This time of year, my allergies kick into high gear and try really, really hard to make my life miserable. Anyone else who experiences ragweed allergy knows what I’m talking about. I can’t breathe, my nose runs, my eyes itch, my throat swells, my head pounds, and I’m oh-so tired all the time. And it’ll be like this until the first frost starts killing the nasty little plants.
I keep my bottle o’ Benadryl handy, but here are some other recommendations:
1. Visit http://www.pollen.com/allergy-weather-forecast.asp to view current pollen counts. Try to stay indoors when pollen counts are high.
2. Keep windows in your home and car closed.
3. After spending time outside, immediately shower upon re-entering your house. Also, change clothes and wash the old ones. (Ragweed pollen clings to your clothes, so this will help avoid bringing it into your home.)
4. Bathe your pets frequently, so they don’t bring as much pollen into the house.
5. Keep weeds around your house cut down. This should be done BEFORE the ragweed plant is mature.
6. Move. (haha)
FYI, people with allergies to ragweed often experience swelling and itching in their mouth (called Oral Allergy Syndrom) after eating certain fruits and veggies, including bananas, cucumbers, melons, and zucchini.
Ragweed
By the way, did you know that one ragweed plant produces up to 1 billion pollen grains? They’re prolific little buggers.
Aspiring Alverna 
That sucks! I don’t think we have that bad of a ragweed problem down here, although that might just be because I live in the city. I remember the ragweed in Ohio though – it was killer…