire spring and summer season.

Let's hope they work!

In the meantime, Nasonex and Claritin are my best friends.

Hello 2009! Sunday, April 19th, was the first horrible allergy-day of the year. I barely slept because of blocked and inflamed sinuses which make it very hard to breathe properly. This year I'm trying out a new nasal spray called Hydrasense. So far it's worked pretty well.. clears out the blockage almost instantly for a few hours. I've started the Claritin routine as well. I have an appointment with my doctor on May 1st and I'm planning on asking him if I can re-start the allergy shots treatment. I used to get weekly shots back in 1998 and then stopped after 3 years. Now that I have a car, I don't have to take public transit anymore so going to the clinic every week wouldn't be such a hassle.

Cheers to all fellow seasonal allergy sufferers. Hello to Spring!