Wal-stuff

Ever since my allergy/bronchitis/pneumonia days of youth, I've liked to pride myself on never getting sick. I attribute my good health to frequent outdoor exercise, low stress levels (well er yeah), and not being an immuno-freak (i.e. one who opens the bathroom door with a towel and coats herself in anti-bacterial gel).

Last week, all that changed. At first I blamed my sickness on sympathy pains (hehe lame, right?), but after a few days a pattern clearly emerged. More outdoor time = more sick. ahhh Austin allergies! I thought I could elude them and laughed in the face of those who had them (I mean, of course they're not taking care of themselves. Ok, I didn't actually laugh.). Annoying.

Fortunately I discovered miracle drugs. I'll list them for you since I'm sure you haven't heard of them.

1) Benadryl: I discovered this after my brother picked up a pack to ease a walnut allergy reaction. When later in the day I was feeling bad, he gave me one and ohhhmigod. Nearly instantaneous. The next day when the sneezing, fuzzy headed symptoms returned I popped another one. The effect was so powerful that I broke out in (embarassing) dancing in the boot store. Later in the week I popped another one preemptively before a softball game. I'm not so sure it did much this time except make me pass out when I got home.

2) Walitin and Walphed: When shopping for spleen medicine in Walgreen's I noticed Claritin behind the counter and inquired about it. $5000 per pill! Ok, no, but it's expensive. So I inquired about other options. Walitin, she said, and Walphed. With their powers combined, she continued, you will have Claritin and more money in your pocket. So now I'm taking these daily, Walphed only when I feel sinusy, and perhaps they're working. I've been inside a lot recently except for short bike trips so I can't tell.

Here's a picture of Walitin. This one is better than mine. It's the "Aller-Melt" version. I feel cheated.