Ahead of My Time

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This is curious. It seems to describe a “new” treatment for hay fever (allergic reaction to ragweed) that nearly cured me over 20 years ago. First the news story then mine.

BALTIMORE -- Could the sneezy, runny-eyed misery of hay fever one day be a thing of the past? Scientists are reporting encouraging results from early tests of a vaccine they hope will give long-lasting relief from this seasonal scourge.

The experimental vaccine has been tested on only a couple of dozen people so far, but it substantially relieved symptoms for those who received it in six weekly shots, and the benefit lasted for at least two years, doctors reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Boy that sounds familiar. I used to have terrible hay fever that lasted from late June until the first freeze of the fall. The worst was in late August and the month of September. I was in radio at the time so it was a real problem having a stuffed-up nose (not to mention sneezing and watery eyes) for a good chunk of the year. In 1985 I went to an ear, nose and throat guy in the community in which I lived and he promised a successful treatment. I was very skeptical but was willing to try it. The doctor would give me what he called “co-seasonal” shots from June through September once a week except for the late August/September period when I would get two.

Well, let me tell you, it worked great. I had no allergy problems while getting the treatment. I continued the “co-seasonal” shots until 1988 when I moved back to Springfield and discovered there was no one in town providing the same treatment as my former specialist. So I did nothing and waited for the return of the killer allergy. But you know what, it never really came back. For several years after the treatments, I had no symptoms at all. Over the years it has crept back some but is nothing like it used to be. I’d say a bad year now is only about 20% of what it used to be.

Anyway, I assume the new treatment discussed in the news item is not the same as what I got all those years ago, but it sure walks and quacks like the same duck.