Do you have them? Local lore says that if you didn't have allergies before you moved to California's Central Valley, you will undoubtedly develop them. And for me, that's been quite true! I grew up in San Jose, which is closer to the coast, and I never had allergies until we moved to Sacramento. Over the years, they've gotten progressively worse, and some days I feel just like I have a cold. Ick!
It seems I suffer from them much of the year, but certainly some seasons--like spring--are much worse than others. And it's hard to take anything for them: non-drowsy allergy medications will keep me awake at night if I take them too late in the day, and "regular" allergy medications will put me to sleep if I take them at work. No win. Mostly, though, I just try to ignore them as best I can.
This news story from San Jose caught my eye tonight--
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ROTTEN OFFICE FRIDGE CLEANUP SENDS 7 TO HOSPITAL
SAN JOSE, Calif. – An office worker cleaning a fridge full of rotten food created a smell so noxious that it sent seven co-workers to the hospital and made many others ill. Firefighters had to evacuate the AT&T building in downtown San Jose on Tuesday, after the flagrant fumes prompted someone to call 911. A hazmat team was called in.
What they found was an unplugged refrigerator that had been crammed with moldy food.
Authorities said an enterprising office worker had decided to clean it out, placing the food in a conference room while using two cleaning chemicals to scrub down the mess. The mixture of old lunches and disinfectant caused 28 people to need treatment for vomiting and nausea.
Authorities said the worker who cleaned the fridge didn't need treatment — she can't smell because of allergies.
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Coincidentally, on Monday it was my turn to clean out the office refrigerator. I guess what I'm saying is that maybe allergies aren't always such a bad thing to have!
Sounds like every office breakroom nightmare! Hey, I finally figured out how to post pictures on my blog. I am so proud of my old self! I just bought 4 more boxes of Kleenex today and I swear, we already went through 1 box! Hang in there!
ReplyDeletePam
That's a great story! Just because you can't smell doesn't mean that you won't still have problems though. I can barely smell anything but the chemicals from paint, perfumes and other stuff still affect me. I don't know if I'm allergic to rotten food though!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the belly laugh this morning! B.
ReplyDeleteWe always had a rule...Friday at 4pm it got emptied no matter what! Everything but the salad dressings and condiments. No exceptions!
ReplyDeleteI also have trouble with taking allergy meds. Last year I bought a netti pot and as horrible as I thought it was the first time I used it, I wouldn't want to live without it now. For me it's been a God-send. Maybe it's something you should try, especially if you suffer all year (even if it's only mildly). :0)
ReplyDeleteThat is the main reason why I do not put my food in the office fridge. You don't know what's growing in there!
ReplyDeletei worked at at&t and i KNOW how nasty the fridges were - anything that was EDIBLE was STOLEN (name or no name - if it was in the fridge it was up for grabs) and all that was left was (shudder) moldy, rotting, disgusting, unidentifiable messes ...... AND the day crew used to leave the coffee pot on ... around 9pm the reeking burned coffee would force me into the room to turn it off ... i'd soak the pot all night ... and they would do the same thing the next day ... ick
ReplyDeleteGot Allergies here too!
ReplyDeleteDianne - there is nothing like that smell of the coffee pot left on!
This went around our office today too. It was decided that we should never clean our fridge again.
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