Odd climate question

[BobCat]

This is a very weird, odd question - but there are enough intelligent, informed, wise, knowledgeable, and tolerant people here that I will swallow my hesitation and just go ahead and ask it.

Does anyone know what it is about the Houston area that gives so many people relentless respiratory distress - like allergies, constant sore throat, and coughing - and where to move to in Texas to avoid it?

I really, really want to stay in Texas. Can't say that emphatically enough. But since they are hinting at work that they might be running a bunch of us old folks off sometime soon, and since my wife suffers from this mystery respiratory affliction even more than I do, I'd like to have an ace up my sleeve.... like, "Ok Dear, what do you say we move to xxxx? They tell me that people there can breathe pretty well, year round!"

It would be great if there was a real nice range / gun club nearby, but I can drive a while to get to the range. The real point is to stay in Texas, and have it so she can breathe. She just came back from a week in Daleyville visiting her mother and she told me her breathing improved as soon as she got there, but went to pot within hours of landing back in Houston.

They say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" and they also say, "You can't fix it if you don't know why it broke." So I'm looking to find exactly what it is about the Houston climate that is broke. Pollen? Allergies? Mold? Hydrocarbons? Knowing what is causing the problem is more than half way to fixing it.

So - anybody have any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Andrew

[anygunanywhere]

All of the industry might be contributing. The sub-tropical climate and associated flora might be too. I used to suffer from it when we lived in Galveston Co.

Since moving to La Grange I am better.

Kerrville is one of the least polluted cities in the US. We were going to retire there but we would seldom see our grandchildren.

It just so happens that we have a really nice 3 acre lot in a gated subdivision there for sale....

[BobCat]

Thanks Anygun! Kerrville is beautiful, at least the ride up there from Houston was beautiful - haven't been there for a while. I have to think, have to wait to see what the powers-that-be at work decide to do, and keep gathering data. Interesting you had it in Galveston Co. but are better in La Grange.

[cb1000rider]

Andrew,
Can you find out what you're allergic to? Personally, I'm fine in Houston, but central Texas is bad news. In central Texas, it's largely the cedar and ragweed that get me... Dallas is better and Houston is better for those particular ailments - more concrete, less trees... It's gonna depend on what triggers your problems, I think..

[anygunanywhere]

Andrew,
Can you find out what you're allergic to? Personally, I'm fine in Houston, but central Texas is bad news. In central Texas, it's largely the cedar and ragweed that get me... Dallas is better and Houston is better for those particular ailments - more concrete, less trees... It's gonna depend on what triggers your problems, I think..

My ragweed was worse in Houston/Galveston. Different strokes I guess.

[BobCat]

I wish I were certain it was allergies. My brother, in Austin, complains about "cedar fever" but we don't have cedar here. We do have ragweed, but neither of us is sure what we are allergic to, or even if it is really allergies. And we are pretty far outside of Houston, less concrete and more trees / agriculture.

[barres]

I live not far north of Houston and live with similar ailments. My guess is a combination of allergens that thrive in moist environments and pollution being the culprits, but I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. My nasal allergies always clear up quickly in drier environments, which lends weight to my "diagnosis." I would look toward West Texas, my friend, but I, personally, would avoid El Paso and some of the other largest communities due to their urban pollutants (and because I like small town life better, anyway). I wish you nothing but happiness.

[BobCat]

Thank you! It is good to know that we are not crazy, that other people here have the same respiratory nonsense we have. Neither of us trusts doctors much - I've benefited from their expertise in the past, but also had enough mis-treatment to make me careful about relying on them blindly.

I like small-town much, much better than urban, but my wife really wants fast internet, which is problematic out in the sticks.

I'll check back over the weekend. Be well!

[RoyGBiv]

Does anyone know what it is about the Houston area that gives so many people relentless respiratory distress - like allergies, constant sore throat, and coughing -

Too close to Mexico?


ETA: Allergens are not much better here in DFW. I have some sort of allergy thing going pretty much year round (taking nasal spray for it), as opposed to NC where it was Spring only and FL where it was almost never... Go figure.

[JSThane]

Allergies, like firearms, are a deeply individual thing.

That being said, I've found that for me, staying out of urban, and even suburban, environments is key. I grew up in the El Paso area, and even the outskirts had terrible air for me. I give El Paso's air quality direct blame for why I grew up with asthma, and for my continuing allergies ever since.

I'd say "move anywhere at least 100 miles from a major city."

[jimlongley]

When I was a telephone man and worked outside all the time, I never suffered from allergies, but as soon as I took that first promotion and desk job . . .

Actually there were two allergies that kept popping up, the sizing in cloth, and nickle. I could not wear a new cotton shirt until it had been washed at least once and could not go into fabric stores. And anything that contained nickle, such as stainless steel watches and bands and metal frame glasses.

A few years ago I went to an allergist here in Allen and he did the test where they stick you 81 times on the back. I am allergic to every native grass in TX, to Cedars, Dogwoods, and numerous other things. Now I go in for shots once a week and take a daily allergy pill and nasal spray, and just barely stay ahead of them. The only time I get any real relief is when we are on a cruise and away from land for a day or so at a time.

When the winds blow dust in from the plains, I suffer more, and those winds are generally headed for Houston.

We have discovered that it doesn't do any good to go further north, yankee allergens are just as tough on me.

[K.Mooneyham]

I'm in the camp of folks who say that its all in what affects YOU. Every person has different things they are allergic to, and to differing degrees. That "cedar fever" in central and north Texas does a real number on a lot of folks. Others aren't really bothered by it, or only a little (that's me). The area of northern California where I was stationed last had a lot of agriculture, nut orchards and the like. We had a reservist that would literally be tearing up and sneezing all day long when the trees blossomed. The allergy tests will tell you if you are allergic to things, but I'm not sure it tells you HOW allergic you are. Still, if it bothers you very badly, it might be worth getting checked out. Good luck to you and your wife.

[BobCat]

Thank you all again. It sounds like the consensus is that our problem is allergies, not some other esoteric ailment.

As a child (up north) I was diagnosed as allergic to dust and mold, took weekly shots, and got lots better. My wife was never allergic but a year or so ago, after suddenly being really sent into a tailspin after shredding the front pasture, she went in for tests and they found she was mildly allergic to some kind of tree pollen. It did not explain the sudden, acute problem after shredding.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago - we both were fine for a long time, then suddenly were stuffy, coughing, and hard-to-breathe. A friend at work mentioned the same symptoms last week, and my wife noted that being out-of-town for a week eliminated the problem until she returned. That's when I decided to ask here for help.

We'll keep looking, listening, and thinking - and I'll go ahead and find out where Alpine, TX is.

Best,
Andrew

[knotquiteawake]

Do the shots! They work. At least they did for me when I was younger and they were starting to work for me when I started again last year but had to stop because Aetna Insurance didn't cover them anymore and it would have been $2000 to continue....

But seriously, ask your doctor about allergy testing and allergy shots (also called immunotherapy). It works for lots of people. Basically what you are doing is injecting tiny amounts of what you are allergic to a couple times a week and over the course of a few months increasing the concentration of the allergens. Slowly your body works out an immunity to it. Generally after a year of weekly shots you are good to go mostly allergy free for a few years after that (although some offices will have you do "maintenance" shots).