>>>>>Case in point. because some decongestants could be used (in large enough amounts) to produce meth, I now have to go to the pharmacy and have my driver's license recorded because I live in the middle of the allergy capitol of the world and I like to breathe on occasion. And because there are two of us (my husband and I) who are silly enough to enjoy that whole breathing thing, we can go through a 10-count box of decongestants fairly quickly (husband takes normal dose, I take 1/2 dose). And while I can get 2 10-counts, I can't purchase 2 20-count boxes BECAUSE I MIGHT BE MAKING METH. Or so the logic goes. Nor can I purchase 2 10-count boxes more than every two weeks.
>>>>
>>>>Side note - have you or your husband ever tried cutting out caffeine to help with your allergies? I used to be the same as you - miserable this time of the year. I haven't had to touch decongestants or antihistamines for about 10 years now.
>>>>
>>>>If you try it you likely won't see immediate results. Caffeine is fat-soluble and stored in body tissues so it takes a while for it and its byproducts to disappear. In my case it took about a month.
>>>>
>>>>Besides the usual suspects of coffee and tea, there's lots of caffeine in almost all soft drinks and energy drinks.
>>>
>>>I wonder if there is an aging component to it. I used to get bad hay fever every spring. Around the age of 40 it disappeared, even though I didn't change my intake of caffeine or make any other behavioral changes that I can think of. Weird. Not that I'm complaining. It was not a severe problem, more of a nuisance; runny nose and sneezing the first hour or two of every day until the antihistamine kicked in.
>>
>>Could be. In my case it was caffeine, but that's a sample size of 1.
>>
>>I think if you ask any GP they would say the word "idiopathic" was invented for use in diagnosing allergies :)
>
>I'm allergic to pecan blooms, bluebonnets and maple. And I live in Central Texas - where the pecan is the state tree, the bluebonnet is the state flower and who knows for maples :-)
>
>I'm also allergic to Marsh Elders (whatever kinda tree they are) and it's blooming season for them.

I've been blessed with the if it grows I'm allergic variety of hay fever, nearly all native grasses, trees & pollen. I still remember what my back felt like after being tested as a child. Along with being allergic to cats and horses, spring and fall are always a special treat on the ranch. ;)