Allergies and Earth-Centered Paganism

[Satu]

I hope this is the right place to post this thread. Apologies to the mods if not!

Recently, I've gotten interested in more earth/nature-oriented forms of paganism, mostly of the Wiccan stripe, but I guess there's a little bit of Celtic Recon in there, too.

What worries me is I have pretty bad allergic asthma and am sensitive to a lot of nature. For example, a few weeks ago I smelled freshly cut grass from a lawn three houses away and ended up in urgent care because my asthma flared up. Then I had to go on a course of prednisone.

I had to get rid of my cat because his fur gave me hives. I have to be careful around most trees, but especially juniper, cedar, and pine because they provoke some nasty symptoms. Just being outside on a breezy day can lead to problems, lol.

So, what's a gal to do in a situation like this? How can you practice any kind of earth-centered paganism when you're allergic to a good percentage of the earth?

Also, what do you do if a religious practice has you handling things you're allergic to? (I'm talking about reactions serious enough to lead to injury or death, not reactions that are annoying, but non-threatening.)

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Allergies and Earth-Centered Paganism

I have asthma and many things trigger it such as cut grass for instance or some flowers. As such I tend to be very aware of what is in any area I am going to do any sort of practice in but also pollen count for a given area or time of the year. Then I also take medicines to aide me in coping with it so that it doesn't put me in the hospital. Of course I always have a rescue inhaler on me at all times as well because of that.

Ironically for me it almost always seems to rain or be damp fog when I do things which tends to keep pollen counts down and many airborne things from affecting me. Yet I always have a fire so have to be careful and watch wind currents to see how the smoke is going to billow so I can move away from it going directly in my face. Many times locations play havoc on me such as Southern Spain is very sandy and dry with winds that come in off Africa that contain a lot of things so my Asthma was bad in the summer months there. So you have to be aware of the landscape and what is to be found there.

I think a lot of it has to do with how you want to base your practice. Especially in the sense that paganism doesn't mean earth based as many try to make it though that can be an aspect of it. If your health is being affected / effected by something then it would seem logical to me anyway that you don't do it. But it also suggests on the surface that your not doing what you can in-regards to your health with medications that would affect / effect your asthma. Not sure what medications your on if any but if your reacting like your saying then it seems the medications are not working properly because of dosage or product limitations. So I would recommend you get that tested and perhaps have an allergy test to see what the triggers have in common as many meds work against one thing but not another. Though I admit the prick test upon your back to test for allergy is a pain in the butt.

[thalassa]

Re: Allergies and Earth-Centered Paganism

I have awful allergies and asthma (which I developed about 2 years ago) and I also have vitaligo (which means I get super sunburned in the areas without melanin)...I take advair, singulair, zyrtec and claratin (I take 24 hr zyrtec at night and 24-hr claritin with a decongestant in the day), and I wear sunscreen like a mo-fo. I carry an inhaler and benadryl and claratin eye drops like most people carry a cell phone.

...I just sort of suck it up. With sufficient prevention, I don't have many flare-ups.

[SaintElvis]

Re: Allergies and Earth-Centered Paganism

I have hay fever to the point where I was sneezing so hard and my left eye popped loose from its socket(not to be disgusting but it really did happen!) and I had to go to the Emergenct Room where they reset it. Luckily there was no damage except for traumatizing me for the rest of my life when it comes to eyeballs. So yes I can completely understand the allergy issues as I also swell up from certain plants and animals as well.

My suggestion is to figure out what exactly causes your flare ups. Get an allergy test done if possible. Then from there when working with such plants and herbs or are surrounded by such environments, use masks or scarves to cover your face. Who knows? You could start a trend with certain colors of scarves used in certain ceremonies!

[Satu]

Re: Allergies and Earth-Centered Paganism

Thanks for your input, everyone.

I'm on Symbicort, Singular, ProAir HFA, and Allegra, and while they control most of my symptoms, they don't seem to help much with "nature" allergies. The problem is I seem to have a lot of hair-trigger. . . well, triggers. My meds are expensive and I can't afford to go on more of them.

So far I haven't really figured out what to do yet. I figure I can use houseplants and just keep experimenting until I find ones that cause minimal to no problems. I'm also going to invest in a small fountain to stand in for a stream or something. Not as nice as the real thing, but as long as it's kept clear of mold it'll cause fewer health issues. Maybe a bonsai tree or a windowsill garden can help fill things out. Some of us allergy-laden folk have to bring nature inside, perhaps. Lol.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Allergies and Earth-Centered Paganism

Thanks for your input, everyone.

I'm on Symbicort, Singular, ProAir HFA, and Allegra, and while they control most of my symptoms, they don't seem to help much with "nature" allergies. The problem is I seem to have a lot of hair-trigger. . . well, triggers. My meds are expensive and I can't afford to go on more of them.

So far I haven't really figured out what to do yet. I figure I can use houseplants and just keep experimenting until I find ones that cause minimal to no problems. I'm also going to invest in a small fountain to stand in for a stream or something. Not as nice as the real thing, but as long as it's kept clear of mold it'll cause fewer health issues. Maybe a bonsai tree or a windowsill garden can help fill things out. Some of us allergy-laden folk have to bring nature inside, perhaps. Lol.

One thing that may help (or may not, with such severe hayfever) is consuming a tsp of local honey a day. Because bees take the nectar from local pollens, consuming honey from your area on a daily basis (like a medicine) can help you slowly build up a little bit of a tolerance.

It's gotta be LOCAL though!

[DanieMarie]

Re: Allergies and Earth-Centered Paganism

Haha ohhhh allergies.

I can relate. I can't use incense or anything like that because I'm allergic to smoke. It sometimes also keeps me indoors in the winter because people burn coal and wood for heat. I'm pretty sure the autumn leaves stir up a lot of dust and settled pollution, because lately I've been allergic to -everything-. If there is no wind and the air is heavy, that all settles into the air I breathe and it makes me wheeze and sneeze. All I can say is that practice is more about intent than anything else. I don't feel that practices are prescriptive. They certainly don't seem to have been in the past and most people seem to have adapted based on their region and needs. Maybe it's the influence of organized religion that makes us want to do things 'just so,' but it's helpful to let go of that mindset

By all means try managing your allergy. Going outside is very enriching and offers more than a spiritual experience. However, if they're flaring up, give yourself some space and practice in a different way. Maybe get a few houseplants for those times and tend them, and bring in little elements of the outdoors into your home (rocks, twigs of trees you're not allergic to, etc).

As for managing allergies, try antihistamines and natural things like honey and nettle tea. For some people, hayfever shots seem to work. I know a few people who got shots and they've responded really well to it. I've read about steroid shots but most people I know get tiny amounts of allergens injected into them so that they build up an immunity to it. It's called "immunotherapy." My best friend used to not be able to go outside in the summer and now she rarely has any symptoms.

[Cobra]

Re: Allergies and Earth-Centered Paganism

I also have pollen and animal allergies plus asthma. However, I find that my medications often allow me to have interaction with plants and animals with only minimal scratching. I take Singulair, Zyrtec, and Symbicort. I also have the Ventolin rescue inhaler. I have found that Sudafed (pseudophedrine) works particularly well on your dreary days for seasonal allergies.

Funny that pseudophedrine is rather similar to a natural remedy since it can be found in the Ephedra plants, which has been used in ancient Chinese medicine and was consumed in teas by Native Americans. It is banned from dietary supplements by the FDA though because they found it posed a risk for cardiac problems in weight-loss 'solutions.' I'm not advising you to take Ephedra, but I found this case to be a bit odd!

I do hope to possibly one day be able to completely remove myself from those medications. I'm sure it is possible with the help of the Earth... it seems to me that maybe it is just a challenge of life that we have to get over. Though I would never suggest quitting allergy meds cold turkey. I hope to find something that works for me. Also, I found something potentially helpful on the Internet, but I'm not allowed to post links. You should be able to find it by googling "Natural Remedies for Seasonal Allergies."

NOW, as far as asthma goes, I know that there is a plant to help with this. It's called mullein. If you're not allergic to it, you should do some research and maybe try to find this plant.