Alas! It's grass!

For the better part of the past two days, I’ve been in a Benadryl-induced stupor, necessitated by an allergy to one of the best-smelling things in the world: fresh-cut grass. To my knowledge, I never had allergies in my life until I was 42. One night that year I went to bed with a light case of the sniffles, and the next morning I woke up in a world of spinning rooms. For the next three days, if I ventured out of bed at all, I lurched like a stumbling drunk.

At the time I had no idea what caused it. My grandmother, Lola (a/k/a Mammaw), used to have “dizzy spells” occasionally and had been told by her doctor that it was an inner-ear condition. I assumed that must be my problem, too, and in a way it was. At the time, I was too sick to go to the doctor for a diagnosis. Mammaw lived to the age of 92 despite her occasional dizziness, so I decided just to stay in bed and wait it out.

My boyfriend back then (the magician), suggested that my dizziness might be allergy related, but I pooh-poohed that idea immediately. Allergies were his affliction, not mine. Then, a few days after I was on my feet again, I picked up a magazine and discovered an article about allergic reactions. One of them, to my surprise, was dizziness. The article described symptoms just like those I’d experienced, and it suggested antihistamines for relief.

Next time--and there have been many next times, more in the spring and fall--I was prepared. I’ve learned through experience that I can prevent full-blown vertigo by taking Benadryl at the first sign of symptoms. If I don't pay attention to the least little bit of drippiness in my nose, that drippy fluid will build up inside my ear canals in a matter of hours and I'll become one sick drunk.

You'll be glad to know I’ve just deleted an additional half page full of boring, allergy-related stuff. Let’s just sum it up by saying I walked outside on Friday while my daughter was cutting my grass–-even though I knew I shouldn’t be out there–-and inhaled a snootful of airborne grass pollen. The histamines my body produced in response to that particular dose of pollen have put up a mighty battle, so I’ve taken more Benadryl than usual. And all I’ve wanted to do this weekend is sleep.

Now that you’ve read all the boring, allergy-related stuff I didn’t delete, I’m sure you could use a little nap yourself. Sweet dreams.