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Allergies: Bec says goodbye and good riddance to allergies

beautiful girl catching a cold
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‘My Experience’: Bec says goodbye and good riddance to allergies

Now that Rebecca is older, her friends know her as ‘Bec’, but when she was younger, her classmates just knew her as the girl with the runny nose. Bec has successfully overcome the annoying and often embarrassing affliction of allergies and now wants to pass on her experience to let others know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.


Light or oncoming train?

“There’s always a light,” Bec says.

However, many people suffering from allergies may feel like there is only more sniffling further down the tunnel. Bec had a long experience with allergies and grappled with hayfever since she was in Year Four, especially in spring.

“I’ve had allergies for as long as I can remember,” she says.

“I’ve had hayfever and I’ve had other allergies, like to cat hair and dust.

“I was always sniffing a lot when I was young. I used to live in the bush, in the Darling Ranges, so I was constantly surrounded by pollen.


“It can be embarrassing. When I was in primary school, I was sniffing all the time, and whoever I was sitting next to would tell me to stop sniffing. But even blowing your nose doesn’t make it stop.”

Patient experience: allergiesThis is a symptom everyone with bad allergies can relate to, and Bec says it was the worst part of the condition.

“My nose was always running, so I had to carry tissues everywhere.

“I used to get asthma quite a bit, too, so it was always difficult trying to do sport.”


The nose knows

Sometimes it’s only until sufferers realise their nose has stopped running or itching that they notice how bad the allergies actually are.

“Having allergies was very annoying, but you can get so used to it that you don’t realise how bad it is until you are removed from the allergens and experience relief,” Bec says.


“I was in about Year 8 when I realised I was actually experiencing hayfever and not just getting constant colds.

“I suggest talking to your doctor to get treatments or removing the allergens altogether.

“For example, I once house-sat a place with cats and I woke up with one huge, puffy, itchy eye. I realised then I couldn’t really be around cats.

“I moved house recently to a place without any carpet or curtains, so there are fewer places where dust can build up. I’m also in the middle of the city instead of the bush, so there are fewer allergens around.

“It wasn’t until a few months after I moved that I realised just how much better my allergies are, and how bad they’d been before.

For people who can’t necessarily get away from the allergens, you definitely have the option of treatments, both preventative and for when allergies strike.


From allergy grief to a sigh of relief


Patient experience: allergiesBec has both used medications and removed as many of the allergens that affect her to reduce the annoying symptoms of allergies. She says sometimes preventative measures are often the best.

“For example, I made sure for about a month before my wedding that I was taking medications rigorously, and I was very happy on the day … extremely happy, in fact,” she says with a smile.

“There’s always something you can do and you don’t have to let it affect your quality of life.”

Springtime may be the season of hayfever, but it is also a season of change. So if you’ve never taken steps to beat your allergies before, why not start now?

Before you know it, you’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel is the warm sun of spring!

 

More information


Spring allergies
For more information on spring allergies, including why people get allergies, how allergies affect you and how to prevent them, as well as some useful animations and videos, see Spring Allergies
.
Allergic conjunctivitis For more information about allergic conjunctivitis and its subtypes, see Allergic Conjunctivitis.

Diseases relevant to this personal experience:

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Dates

Posted On: 28 September, 2010
Modified On: 24 March, 2011


Created by: myVMC