After leaving all those nasty viruses behind with the new season starting you might start to suffer from their non-contagious counterpart – hay fever. This ever more frequent disease adds to the usual cold symptoms one much nastier one: itchiness! However, you can try to minimize your symptoms.
Keep windows closed at home and in the car. There are pollen filters for cars (and vacuum cleaners.) Minimize outings in the mornings when most of the pollen is emitted and try to stay indoors on windy days or on days with a high pollen count. Keep your rooms dust free and rub animals down with a wet towel when they come indoors. Don´t mow lawns or brush patios and don´t dry clothes outside. If pollen counts are high have a shower and change your clothes when you come home. A hat helps prevent pollen from collecting in your hair and consider wearing glasses and a mask as barriers. Smear Vaseline around the inside edges of your nostrils – it helps stop pollen, too.
Start taking eye drops (Chromoglyzine) and particularly nasal sprays (Cortisone +/- Chromoglyzine) early enough and don´t take more medication than prescribed. If your usual allergy tablet fails you might try Ebastina 20mg tablets, however always reading the enclosed leaflets when buying OTC medications!
Backing up my own cause – which immediately will be given away to charity – my Nicaragua diary is now on sale, but only as an e-book. A good English friend got me to consider the idea of writing a diary and although it is above suspicion of winning the Nobel price for literature, I really enjoyed doing it. Sue Brewer helped me in translating the diary, but to be fair to her, I did not always follow her suggestions.
The diary is about my six weeks voluntary work and week end activities as a physician in Nicaragua. It is available for 6,99 Euros at http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=On+The+Road+As+a+Physician+in+Nicaragua&sorter=relevance-desc under the title “On the road – as a physician in Nicaragua.” Of course donations can also be made to “German Doctors”: IBAN: DE12 5206 0410 0004 8888 80, BIC: GENODEF1EK1 (Account (Konto) 488 888 0, Sorting code (BLZ) 520 604 10, EKK Bank, Germany)