Chicago Allergies? (Columbia, Ohio: environment, relocating, jobs)

[Sav1978]

Hello!

I am a Chicago native that moved to Colorado a few years ago. This place sure is beautiful, but I have been homesick from day one of being out here. I am heavily considering moving back since my family is back there and Chicago happens to be my kind of town

My daughter and I both were fine back home. Since moving out here, my poor daughter has been plagued with eczema, allergies, and developed Asthma. She was perfectly fine before moving out here and so was I. It seems like a no-brainer that I should go back, right?

Not so much...according to the experts at National Jewish in Denver, CO they say she will always have issues and that they can not advise on what areas are best to live in. Now we both are allergic to dogs and cats (funny...I grew up with both and never had an issue). Seasonally, we happen to be allergic to a tree that is mostly in Texas and Colorado! I know we are capable of developing allergies at any given time. I am told that we could move and develop new allergies to whatever is around the area. It just so happens that I feel the both of us getting worse each year. Colorado is supposed to be the best place for this, yet I feel like it has been one problem after another.

When I go back home on visits, I feel great. It is hard to gage with my little one since our visits are usually short.

Any help on allergy feedback from my fellow Chicagoans would be greatly appreciated. I know these posts come up often, sorry if it looks like a repeat!

[CarolL]

FWIW, the same thing happens to me and my kids. We lived briefly on the East Coast when the kids were in jr high/high school, but moved back to Chicago. During our time on the East Coast, everybody's allergies and asthma worsened. When we moved back, they all improved.

My daughter, now an adult, lives in upstate NY. Right after moving there, she had to start seeing an allergist again and is now on two different inhalers. (She had been off inhalers for quite a while.) My son's hay fever, which was bad but controlled as a youngster, had gotten better as he got older, but it kicked up while he was in college at SIU. After he graduated and moved back to Chicago, it got better, but he still had to take meds this past spring.

As for me, my hay fever always hits me every time I go back to western IL to visit my mother. It disappears completely when I get back home in Chicago. (I always attributed it to the corn, altho I have no idea. When I grew up out there, I was always miserable with allergies in the summertime.) A former boss of mine also grew up in western IL and has spent his adult life in Chicago and says he can't breathe outside of Chicago either.

Obviously, there's something not in the air in Chicago that exists elsewhere. Or perhaps we become immune to the allergens here, and when we move elsewhere, our immune systems encounter new allergens that they can't handle. Just guessing...but I find it interesting: I thought it was just us!

[mdz]

The major environmental allergens here are grass (may-june), tree (april-may), and ragweed pollens (august-october). Much, much more of it in the boonies (ie western illinois) than there is, say, in downtown chicago. About the only time you can be thankful for cement rather than vegetation.

[Sav1978]

Thanks!! I appreciate the info!

Also, glad to see that there are families that have gone through the same situation! I really hope that my daughter will do much better back home. I am going to continue the research on the areas to live (a lot has changed since 2003!) as well as the usual stuff when relocating....jobs and schools!

Thanks again!

[M TYPE X]

I have no problems in Michigan or Northeast Ohio. Everywhere in Illinois, I sneeze. The next time I see someone type "prairie reclamation," I'm gonna be like
"reclaim this!"

[gardener34]

Worst times around here for me are autumn, because the mold count is high. Fallen rotting leaves create mold spores on the ground.

And ragweed, with is generally labor day until first frost.

Also, in certain unincorporated areas they are allowed to burn leaves. So stay away from areas where they are allowed to burn, if you are an asthmatic.

Also, when I lived in the city, I had worse sinuses. I honestly think it was just the pollution. I thought it would be worse in the country, it actually improved.

[NYrules]

I suffer from Hayfever and I'm sad to say that the Chicago area is TERRIBLE for my allergies. I am allergic to Mold, dust, Pollen, and Ragweed, all of which this area has tons of. The only safehaven for me is downtown right in the center of the Loop. Go figure, I'm not allergic to concrete apparently. Anways, that being said, it might be something for you to consider, while Daley has been planting loads of trees all around the city, it is still not that bad for my allergies vs. out in the burbs where everyone seems to have some sort of flowering tree in their yard.

[linicx]

I have Atopic Eczema. Along with it I am also sensitive to a long list of stuff. No one can appreciate the "itch" of eczema until it covers the body head to toe and keeps you awake all night scrratching. I lived in SW MO and thought I would kill myself before I moved back to Illinois. Atopic is a gift from your mama. Heat + moisture = ITCH. I am going to share a couple of things I did and some observations starting with the fact the number two killer in Illinois is mold.

If you have allergies and eczema keep your windows and doors closed. Mold is around us the minute we walk outside. Therefore the only place that is mold free is inside the house with doors and windows closed. This advice was given to me by a environmental mold and radon inspector. Because my spouse has lung diseases I change the furnace filter every two weeks year round. I buy the American Lung approved anti-viral, anti-bacterial filters. When my filters are dirty I do feel the difference. My nose is stuffy.

After a year of misery and several years of being misdiagnosed I fianlly found a doctor that knew. There is no cure, only experiment brings comfort. When it was all said and done there are only a few things that really help me. Buy a hand held personal shower. Stay out of the tub and take a shower. The personal shower is to rinse the places a regular shower cannot rinse on children and females. Soap residue can cause itch and scratching.

I stopped buying soap in the grocery store and went to Trader Joe's where I purchase laundry soap, hand soap, body gel, shampoo and dish soap. It's cheaper and I don't have to worry about soap that is loaded with tar, harsh chemicals or wood ash. My clothes are cleaner and the soap rinses out better. I also have a water conditoner, but I only use enviromentally riendly potassium salt. Once I changed, the salt from the shower water stopped burning as much. I further helped it along by changing out the shower head to the larger and more gentle 'rain shower' head. And I switched to 100% soft cotton towels. Egyptian collon sheets too - at least 400 thread count.

What you wear can be painful and itchy. There are only 3 or 4 natural fibers for clothing; Wool, cotton, silk and linen. All of the rest of the fabrics rayon, nylon, polyester, tuille, lace, dotted swiss, rubber, etc., are itchy because they do not allow the body to breathe properly. Neither does tight clothing like swimsuits and bodysuits. Did you know children's and even infants clothes from South America are being made from rubber? If an article is advertised as keeping its shape, you can bet it is made from rubber stands that are wrapped in cotton and woven into fabric before itis cut and constructed into clothing. Always wash everything new that touches sensitive skin before it is worn. I bought cotton sheets from Penny's that were made in India. The water was black when I washed it. I now only buy egyptian cotton sheets but not from that store. I always rinse my clothes an extra time to get all the soap residue out. I noticed my top loader was not rinsing well and soap was difficult to rinse out before the ezcema started. When I moved I bought a front loader and haven't had that problem. I also use kroger brand all-fabric bleach rather than the regular clorine as it is too harsh. And I use only dye free, perfume free fabric softner sheets.. I take this one step further and use dye free, perfume free baby wipes for those delicate places on my own body.

I am not convinced that food does not play a part. I drink and cook with bottled water.

Atopic is a disase that most doctors do not see in a lifetime of practice and it is greatly misdiagnosed, I tossed a lot of expensive medicines dispensed by clueless doctors before I found Dr. Roller in Columbia, MO. Today I use three basic steroid Rx but rarely togehter: Temovate, "Triacimilone *probably misspelled) and Medrol tabs 4gm (100 per bottle). Medrol is an old time drug prescribed for infants with eczema 70 years ago. I also use Zyrtec liquid and Gold Bond anti-itch creme. Atopic blisters.. Zyrtec is a drying agent much like benedryl that works for me. I use the liquid according to the itch. Not much = not much. About the only time I take an adult dose is in the summer when nothing I use works very good except sleep. Now that I am 'hom' I use about half of the medicine I used a year ago. It's true.

I am inclined to think one of the reasons I do better in Illinois is because I am near a large body of live water. I had a friend tell me she loved to take cruises because the Atopic did not bother her. Why? No grass, no trees, no mold, no pollen, no allergens at sea.

The only thing left to add is Atopic Eczema can look like other problems such as hives, ringworm, measles, rash, shingles, dermatitis, bug bites and is all too often misdiagnosed. Dry skin is a culprit. Any skin lotion with Vitamin E is good. If it is in a natural lotion, it is even better. Slather it on within three minutes of getting out of the shower.

All of these things I tried and tested.. What works for me may not work for you, but I hope it does.