In the last 16 months I have had 5 sinus infections..the only sinus problems I have ever had in my entire life. I have been achy and sick, moody and tired, with itchy, watery eyes, stuffy nose and headaches. My doctor told me it is from allergies, funny thing is, I am not allergic to anything that I know of. In all my 42 years I have never had hay fever or any reaction to foods. If I am going to need to use nose spray everyday just so I can breathe, then I want to know what am I allergic to. So off to the specialist I went.
Allergy testing is kind of fun. They draw boxes on your back and then prick each section with a different substance. It doesn’t hurt and kind of tickles on the ribs. The first test were all negative so I went back 2 weeks later for another round of tests with the same negative results. Then I had 5 tubes of blood drawn to test for various food sensitivities and that all came back negative too. So what is causing all these problems with my nose? I get tested for something else…mold. All sorts of mold. Twenty pin pricks worth and more blood tests! Can you guess what I found out? Yes, I am very sensitive to mold and fungi. All sorts and kinds…ringworm, athlete’s foot, the stuff that grows on food and the kind that can show up in the bathroom.
Talk about a lightbulb moment! I have been living in my house for only 18 months. I had the first sinus infection a few months after moving in, then one every 3-4 months. I think I keep a clean home but the house is 20 years old. We do a little investigating and we find mold in the walls! In the ceiling!
I tell you, I am actually relieved. I know it sounds crazy but all I wanted was to know what was causing my sinus problem and how to fix it. It is not as bad as it sounds because we had already made our plans to remodel our home. We have blueprints and a building permit, we just needed a nudge to stop the procrastination. We moved out of the house (yes! moved! just wait till I show you what we are doing to our house!) and I am doing so much better…so much so that I do not use the cpap any longer! No more swollen sinuses!
I am so glad I insisted on finding out what type of allergy I have. Maybe if I had lived with hay fever all my life I would have settled for the generic “you have allergies” diagnosis and never known I am so sensitive to mold. I would have used the sprays and antihistamines everyday and just lived with it. I would have blamed the headaches and flu-like achiness on fibromyalgia when it wasn’t that at all. Now that I know the culprit I can deal with it!
