Sunday: Ragweed on the Water

Every summer during August, without fail, ragweed pollinates in Tennessee and leaves a pollen residue on the water.  I swim in the lake in the morning and spend the rest of the day incapacitated by sneezing and a runny nose and terrible congestion.  It makes me sad about my own personal coolness that I am so disturbed by my allergies that I am willing to write a blog post about them and spend an infinite amount of time discussing the situation with my fellow affected swimmers.  It is unfortunate.

Now, the first year that this happened, I was really pretty crippled by the whole situation.  I would swim in the lake and then sneeze for the rest of the day in such a way that I really couldn't leave the house, but I did a lot of reading on the subject and I have developed a few strategies that have definitely make the situation better.  I was terribly sneezy today, but I did not want to quit swimming at the lake.  I actually had to quit last year at this time.

Here are my strategies:

• Immediately after leaving the lake, I hoof it to the public shower and shampoo my hair really well, and spray off my whole self.
• I get out of my lake water bathing suit
• I irrigate my nose multiple times with an aerosol nasal irrigation system that you can purchase at Walgreens
• Finally, I drink copious amounts of tea, specifically rooibos teas, which are supposed to suppress allergens in your system.  

Last year, when I would wait until I got home to shower, ride home in my bathing suit and not irrigate my nose at all, it was ugly times.   Terrible times.  I would sit on the couch and sneeze miserably all day, and sometimes I would have to stay home from church, as my presence would have been nothing but a massive disturbance.

I swam two-ish miles and am feeling pretty good about my upcoming 5k swim on September 11th!!