From renewal and colour to freshness, optimism and shedding the winter blues, for a lot of people the advent of spring brings any number of meanings.
Unfortunately there is a significant segment of the population whereby spring is a curse and nothing but a couple of months filled with itching, scratching, rubbing and sneezing.
Yeppers, it’s allergy season once again. Where, for those that suffer, even the prospect of heading outside can bring on the tears and it’s mere instinct to put on a mask like a doctor would heading into surgery.
Many people head to their favourite pharmacy to pick up the over-the-counter medication that works best at alleviating the symptoms. However, that route often times only works for so long before people need to switch medications. Medicine sometimes isn’t an option and that’s where some other remedies come in.
That’s exactly how I have to combat the situation, but these work best for me and might not be right for everyone.
The first thing I do is carefully consider what I need to do for the day, where I have to go, what I might encounter and prepare appropriately.
That can include taking eye drops to start my day (in addition to carrying along a supply), equipping myself with plenty of tissues and water or taking some asthma medicine as a preemptive strike. Or, it can include all of the above in conjunction with a dust mask and sunglasses to even further help prevent coming in contact with any allergens.
I also found that washing my face frequently and rinsing out my eyes is a big help, especially when I have to spend any length of time covering horse shows or barrel racing.
All of this though doesn’t completely knock out the itchy, watery eyes or the sneezing and runny nose or the coughing or even the occasional mild asthma attack.
So, I’m interested in finding out what some other ‘sufferers’ do aside from medication to help control their allergy symptoms. If you want, fire me an email and I might even share some of the responses in a future column. Here’s hoping a different remedy I can use bursts through the dust and pollen.
All fore golf
Hitting then chasing a small white ball with dimples around an immaculately groomed estate of green grass smattered with hazards while avoiding bugs and heat stroke isn’t some people’s cup of tea.
For those of us that find the game of golf enjoyable (okay, not always), this is the time of year when the clubs come out of the garage or basement and get a good once-over along with some cleaning.
While I haven’t been able to get out very often in the past few years, I still get the golf bag out and check the clubs plus see if everything is where it should be and my shoes still fit in hopes that this will be the year I can get on the links for some rounds.
The sport appeals to me because of the skill involved with getting the right swing and distance, spending time being outside and enjoying the natural beauty of the surroundings.
And, whether I’m out with friends or by myself, I try not to take things too seriously since I’m playing to have fun. I’m certainly no Phil Mickelson, Graham DeLaet or (probably a better representation) Mike Weir, so getting bent out of shape by a bad drive, a poor putt or losing a ball ruins why I’m out there.
Though, if you are out on a course and find a lost golf ball, it’s likely mine and could you shoot it back to me — I’m starting to run out.
But that is…just my observation.