During the pandemic, which is, still now, things can get a little complicated when you are a person with allergies.
Runny nose, headaches, sneezing, and coughing? Uh, I get it when my allergies flare up - which can be a couple of times a week. I joke with friends that as a person with allergies, every day is an “OMG do I have COVID??” day.
So, when I had those symptoms yesterday, I groused, “Well, that’s what you get when you don’t mask up properly while gardening.”
Because I’m allergic to grass pollen. In Malaysia, where grass is everywhere and I live on top of a hill surrounded by trees, and yes, grass.
On Saturday, I helped my parents out in their community garden, cutting and raking grass. I knew this was going to be allergy central, so I had my mask on most of the time, but there were moments when the heat and humidity got too much and I took it off to get a breather.
Well, that was all it took, apparently.
Still, I took a COVID-19 test kit out yesterday just to be super safe, and I was negative. So, allergies then, I concluded through my headache. Or a cold? Frankly, I have no idea. I’ve had the weird luck of catching every garden variety cold except COVID in the last two years. I’m very grateful for that luck but sometimes I wonder if my test kits were working.
The only way I would know if I have a cold is when the symptoms persist until the next day. This morning, still feeling flu-ey and headache-y and still testing negative, I decided that I better not head off to the office and expose my colleagues to, well, whatever I have.
Ah, the decisions we have to consider during a pandemic!
So, today my goal is to rest and maybe boil some barley water and try not to work. Yes, try. I’m admittedly a workaholic whose idea of retreats is to hole up in a luxurious hotel and spend all day writing, so I’m going to try avoid my laptop.
Yet, here I am writing, which is hilarious.