I made it through spring allergy season without a flare-up for the first time in at least 4 years. I'm not sure which of the following made the difference, but here's what I'm thinking.
These first few seem the most likely, since I've introduced them new for this season:
1) Windows closed in our house. Last year was our first back in FL, and I didn't remember having springtime allergy problems here. So we kept the windows opened and enjoyed the fresh air. In retrospect, I was waking up a little stuffy in the days before the flare-up.
2) No outdoor exercise when the pollen count is above 8. (See below for indoor treadmill workouts.) Last year's flare-up happened after a 1-2 hour road bike ride when the pollen count was >9. That, combined with the widnows being open, was probably just too much to handle. In retrospect, I've been getting a runny nose and red eyes during workouts in the spring and fall pollen seasons. This year, I've been doing yard work outside for several hours a day on the weekends, but I think the rapid and deep breathing associated with vigorous exercise is much worse for pollen inhalation. At least one other flare-up in the spring happened after a hard run outside.
3) Nasalcrom - I've been taking it 2-4 times a day for a few weeks. In early February it seemed to hold off allergy problems when the pollen count was first starting to get high. I also used it in North Carolina when I did a mountain bike ride when the pollen count was >8.
4) Omeprazole. Dr. Witten seems to think this is helping to reduce inflammation.
Here are some other one which might be helping:
5) Allergy shots at maximum maintenance dosage every 3 weeks. I've been on shots since 2008 and reached maximum maintenance dosage in late 2008. However, after moving back to FL in 2009, the local Dr. kept me at the minimum dosage of the highest concentration in 2010 until I pressed him to ramp back up last summer. Perhaps now that I've been on shots for a few years they're working. I'm also thinking it helps to not be ramping up or getting shots every week. I think my summer/fall was worse than usual because I was ramping back up again.
6) Betadine / shampoo sinus rinse mentioned in a previous post. I was using a saline rinse a lot last year to flush out the pollen but still had a problem. Maybe the new rinse is helping to reduce inflammation, bacterial load, etc.
7) Zyrtec/ceterizine nightly. I did this last year and still had problems.
8) Omnaris 2x per nostril in the morning. I've been on a nasal steroid for a few years and still had problems.
9) Avoiding MSG. The past two flare-ups in spring and fall had at least 2 things in common. The first was lots of outdoor exposure either on a bike ride or at a football game. The second was eating a lot of snack food containing MSG (cheesy puffs, Chex mix). At this point I'm going to try everything I can to avoid a flare-up.
10) Zinc lozenges. There's been some recent research showing they help to reduce the duration and intensity of colds. I've tried them when I've been exposed to people with colds, and they seem to be helping.
Indoor Workouts
Doing no outdoor exercise in pollen season seemed like a substantial tradeoff to avoid a flare up. When the weather is nice in the spring and fall is exactly the time when I want to be outside running, riding my bike, etc. Here are some things to try inside:
1) Treadmill hill repeats. I checked the elevation change and distance for several climbs I like, e.g. Dark Mountain Trail in NC, Acost Bridge, Usina Bridge, etc. From this data I calcualted average grades. I then experimented with these on a treadmill. The average grades were around 4-5% for 0.3-1.0 mile distances. Of course, the instant grade varies throughout the climb and is usually steeper at the beginning and end. Just doing 4% on the treadmill didn't seem as challenging and didn't seem to stress my leg muscles in the same way. 6% was closer. Starting at 8%, then going to 4%, then back to 8% also seemed pretty good. 10-5-10% seemed a little too much.
2) Treadmill speed repeats. I like getting loose at an easy run pace, then doing 1/4-mile repeats in the 8 mph range, then doing 1/8-mile repeats in the 9-11 mph range.
3) Long treadmill runs - I put in a DVD and watch a full moving. Otherwise long treadmill runs are agonizing.
4) Speed ramps - Especially when I've getting back into running, starting out at 6 mph and increasing by 0.2 or 0.3 mph every 1/4 mile lets me get in a good workout without starting too fast. I can stop the ramp based on how I feel or heart rate.
5) 5K time trials. To see the effects of the speed and hill work (done during the week) I did 5K time trials on the treadmill on the weekend. I decreased my time each week for several weeks in a row and set a new indoor/treadmill personal best this year. At first I tried increasing speed like the aforementioned speed ramp run, then I came up with some more structured speeds. I do better with varying speed than just running the same page for a 5K.
