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Sneezebushes and Sneezetrees

April 18th, 2009

Other people do not consult me about their landscaping.  That is one of the unfortunate facts of my life.  This is a spirea bush.  A most attractive shrub.  When it is blooming it has a lovely little cluster of white or purple flowers, like this:

They are very attractive.  The purple ones bloom from spring to fall and have very little smell.  The white ones bloom in spring and have an acrid smell that makes the inside of my nose tingle, and make me sneeze up a storm. I call them Sneezebushes.  I am allergic to them.  When I breathe their pollens for an extended period, I tend to get a Migraine.  Interestingly, Landscape America tells us

“Aspirin is the generic medical name for the chemical acetylsalicylic acid, a derivative of salicylic acid.  Compounds of salicylic acid are found in some plants, notably white willow and meadowsweet (Spirea ulmaria).  Acetyl- and spirea which inspired the name aspirin.”

I am anaphylactically allergic to drugs in the aspirin family! Coincidence? Hmmm…

Then there is the Bradford Pear. It is a lovely blooming, non-fruiting pear tree, much favored for landscaping along shopping streets.  Here is Witherspoon Street in Princeton, NJ, completely lined with Sneezetrees, oh I’m sorry, I mean Bradford Pears…  I don’t know if they are in any way related to spirea.  Spirea are in rose family and so are pear trees, but I am not allergic to roses or other blooming fruit trees.  The smell is similar, and the effect on me is the same, an acrid sensation in my nostrils, sneezing, and Migraine.

My neighbors across the street put in three lovely little Bradford pears in their front yard last spring. When we open the front door on a nice April Saturday like today our house fills with the scents.  Achoo! Ow! Achoo! Ow!  Me lying down with the Imitrex and the Benadryl, hoping to be on my feet later…  Well, the blooms will fall in a week or two, right?

- Megan

Spirea image courtesy of Di the Huntress; Single Bradford pear image courtesy of Deep Valley Tree Farm

Tags: allergies, Migraine triggers
Posted in Rant | Comments (2)

2 Responses to “Sneezebushes and Sneezetrees”

1. Parin of Sparkling With Crystals Says:
   April 18th, 2009 at 4:56 pm

   *hugs*

   Know what does me in? Wisteria vines with the lovely bluish purple, grape-like clusters of blooms.

   It’s wisteria season down here. My next door neighbors have wisteria growing on the fence.

   I’m about of the opinion that anything causing an increase in my body’s histamine level (whether I’m actually allergic to it or not) will trigger a Migraine attack. Seems like it the way my Migraine journal shakes out at least.

   I tried something this year for the Annual March Month-Long Migraine Attack: daily Zyrtec before bed. The month-long attack ended up being only smaller attacks with sufficient breaks that I could get rested before the next one started.

   Antihistamines trigger my restless leg syndrome so I had to deal with that (and why I use local honey year ’round to help manage hay fever for the most part). I was quite pleased that I made it through March better than I have in past years.

   Folklore has it that consumption of honey helps hay fever. Maybe look for local pear honey and/or meadowsweet honey, Megs? Might be too late for this year (it takes several months of regular consumption for honey to help with hay fever) and honey WILL NOT cure hay fever, but it’s delicious and might help. Actually, any local wildflower honey up there will probably have pollen from both pears and meadowsweet so that would work too.

   Honey is my first-line attack on hay fever and does help me. It’s nothing like taking a Zyrtec or a Benadryl but then, it’s nothing like taking a Zyrtec or a Benadryl. LOL

2. admin Says:
   April 18th, 2009 at 5:56 pm

   Thanks Parin - I take Zyrtec daily year round, ever since my anaphylaxis attacks, but it doesn’t keep me completely allergy free at this time of year. That’s a great reminder about the honey and we have truly delicious local wildflower honey but I haven’t had it daily - just on and off. I’m going to go have a piece of honey-comb now!

   Sorry the wisteria do you in! They are so pretty. Well, so are my sneezebushes, etc. You are reminding me of a day when Danny and I were first dating (lo decades ago now) when we took a picnic in April to a park famed for its cherry trees - a day under the cherry blossoms. At the end of the lovely day I had to take to bed with what I thought was a sinus headache! Little did I know then…

   - Megan

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