Friday, January 26, 2007

Ever hear of Cedar Fever?

If you live anywhere within a few hundred miles of the kind of cedars we have in Central Texas, you probably have.

Cedar Fever is the common name people give to an allergic reaction for the pollen spewed forth by the Texas hill country cedars, starting about two weeks after the first freeze of the winter. Some folks are completely unaffected. Others, if sensitive, are completely incapacitated.

My younger daughter Amy lived near Austin (Round Rock) for a few years, and when the cedar pollen hit the air the first winter, she was bedridden with headache, fever, and other symptoms. Total incapacitation.

Fortunately she was properly diagnosed and given a prescription for some anti-allergy stuff that kept the reaction at bay. Her doctor told her to take it daily starting about a week after the first freeze. The next winter she was... what? ...re-capacitated? In other words, mostly unaffected.

I've never had a problem with cedar pollen in the past. In fact, I have no known allergies. (Yes, I'm perfect in SO many ways... but we won't go there.)

This year, starting last weekend on Saturday (as I think I reported here) I felt washed out, listless, kind of achy, but not quite bad enough to send me to bed. The weather was too nasty to play golf, but even if the sun had been shining and the temps in the 70s I think I would have passed on the activity. Ever since then (including today) I have had more or less those same symptoms. They're never bad enough that I felt I ought to stay home from work, but I never feel quite good enough or energetic enough to get really productive, either.

Allergy medicine and ibuprofen seem to help. Some. But my aura of perfection is definitely tarnished. Hopefully by the end of NEXT week (when we leave for our ski trip) I'll be once again rarin' to go!

We'll see. Meanwhile, sitting around the house sounds like all the activity I need for right now.

6 comments:

kenju said...

I hope you feel better soon, John.Take care.

Unknown said...

Feel better, John - you've got skiing and cookie-eating to do!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe your perfect aura has been tarnished. That must have been devastating for you but not to worry, to some of us you are still perfect. *grin*.

Hope you feel better soon so you can enjoy your ski break.

Have a fab weekend.

Christina said...

you mean there's a chance you may not be perfect? but what about all the perfection genes i inherited from you? are they tarnished as well? oh, the horror!

Duke_of_Earle said...

Dearest daughter, there is no need to fear. Your possibly tarnished genetic makeup (from me) has been more than cleansed, sanitized, and purified by the genetic input of your mother. HER perfection is beyond any hint of doubt, as you well know.

Dad

Peter said...

Cedar fever... hmmm... no energy, listless, just want to sit around all day... can you get this without havin' the cedar trees John???