Heather says:
Fearless Friday will return next week. I decided to cut myself some slack for the the holiday weekend. Also, everyone thank Ivy who has been so generously picking up my slack while I dealt with allergy testing. The tests itself weren’t bad, it was the five days prior to each where I could not take any antihistamines. It’s been fun around here, let me tell you.
Oh, I said there’d be a funny story. Did you know there can be more to allergies than just the headaches, itching, and sneezing? Apparently irritability and anxiety can be part of the whole deal. I tend to try to first reach for a mild, natural therapy before going the pharmaceutical route. Many friends had raved about the calming effects of chamomile tea. I have three small children and there are many days where I feel pushed to the limits of my patience and tolerance.
I figured what the heck, I’ll try the tea. I drank cup after cup, day after day, for several weeks never feeling even a smidgin of relief. If anything, I felt more and more high-strung and irritable. My nerves were frayed, almost crackling with the cranky.
Guess who is allergic to ragweed.
Guess who cross-reacts to chamomile.
That’s right, Home Eccers, learn from my mistakes.
Now a quick #backontrack update, there are quite a few Twitter users who are encouraging each other through this hashtag. Speaking for myself, I find it encouraging to know there are others out there struggling to establish healthy routines. It’s always nice to have a few cheerleaders. I enjoy watching as each of us strive to meet our goals, one lady is breaking her cola habit, another is working to stick to Weight Watchers, and one of our guys reached his goal of a 50 mile bike ride. Congratulations to all of them. And for the rest of you, feel free to jump in, no introductions needed.
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Oh no, that’s not a funny story! Doesn’t it stink when you think you’re doing something good and it ends up making it worse? Grrr.
My kids aren’t little any more, and things are generally calmer now, but not too long ago, I kept reaching for my little bottle of Bach’s Rescue Remedy. A former boss had gotten me to try it, and I was skeptical, but it worked great for me.
It’s only funny in hindsight. At the time I was rather, ahem, cranky.
I made the unfortunate discovery of reacting to chamomile from a ragweed allergy some years ago. And chamomile is in almost all natural beauty products as well.
I also have cross-reacted to echinacea. A soothing tea alternative is mint — good for settling stomachs and the soul alike
I can also second good results with Bach’s rescue remedy.
I had seen warnings about echinacea and ragweed, but I don’t remember ever seeing anything about chamomile, so that one blindsided me.
I’ll take a look at Bach’s. Thanks.
Heather,
God bless you, dear. Wish I could come to your house and lift some of your daily burdens right now!
Take care of yourself …. you are much appreciated by many of us out here.
My understanding is that you can drink nice cooling mint tea instead of the chamomile.
I believe chamomile is related to ragweed
i love this thanks for sharing