A bit of relief, perhaps.

Ugh. This is ragweed, the bane of breathers in the fall. It the only thing I dislike about fall. It has been dry and my allergies have been in overtime. I sleep so soundly that getting up in the morning is difficult.

Over the past weekend, my eyes were bright red and horribly itchy. I woke up on Sunday with the right eye crusted shut, not a good thing. I know what this is, allergy eyes compounding this syndrome I have where the oil glands in my eyelids get plugged and don't produce as much oil as is necessary to keep the eye lubricated. I have to get a hot as I can stand washcloth and put it over my eyes to open up the pores. Then add an eye drop for dry eyes and I'm good. Of course, a warm compress over my eyes will also put me to sleep.

I used to take Zyrtec, but seem to have developed a resistance to it. My doctor gave me Allegra-D, but at $35 a month for that, I can't afford it. I bought Target brand antihistamine. That seems to work but I have to remember to take it every night before bed. As tired and run-down as I've been feeling, remembering isn't very good. I have Ricola cough drops and I bought some new eye drops, having found the note from the eye doctor on what he recommended. I used them for the first time last night, Soothe brand. After an initial sting, which the packaging said could happen, they lived up to their name. This morning, my eyes didn't feel so itchy. Once in the morning and once at night combined with the allergy pill and I can see myself turning a corner on feeling better in a few days. After 2 days of eye drops and allergy pills, I had more energy last night after work than I'd had in the previous 4 days.

The other problem is, given the age of my house and the problems I've had with water in the basement, I'm sure there are allergens in the house. I have little to no energy to devote to cleaning. I've done what I have to. I made chocolate chip muffins last night which lifts my spirits.

When I try to tough it out, that's when I get into trouble. I need the chilly weather to come. A good hard freeze would be handy right now. Yes, that is the harbinger of winter and snow and cold, but when you're coughing, sneezing and have itchy, red eyes, that's what you want.

Beverage: China Black tea

Deb