Raw, Rubbing and Sneezing!

Just when I thought that I had some sense of relief the wind picks up and my allergies just explode all over again! This has without a doubt, been the roughest month for me ever in my three years here in the desert! I have never really had a serious problem with allergies. A little bit...but NOTHING like this year. And usually it is my throat that suffers. In the past my allergies have caused such a vicious post nasal drip that my throat will get to the point of screaming and I am miserable for a week or so...and then it fades away. This year, however...my throat has NOT really hurt. For just a few days in March...but pretty mild compared to what I am used to. What HAS hurt and been awful are my EYES! They have hurt and ached and run and itched. They have stayed red and swollen and puffy and everywhere I go people ask me if I have been crying. I have not been of course. But it LOOKS like I've been boo hooing for days on end. My eyes are just raw around the edges from rubbing and I have been through an endless line of eye drops. It had seemed to get a wee bit better. But then Wednesday I spent Tonya's Day out at the Desert museum and it was very windy. When we left there I sneezed and sneezed and that afternoon my eyes started the itching and burning and running again. Then on Thursday I found myself wide awake again by 5:30 a.m. and was out the door with Oscar for a nice long walk by 5:45. Again...windy. Again...sneezing. I was actually sneezing so hard and so much while I was walking that I was pretty sure I was going to end up peeing all over myself before I could get back home! But I did make it home all dry and the second I got out of the wind, my eyes started up again with the itching and burning. More eyedrops. More swollen redness. Then today I was out on the tennis courts at 6 a.m. I knew as soon as my feet hit the floor that my eyes were still suffering from yesterday. They felt as though someone had sanded down the area around my eyes with very coarse sandpaper, leaving them raw. And then had come behind with some elmer's glue to put all around them for that nice sticky touch! Halfway through my tennis lesson they were reaching critical mass. I could hardly see as they were pouring water. And then that was making the raw skin around my eyes just burn like fire. Then more rubbing, then more burning, then more watering...it was awful. On top of that the sinus headache I have been entertaining for two days was ramping right on up to another critical level. So I came back home just miserable and half blind today! AFter MANY eyedrops and a shower and cold compresses I am almost feeling okay. I have to go to dinner tonight with Chris...so I am hoping that by 5:00 the swelling will get down enough so that I look halfway normal AND can actually wear a little eye makeup! I hate to have to go to dinner and meet new people and have Chris have to introduce his wife as the one who looks like the Crypt Keeper! Not fun! So wish me luck! Pray for this crazy wind to die down and this allergy stuff to just SETTLE down! I am so hoping our break for vacation will be a nice break for my raw eyes and that by the time we get back it will be a bit more normal!