Relative Something

This is what I learned yesterday after my visit to an allergist: I respond to dust mites, an outdoor mold, and cats. It may, or may not, be triggering an asthma response. My asthma is relatively mild.

There is no longer a cat living in my house. The coming freeze of winter will end exposure to outdoor molds. There are steps I can take to control my exposure to dust mites. I can take a higher dose of control medication, half as often, to control my asthma symptoms. All things considered, my health problems are hardly serious concerns.

The controlled exposure to allergens was not difficult for me at all. I was given the back scratches and didn’t experience any severe reaction. The particular areas of irritation are visible as a reddening, which they measure to record a reading. I hardly noticed any ill effects until I was driving home. Then I started to feel a headache and for the rest of the day felt out of sorts, with some general body aches felt like the onset of illness. It didn’t help my general mood, either. I started to get kind of grouchy, but that might be more a result of the constant clamor overhead at the day-job from workers redoing the flat roof. Everyone was growing weary of the constant drone of the roofer’s radio, tuned to a station that sounded like non-stop mariachi music. But, it is probably the sudden unidentifiable booms and bangs that take the greater toll. What the heck are they dropping up there?

Most importantly, from the appointment with the allergy doctor, there is no indication of my being allergic to horses or to hay. I better get to work on the finishing touches of preparing our home for sale in the spring. Full dream ahead!