This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
How I manage sneezing season*
I love it. Glory in it. There are hundreds of photos of it on my phone. White. Yellow. Red. Even green. I want to be in those photos with it all the time. And it is so so bad for me.
In the words of Monty Python: "This here's the wattle, the emblem of our land. You can stick it in a bottle, you can hold it in your hand."
Which is fine for those who can. That is not me. I deliberately seek out glorious arches of golden branches even though I know they make me sneeze.
This is going to be a tough hay fever season for so many of us, according to air quality researcher, the Australian National University's Ben Keaney. The winter has, on the whole, been pretty mild, which means pollen has matured a month earlier than usual. Dear heaven. We are going to be sneezing for three months instead of two (that's me, at least. I know some of you are afflicted all year round). Anti-histamine manufacturers are going to be, ahem, making hay.
Not sure about your symptoms. but mine start with the feeling of having an eyelash caught under my bottom eyelid. That's uncomfortable enough but then my eyes start to itch so I scrunch them up. That's followed by several sneezes. When I say several, 17 in a row is my personal best.
![Peter Broelman's view Peter Broelman's view](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/pMXRnDj3SUU44AkPpn97sC/9c7ae175-d73a-4cc0-952b-8e9addee212f.png/r0_0_2729_1534_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Of course, this is easily fixed. I could just avoid wattle altogether - but just like the people who make sacrifices for their own personal beauty, I make sacrifices to observe beauty, to immerse myself in it. Absolutely ridiculous.
Keaney says that in Australia, pollen season is divided into two main seasons. One is the introduced street tree season, such as plane trees or cypress pines, the second is the grass pollen season. This year, he says, the tree pollen is at exceptionally high levels. Then when it gets windy, wowza.
But he also tells me that maybe I'm not allergic to wattle after all. He says we are always blaming the abundant blazing spikes of wattle - but that's because they are so obvious. The cypress pines are like the cheeky sneaky little brother. Looks like an angel. Actually a hay fever devil.
![How are we already thinking about hay fever season? Lord, help me. Picture Shutterstock How are we already thinking about hay fever season? Lord, help me. Picture Shutterstock](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/pMXRnDj3SUU44AkPpn97sC/161ade9a-5c1e-402e-8931-1fbe469fd022.jpg/r0_323_4033_2590_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
In her new book Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World, medical anthropologist Theresa MacPhail writes: "If you've felt as though your eyes were itchier, your nose was stuffier, or your sneezing fits have been getting worse over the past few years, you're probably correct."
The likely reasons, she says, may have something to do with the amount of pollen in the air, whether the air quality itself is, on average, good, fair or poor - and crucially, the indirect effects of climate change on just about everything: mould spores, crop production, trapped heat and air circulation. MacPhail cites a study conducted at the University of Maryland between 2002 and 2013 which involved 300,000 respondents: "It showed hay fever increased whenever the timing of spring changed. The prevalence of hay fever increased by as much as 14 per cent when spring came early."
Which it has this year. Keaney says we should try to avoid what makes us all hayfevery and if we can't, then it's time for a visit to the GP or maybe the pharmacy. Or maybe buy an air purifier. That takes some of the load off.
Sneezing season has arrived early. So has my industrial size order of boxes of tissues. And that's how I *manage sneezing season.
It's my last day in the burrow. Normal spikiness returns tomorrow. Thanks for having me, Jenna.
HAVE YOUR SAY: What makes you sneeze? Have you noticed a change over the years? What do you do when you get all hay fevery?
Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- One of The Echidna's favourite ever television series, the ABC's Total Control, starring Rachel Griffiths and Deborah Mailman, is wrapping up the filming of its third and final series at Parliament House.
- An undisclosed number of public servants referred to federal police, the anti-corruption body or the public service inquiry for their role in the robodebt scheme, have begun being placed on leave, some without pay, or suspended.
- Households, cafes and manufacturers might think they're going to get cheaper gas under a new price cap regime but while the federal government's mandatory gas code of conduct for producers is now law, it doesn't affect supplies already under contract which means bills won't suddenly drop.
WHAT THEY SAID: Tell me of what plant-birthday a person* takes notice, and I shall tell you a good deal about his vocation, his hobbies, his hay fever, and the general level of his ecological education. Aldo Leopold (*of course, being a person born in the late 19th century, he said 'man', so I've fixed it).
WHAT YOU SAID: I asked you how you would spend your extra years on this Earth? Would you volunteer?
Catherine writes: "To me, having that third phase of life is an enormous privilege, one that many people do not get, and I don't want to waste it. The joy of my life is having seven gorgeous grandchildren, three of whom live nearby. Probably the most time-consuming activity that I am involved in relates to climate change activism. I am desperately concerned about what lies ahead if we do not stop the extraction, export and burning of fossil fuels, so I have joined various climate change organisations. Much of my time is spent writing submissions to governments, letters to newspapers, banks, and fossil fuel companies, as well as standing by roadsides with corflutes and banners, in an attempt to remind people that the time for action is now."
Cheree asks: "Must we keep fully occupied and mentally switched on until we drop off the perch? Hell, I want to just smell the roses. But the deciding factor has been something you didn't mention - one just gets slower and reflexes slow down and if you 'don't pace yourself, dear', my mother's (94) words, ageing can be painful, frustrating and unrewarding."
Kit writes: "The genes are on my side. Mum at 95, Dad at 96, but they didn't eat the type of 'junk' like I am doing. Instant noodles, Spam, Jamos etc but they did drink coffee with condensed milk, loved white bread, nothing grainy, KFCs on occasional weekends. And being Asian, my dad loved fatty belly pork stewed in soya sauce with a little sugar. Yum. I never thought much of how long I would live to. The children are all past 30 years of age. But then the grandchildren arrived. Suddenly, I am very anxious that I might cark it before they turn 15, 18 , 21 and it's with great sadness that it's probably unlikely that I will be celebrating their 30th birthdays. (I'd be 101 myself.) Even with those great genes of my parents, and even though I am a very positive person, (and luck is always with me, finding a parking space) ... ahh the joys and worries of a grandmother!"
Brian writes: "As an nearly 82-year-old, and an avid kayaker (who makes a point of paddling at least once a week), I also make a point of ensuring that one in four of those paddles is dedicated to a flotsam, plastic and garbage clean up on and along the edges of the water I am on. It's easy to collect garbage bag fulls. Straws, coffee cups, etc and the new phenomenon - surgical masks."
Jennifer writes: "As my parents lived into their middle nineties, whilst one grandmother lived to 97 (despite being born in 1900 and living through two world wars), I have to plan for a long life which means working well past retirement age and being very careful with money. Hopefully, I'll not live quite so long as to outlive most of my peers as they all did. I've already outlived two partners who died way too young. Living a long life is only positive if it's an enjoyable life."
Shirley writes: "Life after retirement needs to be more than filling in time, keeping busy. Passion, meaning and connection are needed between nonna naps."
Samantha writes: "My mother lived 51 years, 10 months and four days. If I follow in her footsteps, I have less than eight months on this Earth. My mother was sick so I really don't expect to follow her to an early grave, although I will admit it used to worry me quite a bit."
Deborah writes: "My mum had her 100th birthday last year. I don't know if I will make it that far, and I'm not sure that I would want to. While the thought of living long enough to meet your great-grandchildren sounds appealing, you might not get to see them all that often anyway. In regard to volunteering, I once volunteered at an op shop but gave up, because it felt a bit like going to work. Mainly the morning dash to drop my grandchild at school, rush back to the op shop to try to nab a parking spot, then do the reverse in the afternoon. I will definitely volunteer again at some stage though."
Angela writes: "I'm 92, long past my use-by date. Heart failure resulted in low quality quality of life, did enjoy the change of government."
Maggie writes: Now in my mid-seventies, I chose to move to a small country town which had plenty of opportunities for getting involved. I work at the op shop, until COVID I volunteered one day a week at a primary school, I pull my weight in RFS although I no longer go to the big fires, I send dead frogs to Frog ID and report platypus sightings to the ACF, I socialise one morning a week with my yoga group, I hold positions in a couple of local clubs, and I plant a few trees every spring. And I comment on The Echidna if the topic interests me. Oh, and I crochet beanies for whoever wants them. Life has never been better."
Philippe writes: "As we have only one go at this life, we should embrace every moment that is given to us. Personally, I don't want to join charity groups as I don't believe they are good political outcomes. Charities are filling the gap that governments should take care of and only maintain our class structures. It makes privileged people feel good about themselves, it justifies their social status but does not really address our social issues. The worst case are our monarchs, philanthropists billionaires and charity organisations which are using volunteers to do their work."
Sue writes: I am 75. My mother died at 57, I was 22. And my father at 68, when I was 31, so I have outlived them both considerably. Currently, I am not a volunteer anywhere, although I work three days a week as a high school relief teacher. For 12 years, at least, I worked as a volunteer at the National Folk Festival each Easter and loved it. I had to give it up because I couldn't keep up with the physical requirements. My 10,000 sometimes wobbly steps a day just didn't cut it. When I finally retire, I would love to be involved in volunteering and am sure I can find somewhere I can be useful without causing myself further injuries. Love The Echidna. Keep the flag flying."
Alexander writes: "My mother turns 103 in August. She is effectively blind and profoundly deaf, incapable of movement off a chair; cannot make it to the toilet or clean herself without help but her brain remains sound. Cannot read, cannot watch TV, cannot have a clear conversation and feels useless. She has wanted to die for several years and frequently asks for help to do so but no one is permitted to assist. This is the next challenge."
READ MORE