Every time we go out, something makes us sick

Here's the proof, our February calendar:

February 2013

The orange circles are days we went out. The purple numbers are my sweetheart's prednisone doses in 10mg increments; the green numbers are my prednisone doses in 10mg increments. The bonus scrawls are medical appointments. As you can see, we still have more to go before the months ends.

We haven't had the flu, or even a cold. Suspected sinus infections, but that's a regular thing around here. The saying is that if you didn't have sinus problems when you arrived on Delmarva, you'll get them.

We tried to vote today

As you can guess, it didn't go well. The line was quite long and someone's perfume was overwhelming. Early voting was such a pleasure last time: No lines, no overly fragranced people.
We're going to try again first thing in the morning. If that doesn't work, I guess we'll head to the polls with everyone else on Tuesday.
I used to work as an election official - being a geek comes in handy sometimes - but had to stop. It wasn't the voters as much as the other election workers, who were wearing too much perfume. 
It just gets old. We spend so much time at home, venturing out only when necessary and bundling trips as much as possible. All it takes is one person to ensure that we spend two or three days at home.

Things never seem to change

We went to Walmart yesterday, to make the monthly trek for things that we can't find in other stores. As usual, the fragrancefest started as soon as we opened the doors to exit the vehicle. Between people and their auto air fresheners, we knew it was going to be a long trip.
It was.
It seemed like everyone applied an extra dose of scent because of the heat. There was something new in every aisle, both personal aroma clouds and perfume trails. Sigh.
We came home and used the nebulizers and dosed up on cough syrup, and took it easy for the rest of the day. Today, I feel hungover, with a pounding headache from all that stuff, and a chest full of crud.
Again I ask, why is American culture so hung up on fragrances?

Mother's Day misery

I know it's Mother's Day. I'm happy for everybody celebrating. I just wish they wouldn't inflict it on us.

It's a nice day here, sunny and warm with a nice breeze. But the pollen count is at 10/12, and the neighbors have used gallons of lighter fluid to start charcoal grills. Every time the wind shifts, we get a fresh lungful of those distinct petroleum fumes. It's not like we're on top of our neighbors; there's easily a hundred yards separating us from the closest, on either side. There's even more distance between us and those across the street, and a large field behind us.

So now we're inside - using the air conditioners - for several hours because it's just too much outside. The new plan is to use the nebulizer, have lunch, and read or watch TV or something until the smell dies down.

May Day

This spring has been tough. The pollen counts got insanely high very early, and have remained at 10+ pretty much nonstop since February. We had to put the air conditioners in in March, because of the temperatures and humidity. We wanted to have the house open, but it just wasn't possible.

By being careful, we got through with a couple rounds of antibiotics. My sweetheart got a prednisone taper, and we got salmeterol for the nebulizers. It makes both of us shake worse than any of the other meds we've had to use, but it did open up our lungs.

Things continue as usual. Going out remains a trial, as there is no way to escape the things we are sensitive to. People still wear entirely too much fragrance, and act offended when we call them on it. Fortunately, there are businesses we can go with fewer problems, so we patronize them regularly and talk them up when we can.

The farmers are nearly finished putting manure and chemicals on the fields, so if there is a nice day (not too hot or cold, not too humid, not too inundated with pollen), we should be able to open the windows for a while.

In the meantime, we use the nebulizer multiple times each day, take our other meds as directed, keep the house closed up and the air filters running, and stay home as much as possible. 

Nothing changes

Last year, in addition to all the other colorful notations on our kitchen calendar - the one that holds appointments and other information - I started marking the days that we left the property and went out into the world. It makes it easier to remember why we're not feeling well when we see that on 10 of the past 14 days, we had to go out.

The two places that always bother us are Walmart and the nursing home. We've cut down on the duration of trips to Walmart, and we don't have to make the long walk through the nursing home any longer. So far this month, we've been out four days. On each of them, we've had to deal with perfumes, chemicals, and the seasonal wood smoke. The wood smoke is the worst, because we never know where we'll come across is or how heavy it will be. 

Our friends get our huge thanks. In the homes with smokers, they will open up the house to reduce the smell when they know we're coming, and won't smoke inside while we're there. None of them use air freshener, and they cut back on fragrances when they know we're coming. Some of them have changed laundry soap for us. That makes us feel special and awed, extremely loved, and happy to know that there are homes we can enter that won't cause problems. 

Last year was also a record for me: It was the first year since 2001 that I had fewer than four prednisone tapers. I'd like to think it's because I'm improving, but I'm pretty sure it's because we stayed home as much as we did. 

Summer

It's been a tough summer. For most of it, we've been forced indoors by high temperatures, and moved from one air conditioned spot to another via the air conditioned vehicle. Even limiting the places we go, we've had trouble with fragrances. It's been annoying, especially so when we're home and the weather allows us to have the windows open but the neighbors don't. 
The doctors have changed our regimen in an attempt to reduce the number of steroid tapers. Instead, we inhale a corticosteriod via the nebulizer twice a day. I haven't noticed a difference, except that I bring up mucus about a half hour afterward. Mmmm, fun!