The way my parents think through some things really makes me sad.

[fuzzybabybunny]

Characteristics of my symptoms:

1. Having a really stuffy nose and not being able to breath from them was a very common occurrence for me when I lived with my parents in high school in our condo.

2. Constantly getting itchy eyes and not being able to resist rubbing them was also a very common occurrence for me when I lived with my parents in high school in our condo. Many a time I arrived to school with red eyes from rubbing. Temperatures in our condo varied from hot and humid to very cold and dry.

3. My parent's condo is a pigsty because they just do not have good habits such as putting things back where they belong, NOT letting dirty dishes soak and rot in the sink for days, NOT throwing out junk that they don't need, etc.

4. When they bought the carpet, it was very cheap and now the fibers are coming out. If you wear socks on the carpet they will quickly have lots of little ~5mm long carpet fibers attached to them.

5. When I went to college in NY and stayed in a dorm, I had no itchy eyes or congested nose symptoms. Temperatures varied from insanely hot and humid to very cold and dry. I kept my room pretty clean and sanitary.

6. Then I went to college in southern Ohio.

In dorm #1: I had no itchy eyes or congested nose symptoms. Temperatures varied from insanely hot and humid to very cold and dry. I kept my room pretty clean and sanitary.

In dorm #2: I had no itchy eyes or congested nose symptoms. Temperatures varied from insanely hot and humid to very cold and dry. I kept my room pretty clean and sanitary.

In my current apartment: I had no itchy eyes or congested nose symptoms. Temperatures varied from insanely hot and humid to very cold and dry. I keep my room pretty clean and sanitary, as well as the rest of the apartment.

7. Every single time I go home, no matter the season or the temperature, my nasal congestion and itchy eyes immediately come back within a week, even a day.

8. Symptoms dissappear when I come back to college.

9. This sick at home / no longer sick when not at home thing has been going on for four years.

Parents' Adamant Conclusion, after all these years: I'm not wearing enough clothes and getting cold.

My conclusion: There's something in our condo that's causing this. It has absolutely nothing to do with the temperature, how much clothes I'm wearing, and how cold I'm getting.

We've argued this over and over and over again. I've explained the situation to them logically and step by step, laying out what I think are all of the relevent details in a nice, easy to understand list. And yet they still stay with their "I'm getting cold" conclusion. I think they're doing a 2+2=5 thing here, and believing without a doubt that they are right.

I just woke up at 4AM because I can't breathe at all from my nose, bundled up warm and tight in my sheets. No matter how much I blow my nose, it's still completely blocked. Finally I got up, took a walk outside in the cold, and my nose cleared up. I come back inside, nose acts up again. My parents still think it's because I'm not wearing enough, and that I need to get more rest.

Cliffs
1. Have had sneezes, stuffy nose, and itchy eyes for years living in my parent's house.
2. At college I don't get these symptoms.
3. When I return home I immediately get these symptoms again.
4. The above has occurred for years.
5. Each time I come home parents think I'm sick because I don't bundle up enough.

 

[compuwiz1]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
Characteristics of my symptoms:

1. Having a really stuffy nose and not being able to breath from them was a very common occurrence for me when I lived with my parents in high school in our condo.

2. Constantly getting itchy eyes and not being able to resist rubbing them was also a very common occurrence for me when I lived with my parents in high school in our condo. Many a time I arrived to school with red eyes from rubbing. Temperatures in our condo varied from hot and humid to very cold and dry.

3. My parent's condo is a pigsty because they just do not have good habits such as putting things back where they belong, NOT letting dirty dishes soak and rot in the sink for days, NOT throwing out junk that they don't need, etc.

4. When they bought the carpet, it was very cheap and now the fibers are coming out. If you wear socks on the carpet they will quickly have lots of little ~5mm long carpet fibers attached to them.

5. When I went to college in NY and stayed in a dorm, I had no itchy eyes or congested nose symptoms. Temperatures varied from insanely hot and humid to very cold and dry. I kept my room pretty clean and sanitary.

6. Then I went to college in southern Ohio.

In dorm #1: I had no itchy eyes or congested nose symptoms. Temperatures varied from insanely hot and humid to very cold and dry. I kept my room pretty clean and sanitary.

In dorm #2: I had no itchy eyes or congested nose symptoms. Temperatures varied from insanely hot and humid to very cold and dry. I kept my room pretty clean and sanitary.

In my current apartment: I had no itchy eyes or congested nose symptoms. Temperatures varied from insanely hot and humid to very cold and dry. I keep my room pretty clean and sanitary, as well as the rest of the apartment.

7. Every single time I go home, no matter the season or the temperature, my nasal congestion and itchy eyes immediately come back within a week, even a day.

8. Symptoms dissappear when I come back to college.

9. This sick at home / no longer sick when not at home thing has been going on for four years.

Parents' Adamant Conclusion, after all these years: I'm not wearing enough clothes and getting cold.

My conclusion: There's something in our condo that's causing this. It has absolutely nothing to do with the temperature, how much clothes I'm wearing, and how cold I'm getting.

We've argued this over and over and over again. I've explained the situation to them logically and step by step, laying out what I think are all of the relevent details in a nice, easy to understand list. And yet they still stay with their "I'm getting cold" conclusion. I think they're doing a 2+2=5 thing here, and believing without a doubt that they are right.

I just woke up at 4AM because I can't breathe at all from my nose, bundled up warm and tight in my sheets. No matter how much I blow my nose, it's still completely blocked. Finally I got up, took a walk outside in the cold, and my nose cleared up. I come back inside, nose acts up again. My parents still think it's because I'm not wearing enough, and that I need to get more rest.

The greatest asset you have, besides your beautiful self, is that the future is in YOUR hands. Really, if you don't like the bed you have slept in all your life, you are now in a position of power. What you do with that power, is up to you. Good Luck.

 

[Vegitto]

If you KNOW you are right, that should be enough for you. Don't blame your parents or argue with them over this.

 

[Shawn]

do your parents have a cat? I love my cat but I am miserable everytime i come home because i am allergic. I didn't realize how allergic i was until I went off to college since we've had pets all my life. it was amazing how much better i felt once i left!

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Vegitto
If you KNOW you are right, that should be enough for you. Don't blame your parents or argue with them over this.

Knowing is not enough. The fact is I visit my parents (because they are my parents) and every time I do I get sick and this whole argument boils up again with them trying to do their darnest to keep me warm when in fact it has nothing to do with anything. Every time I come home I get miserable and sick

And I don't want to hear "you're old enough, just leave" because they are my parents and they're getting old and they will be gone before I know it.

 

[j00fek]

cliffs plz

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: Shawn
do your parents have a cat? I love my cat but I am miserable everytime i come home because i am allergic. I didn't realize how allergic i was until I went off to college since we've had pets all my life. it was amazing how much better i felt once i left!

Nope. In fact they hate pets and have never had one. They view pets as very unsanitary. Oh the irony.

(I'm not allergic to cats)

 

[compuwiz1]

MOLD! Be very afraid of it.
It's expensive, but get your enviroment tested, if you can.

 

[dighn]

your folks are chinese right? they tend to have some very funny ideas firmly embeded in their minds, some of which are actually applicable but only to themselves. arguing is pointless. even if you manage to convince them, the next time it happens they'll default to what they had "known" before. thank goodness my dad is actually pretty reasonable.

 

[oynaz]

If they insist on being stupid, there are probably no way you can convince them. Try some antihistamine. I believe you can get it without prescription, and it would probably take care of your symptoms.

BTW, being cold does not cause a cold.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: dighn
your folks are chinese right? they tend to have some very funny ideas firmly embeded in their minds, some of which are actually applicable but only to themselves. arguing is pointless. even if you manage to convince them, the next time it happens they'll default to what they had "known" before. thank goodness my dad is actually pretty reasonable.

Chinese, yup

Yup on the weird ideas too.

They yell at me if I don't immediately blow dry my hair when I get out of the shower because they "know" that letting my hair naturally air dry will result in me having constant scalp pain when I'm older.

When my dad has a cold or a sore throat, he will not eat seafood because it's got "cold" chi. Especially crabs, because they have especially strong "cold" chi.

My mom buys and believes in stuff like herbal eyesight pills.

Eating eyeballs will make you see better. Eating brain will help make you smarter.

If you're cold or have a cold, you MUST keep your feet warm (I personally think the chest and head area are more important).

 

[allisolm]

Here - pick one. Problem solved for you and they can continue on with whatever they want to believe.

 

[ShotgunSteven]

Happened with me. I had allergies when I lived at home as a kid. My parents swore I was allergic to the cats and to dairy products. I move out to another place with cats, continue to eat dairy products, allergies go away. Mainly it was the dust at their place that was bothering me.

 

[Descartes]

For what it's worth, I have the exact same problem as you. My situation was reversed though. I didn't start having the problem until I lived in Cleveland, OH. Sometimes I'll wake up and I can't breathe at all through my right nostril; in fact, when I went to my doctor to try and determine what was wrong, he said he couldn't even see back there because it was so swollen.

So, I'd go get checked. I found out I was allergic to peanuts and dogs even though I never had obvious symptoms to either. Still don't know why I can't breathe half the time though.

Good luck

 

[p0ntif]

Go to the doctor and get an allergy panel done. When they show you what you are allergic to, avoid those items.

 

[gnumantsc]

Why not get a warm water humidifier for your room? Or the place is really dirty and you're getting allergies.

 

[Kntx]

The condo has mold growing in it.

 

[SagaLore]

I'm sorry but I think your parents are morons.

 

[Reggae4k]

get a hepa vacuum and hepa air filter.

 

[Nerva]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: dighn
your folks are chinese right? they tend to have some very funny ideas firmly embeded in their minds, some of which are actually applicable but only to themselves. arguing is pointless. even if you manage to convince them, the next time it happens they'll default to what they had "known" before. thank goodness my dad is actually pretty reasonable.

Chinese, yup

Yup on the weird ideas too.

They yell at me if I don't immediately blow dry my hair when I get out of the shower because they "know" that letting my hair naturally air dry will result in me having constant scalp pain when I'm older.

When my dad has a cold or a sore throat, he will not eat seafood because it's got "cold" chi. Especially crabs, because they have especially strong "cold" chi.

My mom buys and believes in stuff like herbal eyesight pills.

Eating eyeballs will make you see better. Eating brain will help make you smarter.

If you're cold or have a cold, you MUST keep your feet warm (I personally think the chest and head area are more important).

hah! my parents are like this too, though obviously not about the same subject. and yes, they are chinese. they have all these crazy beliefs that are stuck in there heads, and refuse to give them up.

 

[torpid]

Have you considered wearing an allergy mask one time? That would be effective in numerous ways. They would see how serious you are. You would be symptom free. And it would prove that it is an allergy problem.

Edit: BTW, how does being cold cause itchy eyes?? I can understand the theory that you are so cold your nose is runny/stuffy since to an illogical human mind, when we are out in the freezing cold, our nose acts up, therefore indoors nose acting up = too cold.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Thanks guys, I'll look into getting an allergy test, an allergy mask, and that mold growth stuff. I'm worried about mold growth because there are literally too many places where they can grow in this house because my parents just don't keep the house sanitary. The cheap couch we've had for 15 years, the unsanitary bathrooms, the refrigerator that just doesn't smell right, all the nooks and crannies that never get cleaned because they're just piled with too much stuff, and because my parents never clean anyway.

And I have no idea how they connect being cold with itchy eyes. They do so anyway, and when I start rubbing them they get angry and start yelling at me.

Right now I'm wearing a t-shirt + fleece jacket + winter down jacket + cargo pants + thick fleece pants + shoes inside my 60 degree house. I told my mom this morning as she was ordering me to wear this that no one should have to wear this much inside of their house just to stay healthy. Her reply was "of course you are supposed to wear this much in winter!" There's not even any snow outside and all she's wearing is a sweater and cotton pants.

 

[SoulAssassin]

Wear what they want you to wear for a few days and when it doesn't go away tell them 'I told you so'.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin
Wear what they want you to wear for a few days and when it doesn't go away tell them 'I told you so'.

Sorry, this has been done for the last 4 years, multiple times a year.

The good news is I'm going back for college four days ahead of schedule because I just can't take this kind of lifestyle and constant bad health. Unfortunately, me leaving ahead of schedule happens literally every single time I come back to visit the parentals, either through massive arguments (often) or health reasons (somewhat often).

 

[BoomerD]

Everyone is missing the obvious thing...Dude, you're allergic to your parents!!