How do you deal with this...an allergy issue

[Mr. Bloom]

I'm on the way down to Nashville with a friend where we'll do a metric at the Natchez Trace CycleFest in five hours.

We are staying at his brother's house a couple hours north of Nashville - a neat old farm house in the country.

I'm in a bed that has the subtle mustiness that comes from being in a humid, un-air conditioned environment. MY ALLERGIES ARE IN TOTAL OVERDRIVE and I'm sleepless! I have always been sensitive to this; I remember once where it was terrible at a high rise hotel in downtown New Orleans where it was so humid that the A/C couldn't keep up.

How does one deal with this? Is there some travel solution that can mitigate the smell?

I'm about to spend more time on a bike then I will have spent sleeping...and that prospect isn't appealing...not to mention my present discomfort.

[hebe]

You have my sympathy. Could you take a couple of anti-histamine tablets? It's just heading into tree pollen season here and we're all stocked up. Is there a 24hr pharmacy anywhere near?

[radacrider]

Don't know about the smell issue - do any of those febreeze things work? I use Zyrtec when the allergies or my system goes way into overdrive to the point of rashes.

good luck.

[OakLeaf]

Not that it will help you with last night's sleep ... but I take a Chlor-Trimeton (chlorpheniramine maleate, the little yellow pillls) pretty much every night when my allergic load is very high, on top of the immunotherapy and loratadine and Singulair.

Diphenhydramine (benadryl) never does much for me in terms of allergy relief, but it will definitely knock you out, and if it works for you as an antihistamine, it's another option.

[7rider]

Nothing to offer, but you have my sympathy. As a raging insomniac, I usually do events - cycling, running, even trips out skiing* - on little or no sleep. :( It's become standard function for me. :rolleyes:

* Home is at 350' elevation - first 4 nights or so at 9'000' in the Rockies usually lead to no sleep. I think by night 5, it's just sheer exhaustion that knocks me out.

[zoom-zoom]

Not that it will help you with last night's sleep ... but I take a Chlor-Trimeton (chlorpheniramine maleate, the little yellow pillls) pretty much every night when my allergic load is very high, on top of the immunotherapy and loratadine and Singulair.

Diphenhydramine (benadryl) never does much for me in terms of allergy relief, but it will definitely knock you out, and if it works for you as an antihistamine, it's another option.

Either one of those works well for me, but they knock me the heck out...like a drooling zombie. I've had better luck with Zyrtec (no luck with Allegra or Claritin). YMMV.

[westtexas]

I am not an allergy sufferer (the only one in my whole family, oddly enough), but I can tell you what my father/brother do. They live in Houston and the pollen season here has been pretty bad already (we're almost to our summer season at this point), although not as bad as previous years.

Both of them use claritin or another OTC antihistamine product. We always keep Alaway (or another antihistamine eye drop) on hand for itchy, water eyes, especially after riding in tough winds that blow pollen all over you. They also frequently wash their bedding and use hypoallergenic pillows. When they travel, they bring their own pillows.

Another thing you can do is to get one of those netti-pot type products meant for people with congested sinuses during cold/flu season. You can flush your sinuses with that or a saline rinse to help decrease the pollen load that gets sucked up your face as you breathe. My brother has had good success with doing this after riding around in Houston daily. We like to say, Dilution is the Solution to Pollution.

I saw someone else mention that you could spray Febreeze to lessen the musty smell. My only thought on this is that, if it's as humid as it seems where you are, the Febreeze will never dry, and you'll be stuck in a musty/Febreezy bed that is also damp. Humidity sucks... I am so glad I am moving to the desert soon.

[zoom-zoom]

Another thing you can do is to get one of those netti-pot type products meant for people with congested sinuses during cold/flu season. You can flush your sinuses with that or a saline rinse to help decrease the pollen load that gets sucked up your face as you breathe. My brother has had good success with doing this after riding around in Houston daily. We like to say, Dilution is the Solution to Pollution.

Oh, yes, the neti pot is priceless. I used to suffer 3-4 sinus infections/year. Now I am down to 1 maybe every-other year.

[CyclicChick]

Allergies, are the easy part because as everyone said you can take something for that. The humidity/smell is the challenge here. The solution I would suggest is the same one uses in moist basements. Home Depot and such carry these desiccant bags that you can hang and will adsorb the smell and moisture. You might be able to hide them so as not to offend the host or your friend. Below is a link to a similar product just to give you and idea what to look for. Good luck

http://noodor.com/p/moisture-absorbing-dehumidifier-control-remove-dry.html

[OakLeaf]

+1 on the neti pot, and also washing your face before bed.

To keep your face off those moldy hotel pillows (and support your neck), I just take a bath towel, fold it in thirds, roll it and put it under my neck, to sleep on my back.

But the pollen this year has been insane, and the molds have come right up just as the pollen is going down. I've been fighting a raging case of allergic conjunctivitis (could hardly see out of my left eye), which I've never had to deal with before outside of very mild itching. My doctor prescribed Patanol eye drop$$ which only helped about halfway until the pollen came down a bit.

[malkin]

I got steroid nose spray from my doc.

It's pricey (and probably makes me ineligible for certain competitions), but I have permission to bump up the dose for situations like you describe.

[Mr. Bloom]

Thanks for all the responses! Specifically, I'm concerned with addressing the musty smells since their impact on me is extreme. For various reasons, I'm unable to use antihistamines or steroids...

however, I like the Febreeze idea and will try that

Oh yeah +1 on neti pot!

[zoom-zoom]

A good air freshener like one of those plug-in warming units can really knock out a lot of stink.

[Mr. Bloom]

A good air freshener like one of those plug-in warming units can really knock out a lot of stink.

Zoom, have you really had luck with plug ins? They put me into hyperdrive with sinus infections...plus I hear that they're aroma is highly toxic

[zoom-zoom]

Hmmm...I like the scented oil ones. I never liked the ones with the little rectangle of gel stuff. I wonder if there's a difference. Or what about a reed diffuser or something like that?

[ny biker]

I find that plug-in scented oil things can be irritating to my throat. And even if they mask the odor, they won't remove the allergens from the air.

Would Lysol help? I sometimes have a problem on humid summer days with a musty smell in my condo. If I spray lots of Lysol when I leave for work in the morning, it still smells fresher when I get home later in the day. (I'm hoping my almost-finished kitchen renovation will solve or significantly reduce the problem in my case, since lots of old wood cabinets and some moldy drywall were removed.)

[Mr. Bloom]

Yeah...when DW and I got married, the plug ins had to go...I became grossly ill...but I didn't push that same outcome for the pets (or I'd have to go:rolleyes:). There is literature out there on the toxic output of plugins

[bmccasland]

Mr. Bloom,
If you're driving, can you bring your own pillow? It isn't that an unusual thing for people to do. At least your face won't be in the musty pillow all night long.

[malkin]

Those plug ins HURT me!!

[Mr. Bloom]

Mr. Bloom,
If you're driving, can you bring your own pillow? It isn't that an unusual thing for people to do. At least your face won't be in the musty pillow all night long.

I think that's the best option. Or, a large towel to layon top of the bedding

[GLC1968]

A big bowl of white vinegar in the smelliest part of the room for a day will help, too. It absorbs the odors and neutralizes them without adding perfumes or anything toxic.

I also agree with a hanging bag of dessicant if you are going to be in the same room for multiple days. That stuff actually works pretty well in small spaces (useless in a big basement though!).

I wonder if they make small, personal-sized dehumidifiers?