2019 January 10 Thursday in

rvingfulltimewithtomandella.com

2019 January 10 Thursday in Liberty Hill, Texas

39° and drizzle at the beginning of the day. An allergy alert …

and a 70% chance of rain. Given a choice between pollen and rain, I’ll take the rain.

We don’t need the rain. Our yard is still a marsh even though our last rain was over a week ago. But I’m sick (literally) of the pollen. All we received was the lightest of drizzle today and it reached 59°.

Perhaps I should explain further about Cedar Fever. Texasmedclinic.com reports, “As ironic as it sounds, cedar fever does not actually produce a fever. In fact, cedar fever is a seasonal allergy brought on by an allergic reaction to the pollen from mountain cedar trees. Mountain cedar grows naturally and is the most allergenic tree in Central Texas.

An allergic reaction to mountain cedar causes many symptoms that aggravate those affected. A few of those symptoms include runny nose, itchy and watery eyes, nasal blockage and sneezing. Some suffers also complain of fatigue, mild headache, facial discomfort, sore throat, partial loss of smell and the sensation of ear plugging. Cedar fever is a seasonal illness that affects people during pollination. While cedar fever doesn’t actually cause a fever, the inflammation triggered by the allergic reaction may slightly raise your temperature.

The small, light pollen granules can travel hundreds of miles, causing the pollen to spread and be inhaled by allergy sufferers. After pollen inhalation occurs, the allergic reaction begins to affect an individual. In general, allergies are caused by an oversensitive immune system that increases the immune response to protect the body. Typically this necessary immune response protects against harmful chemicals, bacteria and viruses, but in the case of an allergic reaction the immune response is actually unnecessary.

Cedar allergies affect many people from November through March, but the heaviest times of pollination occur in December, January and February.”

Prior to attending Over the Hill Gang we stopped for breakfast at Hobo Junction.