Sneezing...sneezing! I need tissues!

Aaaaa chooo! Argh....I think I've got my allergic rhinitis back...It's been bothering me for many times this week. Around 4-5 a.m in the morning, it'll wakes me up from my deep sleep and I'll be continuously sneezing and have blocked nose...making me awake till I take antihistamine medication.  

I was diagnosed with allergic rhinitis by my ENT lecturer when I was a student in HUKM. Since then, I have to take Aerius (Desloratadine) 5 mg with nasal spray every morning so that my symptoms are controlled. After few years on treatment, I am free with the symptoms and I stopped taking them few years back (I thought it's gone already). But now I guess my old disease is back  : (  I'll get rhinitis when exposed with dust and cold. So, usually I'll get it every  morning and by noon it'll resolved. I also have to wear a face mask to avoid sniffing dust when I clean up the house...quite a burden, huh?

 

There's always been an allergy trait in my family..my father has this rhinitis also. My younger brother has asthma during his childhood years. Luckily, I don't have asthma YET, but I have allergic rhinitis and eczema...my eczema quite bad...my skin especially the fingers are dry and itchy if I eat too much seafood.

Allergic rhinitis is an inflammation of the nasal airways. It occurs when the immune system overreacts upon exposure to allergens, such as animal dander, dust mites, debris or flower pollen. Allergies are common and it often passed down through families. Other disorders that is associated with allergies include eczema and asthma.

Symptoms that occur include :

• Itchy nose, eyes, throat, skin, mouth or any areas in contact with allergens
• Runny nose
• Sneezing and congestion
• Tearing eyes
• Headache
• Fatigue
• Cough

Treatment

The best treatment is to avoid what causes your allergic symptoms in the first place. It may be impossible to avoid all the triggers, but you can often take steps to reduce the exposure.

There are many different medications to treat allergic rhinitis according to the severity of your symptoms, your age, and whether you ave other medical conditions such as asthma.

For mild allergic rhinitis, a nasal wash is helpful in removing mucus from the nose. You can purchase a saline solution at pharmacy or make one at home using a cup of warm water, half a teaspoon of salt and pinch of baking soda.

Medications available for treating moderate and severe allergic rhinitis are antihistamines, nasal corticosteroids and decongestants. For me, I take antihistamines and nasal corticosteroids :

Migraine, oh migraine!

Pity my husband...going back home today with a very bad migraine. Lately, he has been having it quite frequently. He said, maybe he's stressed in work....there's so much work with all the audits that give you headache. Usually, we buy outside food for dinner and eat at home coz I'm too tired to cook if on working days...malas jugak nak masak sebenarnya..hehe. For tonight, I just made spaghetti...simple and fast :)

I'm sure many of you also experienced migraine. According to World Health Organization (WHO), migraine ranks among the world's top 20 most disabling chronic conditions. So, what really triggers migraine?

Stress                                               80%

Hormone fluctuations                 65%

Sleep disturbances                  50%

Perfumes or smells               44%

Neck pain                        39%

Lights                              38%

Smoke                           36%

Sleeping late                 32%

Heat                            30%

Food                         27%

Exercise                  22%

Sex              5%

Identify your causes of migraine and find a solution to it. What my hubby usually do, he take panadol and sleep in a dim room : )

RED eye!

This morning, I woke up with a red eye..oh,no! Do I have conjunctivitis? I've been a contact lens user for years, but this is the first time I got it. I'm just afraid if it is conjunctivitis, then it is infectious and I must be careful not to transmit it to my daughter and husband. I went to work as usual, then ask my boss to be excused and see the eye doctor (opthalmologist) at my workplace. 
Dr. Tan examined my eyes with her eye gadget (not sure what it's called :P )...my cornea is ok...no ulcer or laceration. Then she put an eye stain (orange fluorescence in colour) on my right eye and examined with the microscope again. I'm relieved when she told me there's nothing to worry about...it's not conjunctivitis, probably just because my eyes are dry due to contact lens wearing.

Why is my eye red?

1. Conjunctivitis

Is an inflammation or infection of the conjunctiva, a protective layer that coats the front part of the eye. This can be caused by viruses, bacterias, allergies or toxic substances.

2. Blepharitis

An inflammation of the follicles along the eyelid. May be caused by poor eyelid hygiene, lice on the eyelashes, allergic reactions or bacterial infections.

3. Dry eyes

4. Frequent use of eye drops

Surprisingly, frequent use of eye drops that we use when our eyes are red can cause a red eye too. These whitening eye drops cause our blood vessels in the eye to dilate, thus the eye appear more bloodshot.

5. Eye injury

Any injury or damage to the eye due to trauma 

6. Contact lens wear

If you wear contact lenses for long hours, the eyes can become red like me. In some people, simply having contact lens in the eye can cause redness.

7. Corneal ulcer or infection

8. Uveitis

Causes redness, pain, blurry vision, light sensitivity and floater. It must be treated quickly because it can cause bad complications.

9. Subconjunctival haemorrhage

Caused by a bursted blood vessel due to straining, coughing, trauma, high blood pressure or certain blood disordes.

10. Acute angle closure glaucoma

A serious medical emergency and must be treated immediately. It causes painful red eye which usually occurs in one eye.

Home Care

How to care for your red eye at home? Here are some tips :

•  Avoid touching the infected eye and then rubbing the other eye...it can easily spread to the other eye!
• Wash your hands frequently
• Avoid eye makeup or wear contact lens until the infection clears up. You should also throw away items like these that you have used on the infected eye
• Apply cold or warm compressers on the eye

When to go to hospital?

• After a penetrating injury to the eye
• You have headache along with blurred vision
• Your eyes are red longer than 1-2 days
• You have eye pain or vision changes
• You have nausea and vomiting
• You are seeing halos around lights
• You have yellow or greenish discharges from the eye
• Your eyes are very sensitive to light

For my eye problem, I was given chloramphenicol ointment and artificial tears..

What I mentioned above is just a rough guideline about red eye. For more detailed info, you should see an opthalmologist. Eyes are very precious as they give us sight to see this beautiful world. So, don't take your eye problem lightly!