Allergies (or something) in southwestern Ontario

[rousseau]

Last year (2006) from June 16th to June 23th I had a sore throat, upper respiratory soreness, sinus discomfort and general lack of energy. I never got a real diagnosis from my doctor, but he gave me a puffer and told me to take Aerius. I did, and eventually I got back to riding normally. It was obviously something in the air, but I had no idea what.

This year on July 6 I got the same thing, and as of today (13th) I still have it.

Would anyone happen to know of a website or some other means of determining what exactly might be in the air in the countryside around Stratford Ontario during these two periods I've been ill? If there's an identifiable pattern here I'd like to know what it is. I distinctly recall on my ride of July 5th that not only where there a lot of farmers cutting their grass on the side of the road, but that at one point during the ride (don't remember if it was near a grass-cutter or not) I felt like I was breathing in something noxious, though I couldn't identify the odour. It lasted about a minute, and slowed me down.

Is there a chance I have a threshold for grass tolerance that I happened to exceed last year and this? This downtime is frustrating. I've been off the bike for a week. It sucks.

[Brianwh]

Ask your family doctor to refer you to an allergist. The allergist will test you for "inhalants", such as grasses, spores and so on. This should be your first step.

Good luck.

[~Stuart~]

try a homeopath or Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)



i find that unless it is an obvious problem (broken leg) western medicine is better at dealing with the symptoms, not the root problem, and it sounds like you want to stop it from happening again (i prefer TCM, if you can find a decent place to do it (i know a couple, but they are in Toronto, i'll give you phone numbers if you want), homeopathy is easier to come by and works great too.

[49secondromance]

I have suffered from allergies in one form or another since I was born, and can recommend with confidence that this has to do with air pollution. I live in Windsor which isn't too far from where you're at, and all of Ontario up to James Bay is subject to acid rain, among other things. Dust, pollen spores, pet dander and mold are also heavy contenders, as is seasonal ragweed. I find that Allegra-D is most effective at relieving my allergy symptoms (Claritin isn't bad, discount brands have no effect), but my non-professional recommendation is to see an Allergist and to have your arms pricked!

I hope that helped a little :D

[rousseau]

Many thanks for the thoughtful replies. I went to the doc and he did some tests and couldn't find anything wrong with me. My diagnosis? I overdid it.

I was riding hard every day and keeping track of my distances and average speeds religiously. I was trying to ride far and fast, and was competing with myself from last year (my first year of road riding). For the two weeks prior to my complaint above I was waking up sore and tired everyday. In retrospect, that was a dead giveaway that I needed to slow down, but I didn't.

So I took about two weeks off the bike to rest up, and am now back at it. Only this time I'm not pushing myself, and I'm not worrying about average speeds anymore. When I do a longer ride and a slightly faster pace I make sure that the next day I do a "recovery" ride. If I chock up 150 kms in two or three days then I rest on the fourth day. So far this has worked for me, and I'm actually enjoying my riding a lot more, too.

So there you have it.