미분류

1. Typical respiratory conditions

Allergies, colds, and tonsillitis are always concerns, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, I was skeptical about the cold in comparison to the other illnesses stated above. It is well known that viruses are the source of common colds. If a viral disease like COVID-19 causes a common symptom such as coughing up phlegm, I don’t know what to say. Nonetheless, a viral infection does not appear to be the only source of the symptom that resemble common colds. And as I reflect on the past 40 years of my life, I ask myself, “Have I ever had a cold caused by a viral infection?”, I disagree. In order to bolster it, I had been tracking the case of coughing up phlegm occurred by chemicals emitted from things.

Given the conditions surrounding COVID-19 infection, it is obvious that the virus is the source of this illness. That being said, it is a question worth asking whether the cold I am talking about is genuinely brought on by a virus. And why do we get coughing up phlegm? Because of the allergy? or colds? or tonsillitis ? Maybe COVID-19? It is important to note that the illnesses listed above can cause coughing up phlegm. The diagnosis results can show that a patient has different diseases such as COVID-19, tonsillitis, allergies, and colds, but the same symptoms of coughing up phlegm.

From now on, I compare the causes, symptoms, disease characteristics, and coping methods of each disease. Based on my experience, in particular, I approached the reason for contracting a disease called a cold without a viral infection. Chemicals which emitted from things round us can cause coughing up phlegm.

2. The chemicals behind coughing up phlegm occurred</h2>

1) Allergic rhinitis

There’s a theory that suggests allergens like pollen and house dust mites are the main causes of allergic rhinitis. However, according to my observations, chemicals emitted from things around us caused most allergic reactions. They manifested as a range of symptoms like runny nose, sneezing, coughing up phlegm, and conjunctivitis. Sneezing might happen, for instance, if you use a pillow that has been kept in a closet for a while. Moreover, coughing up phlegm may happen when using a new humidifier or book.

The things that surround us release chemicals that cause our respiratory system to react. Therefore, the symptoms go away in a matter of minutes or hours if we remove the object from the area. Naturally, you never know when symptoms like coughing up phlegm will go away if you don’t remove the item. Additionally there are only a handful of cases of pollen allergic rhinitis. And house dust mite allergies don’t seem to be very common, in my opinion. Coughing up phlegm can be occurred by chemicals released from objects.

2) Cold

As of July 2023, I had taken my 30-month-old child to the ENT clinic multiple times in the previous two years. The attending physician would diagnose him with either a cold due to a swollen nose or a sore throat due to a swollen throat after examining his throat and nose under a microscope or other instrument. However, there was not a single case where he was told what was causing his sore throat or cold.

From what I’ve observed, doctors usually diagnose minor airway irritation or tonsillitis in my child as cold nose or sore throat. What then was the reason for the cold and sore throat of mild tonsillitis? After two years of observation, unidentified chemicals emitted from fresh or smelly goods enter his respiratory tract for several hours, which resulted in the development of these symptoms.

Examples are bundles of used disposable diapers, polyester tents, and shoes (new or ones that have been sealed in a shoe cabinet for a long time). Coughing up phlegm may linger for a long time if anyone does not remove the items that trigger them, such as the ones listed above. He or she may think of the condition as a cold. But in my opinion, the symptoms are more like an extension of an allergy. If, by chance, the object disappears along with the symptoms, then anyone can write it off as a simple cold.
* ENT(Ear, Nose, Throat & Voice)

3) Tonsillitis

As has already said, I believe that chemicals emitted from new or odorous items that enter the respiratory system can cause tonsillitis. For example, in confined spaces like cars, the chemicals released from shoes may cause tonsillitis. When shoes are brand-new or have been worn after being kept in a shoe cabinet for a while, the effect is very strong.

A number of symptoms accompany tonsillitis, beginning with sore throat, fever over 39°C, runny or stuffy nose, and sneezing. Coughing up phlegm may last longer than a month in extreme cases. As said earlier, getting rid of everything that can cause phlegm to cough is also necessary to make coughing up phlegm better. The symptoms of tonsillitis, which include fever, coughing up phlegm, may persist if you don’t remove it.

4) COVID-19

In my experience, COVID-19 was unmistakably a viral infection. My 27-month-old son contracted COVID-19 at a daycare center in May 2023. Following that, my wife and I got the virus as a result of our COVID-19 diagnosis. I experienced a number of symptoms after getting the virus, including dandruff, itching, nausea, soreness in my body and muscles, fever, and coughing up phlegm. After contracting COVID-19, I did not take any medication and observed the symptoms in my body.

Phlegm and persistent coughing were the result of the respiratory system reacting to chemicals released from nearby items like laptops, PVC floor mats, and polyester clothing. Also, certain foods, particularly fizzy beverages caused coughing fit. Invisible chemicals released from surrounding objects caused a variety of symptoms, including coughing up phlegm. So controlling the environment was essential. Moreover, I believe that tonsillitis is the true reason behind some reports of sore throats and throat pain. Those are not only the outcome of an infection with COVID-19.

3. Features of the diseases and strategies for managing coughing up phlegm by chemicals

1) Features of the diseases

I could clearly see that exposure of the respiratory system to chemicals was the cause of allergies, colds, and tonsillitis. When allergy symptoms are mild, all that stays is throat clearing. However, when medium-strength chemicals in the air enter the respiratory tract, it causes coughing up phlegm and raises body temperature to roughly 37°C. In that case, anyone can consider it a common cold.

However, diseases like tonsillitis can arise if the respiratory system is exposed to potent chemicals in the air for an extended period of time. Many symptoms, such as a sore throat, fever over 39°C, sneezing, coughing up phlegm appear as tonsillitis worsens. This is peculiar, but a common scenario where items left around us to fulfill basic needs attack the respiratory system.

It is common knowledge that a viral infection is the cause of COVID-19. The primary signs and symptoms of a COVID-19 infection seem to be nausea, aches and pains in the body, fever over 39°C, and coughing up phlegm. A person may experience a variety of symptoms, including itching, sore eyes, and dandruff, depending on his or her immunity.

2) Strategies for managing coughing up phlegm occurred by chemicals</h3>

But if you experience any of the aforementioned symptoms, your body becomes sensitive and your immunity is compromised. So you have to take certain actions. Its purpose is to create a relaxing environment. Wear non-irritating, often-worn cotton clothing, for instance, if your current clothing is brand-new or composed of petrochemical products, such as polyester. If not, you might experience coughing up phlegm during the night.

If you consume carbonated drinks, you have similar effects. So you need to avoid it. Furthermore, a variety of items, including books, children’s toys, shoes, laptops, etc can cause reactions in sensitive respiratory organs. It’s important to keep in mind that products we use still release unidentified chemicals into the air, even if they pass the hazard test.

Reactions to the chemical in the respiratory tract can result in tonsillitis, colds, and allergic reactions. Additionally, in cases of COVID-19 infection, chemicals in the air contribute to prolonged coughing up phlegm production. Of course, allergies, colds, and tonsillitis can cause the symptoms of phlegm and persistent cough due to chemicals in the air. All that differs is the degree of intensity.

1. For lives without allergy symptoms

September 2023 has already passed, and the nights have become much colder, giving the impression that winter is drawing near. People are advised to take good care of their bodies throughout these seasonal changes. Because they are more likely to catch a cold. Some argue that the temperature difference between day and night causes viral infection. So individuals get colds more frequently. Also I believe that we must increase our body temperature to boost our immune systems without allergy symptoms. The claim that increasing body temperature boosts immunity, in my opinion, is insufficient. This is due to the fact that our body’s immunity is impacted by factors other than just body temperature throughout all four seasons, including changing ones.
In my experience, environmental factors are just as significant as body temperature. This is due to the fact that different antigens – chemicals as antigens in the air from our surroundings – have an impact on our bodies. Common allergy symptoms brought by the environment include sneezing, coughing up phlegm, itching, tonsillitis, pain in the lymph nodes, etc. As a few illustrative examples, I documented the symptoms that the chemicals released in our daily lives induce in our bodies. However it is impossible to list them all. Naturally, since immunity is based on body temperature, I start by stating the physical signs of a lowering body temperature.

2. Environment factors inducing allergy symptoms

1) Immunity temporarily lowered while resting on a chilly floor

– Lying on a chilly floor

For more than two months, an air conditioner has been running almost 20 hours a day to provide our second child, who was born recently, with a comfortable interior environment. At first, utilizing the air conditioner with the setting at 26 ℃ appeared to have negatively impact on my wife’s postpartum recovery. Thus, she adjusted its setting to 27 ℃. The Temperature of living room and bedroom maintained at a comfortable but not hot temperature, 27 ℃.

By the end of August, even if the air conditioner was turned off a bit early, it didn’t matter to us because the temperature in the house got cool at 11 p.m. For early morning formula feedings, I typically sleep with my second infant in the living room on a cushion pad. I occasionally slept on the floor of the master bedroom where my wife and elder child were sleeping, when my second child went to bed early. I frequently sleep this way since it’s cool to lie on the master bedroom’s naked floor.

– Allergy symptoms due to the chilly floor

On the final Saturday night of August, I didn’t think there would be any big issues due to the room’s chilly floor. I had intended to spend that night waiting for my first child to go asleep while lying on my back on the cold floor for a little while. However, I felt so tired when I went to bed that day, then my back began to feel chilly at four in the morning. I didn’t think much about it because it was August, but it was my mistake. I felt the damage of my immune system when I woke up, so depending on the environment, I sneezed and had a runny nose.

My body temperature was 36.3 ℃ when I took a reading, but I didn’t have a cough, sore throat, or phlegm. When I went to work and ate snacks, the histamine effect of the flour made me sneeze easily. Fortunately, I had an uncomfortable day by sneezing several times that day. By keeping my body temperature warm while sleeping that night, my body returned to normal. My runny nose and sneezing would have persisted for a few more days if I had slept on the cold floor for a few hours even though it’s hot in the summer. It’s a short story, but maintaining a warm body temperature while sleeping is an illustration of essential condition.

2) Allergy symptoms due to objects carelessly placed

I stress that we shouldn’t just leave objects around us without any thought. This is because our respiratory tract is exposed to a variety of unidentified chemicals, or antigens, that are released from things we inadvertently place in our environment. This leads to a number of allergy symptoms, including headaches, eye pain, tonsillitis, coughing up phlegm, lymph nodes pain, and sneezing. All these symptoms are allergic reactions to things in the immediate vicinity. Of course, these also include the shoes, socks, and clothes we wear on a daily basis. I recorded the impacts of surrounding things on the body through multiple cases below.

– Mask-induced sneezing

I frequently traveled to Seoul on business trips during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused stress throughout the entire country. When I traveled to Seoul for a business trip at that time, I used public transit and wore a mask all day long except from mealtimes. I normally wore the regular KF-94 mask. One day I wore a bird beak type KF-94 mask on a business trip to Seoul. And I had a bad sense that I was going to sneeze when I got to the Seoul Express Bus Terminal.

Then I did sneezing several times. I went to a neighboring grocery to get a regular KF-94 mask, put it on, which solved the problem of uncontrollably sneezing at that point. But I sneezed again, and I realized that the mask was in my inner pocket—the bird beak type KF-94 mask that I had with me at that time. Wearing a bird beak-style KF-94 mask in addition to an inexpensive dental mask and an unidentified fiber mask can cause sneezing fits. The KF-94 normal mask, in my experience, did not induce sneeze, though it occasionally did, depending on my immunity.

– Headaches from wearing polyester clothes

We currently live in the era of synthetic fibers. I’ve read an article discussing how polyester or PET are used to make vests. After reading the story, I had not felt good. Naturally, it was evident that this was a wise strategy for resource recycling. But I did not like that the clothing was not made of cotton but rather polyester, a petrochemical product. This is not to say that I dislike it because it is made from PET; rather, it is because it is made up of petrochemical materials like polyester and PET.

My experience has shown that wearing garments made of polyester can result in a number of allergy symptoms, such as conjunctivitis, headaches, shoulder pain, sneezing, and nausea. The polyester-polyurethane composite material top that the company provided as work clothes caused me to get allergic symptoms two years ago, in 2021, including headaches and sneezing. I still do not wear the clothes. If possible, wearing cotton clothing is, in my opinion, the first step in defense against allergy symptoms. As you read this article, you should be aware that if you wear clothing made of petrochemical goods, like polyester, and you have allergy symptoms like headaches, it’s probably because of the material.

– Tonsillitis caused by shoes

Like clothes, many kinds of footwear—such as sneakers, slippers, and shoes—are necessary in our daily life. Among them, shoes that are fresh or that have been kept in a shoe cabinet for a while have a significant impact on the body. There won’t be any issues if the shoes we wear every day cause little irritation to our tonsils or respiratory system and cause our body temperature to rise to about 37 ℃. But as previously stated, when we wear new shoes or shoes that have been in the cabinet for a long time in a closed space for several hours, our body temperature rises to 39 ℃, causing a variety of symptoms like runny nose, sneezing, sore throats, and coughing up phlegm.

Therefore, I believe it is wise to keep shoes in a different area when we are in a closed space, like a car. It is typical for a small child’s body temperature to rise above 37 ℃ when they are in a car for more than an hour without internal air conditioning while wearing shoes. Furthermore, based on my observations over the previous two years, new objects like tents, daycare bags and wet towels on chilly evenings can contribute to tonsillitis. Of course, a lot of things could be the source of tonsillitis.

– Pain in the top of my head and my child’s crying by Styrofoam boxes

The need for parcel delivery has grown significantly since the 2000s. With a few exceptions, both then and now, when dispatching a courier, we place the thing in a paper box and send it. Foods like Kimchi need to be insulated, which is why Styrofoam boxes are so widely utilized. Two or three times a year, our mothers also send Kimchi encased in Styrofoam to us, my wife and me. Because a styrofoam box is more expensive than a paper box, we mostly store it at home separately.

One day I put the Styrofoam boxes away in a tiny room that had been used into a warehouse, having just finished sorting through the Kimchi that my mother-in-law had sent us from Pohang. But my three-month-old infant at that time had been crying for a week and wasn’t acting like him normally. I tried to find out why he was crying all the time, but I was unable to. Moreover, I had headache pain on top of my head on the weekend when we were at home. I could only conclude at that point that chemicals distributed in the air were entering the body through the respiratory tract.

Then, something in the small room caught my eyes: an open Styrofoam box. At that time, I thought that the child’s sobbing and the discomfort at the top of my head were related to the Styrofoam box. After a week of crying every night, he stopped the following day when I removed it. The ache at the crown of my head vanished. The Styrofoam box caused both his crying and the pain in the top of my head. We don’t quite sure why he started crying, but it’s obvious that chemicals from the boxes bothered him.

– Pain in the eyes from paper boxes

Paper boxes are more often utilized than Styrofoam boxes when shipping packages. The post office sells a paper box at a very cheap price. But among the bad things to have around the house is this paper box. I dropped a tiny paper delivery box on another chair behind the chair by mistake while working on personal business in my small room. After about an hour of personal work, I went to bed.

My eyes hurt when I woke up the following morning. I saw a white border encircling the pupil. And feeling of a foreign body, akin to an insect crawling into my eye, were also present. When a comparable paper box was about one meter away, I could feel pain in my eyes even when I was working at work. About a week after I removed the box from its surroundings, my eyes started to function normally again. It was evident that the paper box had discharged unknown chemicals into the air. Thus it was damaging to the eyes as allergy symptoms.

– A variety of allergy symptoms caused by an all in one printer

To the right of my workstation, during my time in graduate school in Pohang, stood an all in one printer fourteen years ago. I’m not sure what impact the printer made on me back then. Also, there was a multifunction printer on the right side of my desk when I first started working. As time passed, I was still surrounded by a multifunction printer in 2017 when I was working in Gangneung.

At that time I was getting frequent headaches and what felt like needle pricks. I was unable to identify it even though I was looking for the reasons. One day, after months of investigation, I thought that the printer on the left side of me was the source of my sneeze fits and migraines. I read an article online that claimed all in one printers release a number of dangerous chemicals into the air. And eventually, just by chance, I relocated to a spot near the window, a little bit away from the printer. The sneezes and headaches went away.

– Itching, coughing and phlegm caused by A4 paper

I was working from the seat next to the window five years later. However, one day I got severe arm itching for no apparent reason. There was also coughing and phlegm generation. But all of a sudden, it was believed that using A4 paper frequently was the reason behind phlegm, coughing, and itching. Thus, I tried to keep A4 paper off of my desk as much as possible. The allergy symptons did not happen as a result.

For the first time in my professional life, I recognized that using A4 paper could result in scratching, coughing and phlegm. While the A4 paper I’ve used thus far has been quite pricey. But the A4 paper I’ve used during the last few months appears to have been somewhat inexpensive. Given its low cost, the A4 paper does not appear to be very beneficial to human health. I have therefore been trying to clear my desk of it when I’m working.

– Coughing and phlegm induced by a humidifier

I do not think it is a very desirable approach to use a humidifier in wintertime. Nonetheless, given the low humidity in the air, most people take it for granted that they would use a humidifier. I woke up from sleeping with phlegm and a cough when I used a humidifier. There were also headaches and sneezing fits when working on private tasks in the living room with the humidifier running. The plastic used to make the humidifier seems to have leaked a number of chemicals into the air. And it irritate people’s respiratory systems.

I used a humidifier by first leaving it in an area with good ventilation, which helped to lessen the strain on my respiratory system. And I used the humidifier again after storing it in a warehouse or something like that for a year. But I felt discomfort in my respiratory tract, as if the humidifier had returned to its original state. Also my headache and cough came back. After a year of storage in a warehouse or whatever, I used the humidifier once more. Then my headache and cough returned. I experienced discomfort in my respiratory system as though the humidifier had reverted to its initial state. I’m not sure how useful it is. But I believe it’s imperative to keep a humidifier away from our respiratory system if we use one.

– Wet towel on my forehead on a chilly dawn

Typically, we know that different stains disappears out of clothes, when we washed them in a washing machine. Nevertheless, the garments we use still contain detergent components we haven’t even considered after washing and rinsing. I’m not sure how useful this is, but I say that we should add as many rinses as we can when using a washing machine. If we frequently use moist towels to regulate the humidity inside in winter, we must be cautious about using it. Because our body may be severely impacted if the towel is not well rinsed and detergent remains in it. It will be the worst atmosphere if we use towels stained with detergent by our bedsides in the cold without adequate interior heating.
Early in October 2021—seven months after the first child’s birth—it was. My wife put a wet towel beside my bedside at that time that she used to regulate the humidity. I slept that night staring at the towel above my forehead, even though I was a little concerned about it. That night, when I went to sleep, I had a sore neck and a very cold body. Subsequently, a sore throat, temperature exceeding 39 ℃, sneezing, coughing and phlegm appeared the following day. The cough and phlegm persisted for more than three weeks. And my child also experienced symptoms that were comparable to tonsillitis. After that, if we use a wet towel, I rinse it multiple times and try not to get it in the respiratory system.

3. How to stay the best immune in every season

There are two approaches to prevent allergy symptoms by maintaining a healthy level of immunity throughout the year. First is maintaining a healthy body temperature. Second is not letting things lie around our living area mindlessly.

1) Keeping the body temperature warm while sleeping

On a chilly night, we may experience low body temperature. This can lead to basic respiratory conditions like runny nose and sneezing in the morning. The respiratory disease can linger for several days if body temperature doesn’t rise steadily. Additionally, if we eat foods high in gluten or fizzy drinks, or if we keep items that might be classified as petrochemical products that trigger allergies close by, the symptoms might persist longer. Therefore, the first stage in preserving immunity might be stated to be keeping the body temperature warm while sleeping.

2) Organizing the living space furnishings

Furthermore, as previously indicated, allergy symptoms may occasionally manifest. Even in cases when the body temperature stays high if allergy-causing objects are unintentionally placed near the respiratory tract. There is variances in the onset of symptoms, including – runny noses, sneezing, headaches, painful eyes, pain, coughing and phlegm, etc. If any of these symptoms continue, there must be a cause in the immediate area. We have no idea how long the symptoms will persist if we don’t get rid of the object.

It is crucial to maintain a warm body temperature and control the living environment if allergy symptoms occur regularly. Allergy symptoms are likely to linger even after receiving medical attention and medicines if these two conditions are not well treated.

1. A term I came upon around 2004

I had sniffles in 2004 that persisted for more than a month. I don’t usually visit hospitals, but I did see an ENT specialist since I had those symptoms that had been bothering me during that period. It was the first time I had ever heard the term “allergic rhinitis” when the doctor in charge described a symptom. And I never would have imagined that I would be blogging about removal of allergy symptoms back in 2004.

* ENT : Ear Nose and Throat

2. Condition of health by time

1) State of health while serving in the military

I therefore took my first dose of allergy rhinitis medication on that day. I can’t recall how many times I took it precisely, but eventually my symptoms of allergic rhinitis got better. And that year, in the fall, I joined the armed forces. In the military, allergic rhinitis symptoms were uncommon. But I also developed plantar fasciitis, had sporadic body aches, lost my ability to control my body, and spent a month in the hospital due to pneumonia.

2) No requiring removal of allergy symptoms

I spent some time at home after I was released from the army. But I sneezed by allergic reactions, my face developed pimples, and the plantar fasciitis agony persisted. In the meantime, I spent roughly a year living in a small dorm room in Seoul’s Sillim-dong after receiving my college degree. Allergy symptoms did not appear while I was in it. This was probably because not only was the room old, but there was almost no furniture in the room.

3) Allergy symptoms during graduate school

I continued on to graduate school at Pohang after that. I didn’t initially have any unusual symptoms when I started graduate school. At some point, my face began to break out in acne, which hadn’t been there for a while. In addition, the area surrounding my eyes was always swollen from allergic conjunctivitis. I had been aware of allergic rhinitis for about 6 years, but I didn’t know the way for removal of allergy symptoms.

3. Efforts for removal of allergy symptoms

1) Wearing a cap

Wearing a cap was the only approach to overcome allergy symptoms between 2009 and 2012. My own belief at that time was that donning a hat would lessen heat emissions and alleviate allergy symptoms, but this was uneffective. Back then, conjunctivitis and sneezing fits in a laboratory full of chemicals were the usual symptoms.

2) Intake of vitamin D

One day, it was said on TV that obtaining vitamin D through sunlight would have impact on removal of allergy symptoms. So I tried to make vitamin D through sunlight. Furthermore, I bought and took vitamin D in the form of capsules because I believed the amount of its produced in my body would be insufficient. But I can’t remove allergy symtoms by doing previously described ways. Since then, I haven’t taken it separately.

3) Drinking a red ginseng solution

I consumed a red ginseng extract product that I had received as a gift from a domestic company around at that time. After drinking the product, even with the office door closed, I was less likely to sneeze. I took it for about a month, but I had to admit that because of the high cost, it was difficult to eat it regularly. I also didn’t eat the product consistently because I saw that other people who had taken it sneezed occasionally.

4) Taking a variety of dietary supplements

Sneezing was the allergy symptoms that troubled me the most out of all of them. Thus, I kept looking for information in an attempt to lessen the symptoms of sneeze and discovered publications that suggested taking dietary supplements like zinc, flavonoids, selenium, lactic acid bacteria, and omega-3. I started taking the supplements I mentioned above once a day to help with my sneezing symptoms. I also performed daily bare-handed exercises as an added effort.

– Inevitable sneezing in spite of efforts

I had a sensitive nose in 2018 and would sneeze at the mere smell of transparent tape. My physical condition had improved, though I’m not sure if it was because I was taking the aforementioned nutritional supplements on a daily basis. Still, breathing in new clothing, carpets, paints, etc. would inevitably cause sneezing. In my experience, taking the aforementioned nutritional supplements did not completely eliminate allergy symptoms such as sneezing.

5) Taking multiple vitamins

And I thought maybe multivitamins could help get over allergies. Naturally, I assumed that taking multivitamins would help balance out the immune system. For approximately a year, I tried taking them, but I was still unable to stop sneezing when I was around chemicals that caused sneezing. Consequently, I found myself in a situation where I could not completely remove sneezing as allergy symptoms, even with nutritional supplements.

4. Logging for removal of allergy symptoms

The easiest method to stop allergy symptoms is to just keep the living area clean to keep allergens out. Additionally, be sure to open the window to allow for adequate ventilation whenever we are in the living area. It also involves having a deep understanding of the body’s symptoms. The approach is to keep a daily log of any sneezing, acne, headaches, runny or stuffy nose, pain, or lip issues that are brought by new objects or food consumed.

It is assumed what the physical reaction is related to after logging. Should the assumption be true, a subsequent instance of the same circumstance might elicit the same physical response or a different one. To use the humidifier as an example, at first it made me cough and produce phlegm. But it caused me to sneeze on another day. Although the precise cause is unknown, it is thought to have something to do with the storage environment of the humidifier. We can remove sneezing and other allergy symptoms somewhat by repeating this set of efforts.

1. Life after marriage in general

I used to hardly ever sneeze because I constantly maintained the surroundings of my house and place of a job. The second winter arrived after our 2018 wedding and Christmas was near. And then my wife expressed her sincere desire to decorate the house. She told me about everything she bought every time. I wished I would not sneeze when I heard her mention  them. She bought a bunch of different decorations. A christmas tree among them that was making me sneeze without realizing what it was.

2. Decorations that were brought inside

1) Adornment on the desk

My wife bought a wooden picture frame, a christmas tree made of petroleum-based material, four rabbit families made of porcelain, and green moss. There were one or two things waiting for me when I got home from work. Specifically, She wanted to place the picture frame, the rabbit family, and the christmas tree whereever she liked. So she hung the frame and the family of rabbits on the wall above the desk, and placed the tree on the left side of the desk. They were nice decoration in our primary living area.

2) Beginning of a sneeze

As expected, I was about to sneeze at something before I realized it. I opened the window quickly after sneezing. But I still sneezed occasionally. I was not sure if that was because of the many chemicals coming from the recently bought items or just because they were directly in front of me.

3) Sneeze making christmas tree

I had no choice but to ask my wife to understand that it made me sneeze. So I had to put the family of rabbits on the balcony and give the christmas tree several good washings in soapy water. Even though I’d given the tree several washings, I was still sneezing. It was no easy to take the tree out of the living room with only a few days until Christmas. My sneezing finally ceased once Christmas was over and the tree was moved to the balcony. Additionally, I reasoned that most of the chemicals would emit totally if I left it in a well-ventilated area for an extended period of time. It would allow me to utilize it for Christmas the following year.

4) Location of the christmas tree making sneeze

After a few months, we moved into an apartment. There was ample room in the 86m² apartment to arrange different decorations. My wife started working after moving into the apartment, and she subsequently got pregnant. In the meantime, Christmas was coming again. I was anxious because the Christmas tree had made me sneeze the year before.
She was slowly preparing for placing the Tree. I put it in the living room window corner because she wanted it there, but I felt to sneeze a little. That’s why I proposed to put the tree on the recycling container outside the internal door. I assumed that very little of the tree’s  chemicals entered the living room. Because it was positioned outside the internal door.

3. Sneeze making christmas tree outside internal door

To keep myself from sneezing, the Christmas tree had to be positioned as far away from the living area as feasible. Thus, I reasoned that it would be a good idea to place it outside the internal door, above the recycling container, each winter. I had to look through the middle door to see the christmas tree’s lights twinkling, which was a little disappointing. I’m pretty sure this will keep happening every winter until I move out of the apartment.

1. My mattress experiences before marriage

When I entered university, I used a bed and mattress provided by the dormitory for the first time. In the military, I slept with a single mattress spread out on the bare floor of my quarters and covered with a blanket. I also used a bed with mattress when I was in the Armed Forces Daejeon Hospital, Daejeon, South Korea, for about a month due to pneumonia. Even after leaving the military and entering graduate school, I used a bed with one provided in the dormitory. And when I lived in a small studio after joining a company, the floor was bare. But when I went on business trips, there was always a bed so I used a mattress. Until that time, I didn’t recognize that a mattress caused shoulder pain.

2. Family’s experiences using the mattress

1) King size mattress

I’ve got married in 2018 and lived in a small studio. 2 years later, we moved into an apartment and my wife bought a bed. Of course, the bed reflected fully on her preferences. However, we could not use the bed properly due to the smell of paint. Then, after the baby was born and while raising him, she purchased a mattress to use on the floor. At first, she purchased a king-size mattress, but it was not suitable for many reasons, so she sold it as a used mattress.

2) Family size mattress caused should pain

– Sudden shoulder pain

In December 2021, my wife purchased a family size mattress. Since it was family size, we assumed that there would be no inconvenience for our family of three to sleep in it. She took off the outer cover of the mattress and washed it alone, and placed memory foam in a small room on the east side for a while to do off-gassing. It smelled horrible, according to her, but I couldn’t detect it. I often went back and forth to the small space with memory foam that is releasing chemicals, and for about three days. But I felt a little pain in my right shoulder. It was hypothesized that it was caused by chemicals released from the mattress, the outer cover, and the foam, rather than a potential side effect of the COVID-19 immunization.

– Severe shoulder pain

Because the smell seemed to have reduced considerably, we planned to spend the weekend on a family-sized mattress when sleeping. The outer cover was filled with foam. The family size mattress was a particular choice because it was big. For one night, we slept on the mattress, and my wife seemed content. We had lunch the following day while our 10-month-old child was also consuming his food.

The little pain in my right shoulder suddenly intensified as I was using my right arm to feed infant food to my child, leaving me unable to move the arm at all. Moreover, the pain in my right shoulder traveled down my back to my left shoulder. I was unable properly sit down since the agony was so severe. My wife placed a pain relief patch to it, but it had no impact. The reason for this is that where heat should have felt, at the hurting spot, I instead felt coldness.

– My guess of shoulder pain

I intermittently did push-ups to alleviate the pain. I spent about three days in terrible agony. Other times, the pain’s intensity had lessened, leaving no discernible discomfort with daily life. This particular shoulder pain seems to be brought by breathing certain chemicals or dust. In my experience, this was because shoulder pain appeared when inhaling PVC odor, specific dust, or other field chemical substances. So, in my opinion, it’s critical to refrain from breathing air that contains chemicals and specific dust while we’re living.

– Shoulder pain by a mattress after 5 months

After using the mattress for 5 months, I evaluated the shoulder’s condition. It’s been so hot outside that I’ve spent a lot of time sleeping on the floor next to the mattress, and the shoulder pain that had subsided for a while seemed to be returning. Like five months ago, the shoulder pain that had first appeared on the right side then shifted to the left. Fortunately, the pain was manageable and did not interfere with daily activities. I looked at the mattress’s specifications to figure out what kind of material was being used, as it was the source of my discomfort.

– Causes of shoulder pain

Certificate of product says that the product passed hazardous substances test. The material of cover was 100% polyester and the one of foam material was 100% polyurethane. I was certain that both the cover material and the foam material, which also released chemicals, were to blame for my shoulder pain. Fortunately, my wife and infant usually sleep on a mattress with a rug on it, so I believe they are less affected by the material.

– Future expectation of shoulder pain

My immune system may be delicate, but when I slept on the bare floor next to the mattress without a rug, I felt pain. I think when I slept next to the mattress, unidentified chemicals were released into the air. I will always sleep on the bare floor because I prefer it to the mattress, barring unforeseen circumstances. If so, I believe shoulder pain might happenr periodically. There won’t be a problem, of course, if the mattress releases fewer chemicals into the air over time.

3. Strategy to prevent shoulder pain

Push-ups, in my opinion, are the best treatment for shoulder pain. Of course, I believe someone will need to add a pain relief patch for those who are unable to do them. In order to prevent shoulder pain from getting worse, I believe the first thing to do is to effectively manage a daily living environment. Although this article uses a mattress as an example, in my experience, shoulder pain can also result from wearing clothing made of petrochemical materials. In addition, managing a daily living environment is crucial because there are numerous paths that lead to severe shoulder pain.

1. Dating before marriage

I met my wife in the fall of 2016. We had a weekend date at that time. I worked in Gangneung during the week and only went to Pohang on the weekends. Everyone dates in a different way, and ours wasn’t particularly unique either. Initially, We went to Gyeongju, a nearby historical and touristic city, to ride a bike and had dinner. A short distance from Pohang in Cheongdo is the amusement park Provence, where we had a happy day. Our weekend date locations changed as we couldn’t always go to the same place. We also went to the Busan Aquarium to see a variety of marine creatures and walked around Yeongildae, saw POSCO at night view in Pohang. It had been a good time before rashes and sneezing by car tinting occured.

2. Experience in car tinting

1) LASIK of my wife

My wife had received LASIK in the summer of 2016, before we began dating deeply. So She requested that I got the car tinted in order to shield her eyes from the sun’s rays. After understanding that, I looked up information regarding car tinting and, with my coworker’s assistance, located a firm that offered the service. It was time for me to head to Pohang on Friday night once again, as the weekend approached. I went to Pohang to meet my wife, and we went home each other that evening after our little meeting. The next morning, I woke up early and headed to the car shop to get my car tinted. I made the decision to go ahead with the tinting after meeting with the shop owner and going over the process.
* LASIK : Laser-Aasisted In Situ Keratomileusis

2) Dating after the tinting

Tinting required stripping off the old tinting paper and reapplying fresh material, which took roughly three hours. After tinting my car, the interior was no longer easily visible, and it had a grand feel than before. The owner of the business ended the tinting process on that particular day, cautioning that “you must not lower or raise the window carelessly.”

After tinting the car’s glass, I picked up my wife and we headed on a date. The fact that the automobile window was tinted on all sides made her very happy. Its interior was hidden from the outside view, and during the day, the sun did not shine inside, which was why I found it very attractive. And that day, I chose to stay local and have a cup of coffee at a beachside cafe.

3) Rashes and sneezing through my car tinting

One day later, I went to church and while I waited for my wife, I attended meetings at the church and completed some personal work. We had dinner following all meetings, and I drove her home and went to Gangneung dispatch site. And then I was alone, so I listened to music and the radio. But after a while I sneezed. I could not know the source of the sneezing at first. But after some consideration, I realized that it was probably the automobile window tinting. Unknown chemicals from it were entering my respiratory system. I drove up to my lodging station with the car window slightly open in winter. At that time the number of sneezes considerably decreased after a while of driving with the window open, but rashes started to emerge on the forehead of my face.

3. Untill stopping rashes and sneezing by tinting

To minimize the amount of unknown chemicals released from the tinting, while driving and parking, I opened the car window slightly. In my opinion, the tinting paper did released chemicals a lot. Rashes and sneezing disappeared after about three months, even with the window closed. In other words, I believed that after three months, chemicals from the tinting paper didn’t affect my respiratory system. Since then, the chemicals released from automobile tinting have not caused rashes and sneezing, and I could drive without any sneezing. I believe I should give careful thought to not get a new car tinting in the future in view of this experience such as rashes and sneezing.

1. Background of sneezing by broken seat covers

I have been a driver for ten years as of 2018 before I realized it, I had owned a car for a considerable amount of time. Any object will eventually wear out if anyone use it regularly, regardless of type. In a similar vein, the vehicle I was operating had been on the road for more than seven years and was extensively worn down. Specifically, the seat cover had holes in it that was ruined after a period of heavy long-distance driving. The tiny hole in the driver’s seat cover continued to enlarge until it became an issue. For these reasons, sneezing by broken seat covers occured to me.

2. Attempts to avoid sneezing by broken seat covers

1) Sneezing by broken seat covers

Sneezing, an allergy symptom, started happening to me occasionally when I was driving. The source of frequent sneezing seemed to be an unknown chemical compound emitted from the leather covers of the driver’s seat. I made the decision not to sneeze, so I drove with the windows open. The idea is simple: when I open the window, chemicals released from the sheets go into air outside. But I believed that driving in the middle of winter with windows open would provide major obstacles. I therefore spent several hours sewing up the torn part using a needle and thread in order to patch up the seat covers.

2) Change in the seat with covers

I took action, but the chemicals still leaked out of the seat covers, so I kept sneezing. The gravity of this issue has increased. Buying the driver’s seat separately was pricey. After looking around, I ultimately chose to buy the used seats that fit my car through an online car club. Fornunately, expenses were minimal. At that time, if I installed a new seat cover alone, it would have cost between 200 and 700 dollars. However, for 30 dollars, I bought and installed seat covers from a car that someone was going to trash.

3. Sneezing after changing the seat covers

1) Unpleasant odor coming from seat covers

Also, I thought it would be waste to just replace the seat covers, so I tried to get the mat from the car, but I canceled because the mat seemed to have a strange kimchi scent. That smelled bad, like it would make me sneeze. On my way home, after I had changed the seat and shut the car door, I noticed an odd mat odor coming from the seat. It was clearly not the fragrance of kimchi; rather, it was more like bad odor. The smell most likely lingered in it because the seat had been in the same area as the mat for a considerable amount of time.

2) Until the stench goes away

The awful scent, as previously noted, seemed like it would cause me to sneeze, and sure enough, I couldn’t help it. I simply hoped that the odor would leave the seat quickly because it made me sneeze. I kept the window open while driving till the smell went away. Eventually, after roughly three months, the majority of the unpleasant seat cover odor vanished, as did the tendency to sneeze when driving.

4. Summary of sneezing from start to disappearance

An unknown chemical was discharged from the damaged seat cover of an old car and it made me sneeze periodically. I sewed the damaged spot shut to prevent sneezing, but it didn’t work. I eventually got used seat covers to replace the original one, but it smelled bad. This led to further sneezing, fortunately, after three months the sneezing stopped and the stench appeared to have vanished.

1. My marriage without sneezing fit by histamine

I first saw my wife at a religious gathering. I had known her as a church sister for about nine years before marriage. She impressed me by saying something uplifting at the bus stop when I was having a rough day. Sometimes we had met at a church youth group leader meeting. After meeting frequently at small get-togethers, we eventually fell in love, were married, and led happy lives together. At the beginning of marriage, I didn’t experience sneezing fit by histamine at nighttime.

2. Efforts to reduce allergy symptoms

1) Marital life’s differences

I realized that we had completely different lifestyles after marriage in 2018. They can be categorized into, among other things, lotions, skins, clothing, shampoos, and soaps. I didn’t purchase many clothes, I hardly ever applied lotion or toner, and I washed both my face and my hair with soap. But she was buying nice clothes, using shampoo, and applying lotion and toner to her skin every day.

– Her makeup

Since we shared a daily living area in the early years of our marriage, there was inevitable overlap in our areas of activity. Since my wift was skilled at applying toner and lotion, I had to smell the skin care product she was using. In addition, she always put on some sort of moisturizing cream right before bed, and I always ended up smelling it. I consequently occasionally had to open the window or sneeze in order to get a good night’s sleep.

– New clothing

Moreover, she often enjoys looking at clothing. She would frequently glance at clothes when watching something on her laptop. If she had to buy the clothes after all, she asked me which ones I liked before making the purchase. She therefore stored her newly arrived clothes in the closet, which has a vent at the bottom for air to flow through. It was therefore impossible to prevent sneezing every time, since chemicals from the clothes were easily released into the air. Once more, in order to sleep comfortably, I had to either open the window or remove the new clothes from the closet.

– Shampoo smell

She has shoulder-length, straight hair. She chosed to wash her hair based on the circumstances rather than doing it every day. I usually slept close to her when she got in bed after shampooing her hair. But I had to sleep a little bit farther away if the smell of shampoo caused me to sneeze or even just feel bad about it. Either way, it could only be the embarrassment of a strong-smelling shampoo. So I asked her to wash it ten times when she rinsed her hair.

2) Sneezing fit by neurotransmitter called histamine

– Evaluation of physical status to stop sneezing fit

I sneezed a lot when I faced some of the scenarios I mentioned previously. It was never really simple to stop sneezing, no matter how hard I tried. This was due to chemical infiltration into my nose regardless of time and place. I thus constantly checked my physical state in real time. The nose’s response was the most basic ground. The sensation of something being in my nose or an itching sensation were an indicator of sneezing.

– “Histamine”, after research in a long night’s work

I didn’t know why I was sneezing at first. I knew that I would sneeze when chemicals entered my nose, but I didn’t know exactly how. So I spent the entire night trying to figure out why I was sneezing. I spent several days searching, but I was unable to identify the cause right away. Then I learned about the hormone known as histamine. It was actually the outcome of attempting to figure out after I couldn’t sleep at night.

– Sneezing fit by histamine, antigen-antibody reaction

Chemicals that enter the body attach itself to an antibody, which recognizes it as an antigen. The body begins to manufacture histamine at that point, which contributes to the itching sensation. Therefore, the face and nose both felt itchy when chemicals got inside them. I eventually started sneezing fit by histamine at night, which made it difficult for me to sleep.

3. An important milestone in managing allergy symptoms

I also discovered the startling truth that our food contains a significant amount of histamine, which is the chemical that causes itching, in addition to being created within the body. Numerous foods, such as sausage, tuna, mackerel, pig, saury, spinach, green tea, peeled oranges, and peanuts, are high in histamine. Knowing that histamine is what causes allergic symptoms, such sneezing, made me act more proactively than before.

1. A typical day of newlywed

My wife and I lived in one bedroom apartment in 2018, so making the most of our space was essential. While we lived together, things that had not been an issue when we were alone, frequently started to cause issues. My allergic reaction was, of course, the main issue. We needed to find a mutual agreement because she experienced allergic responses infrequently whereas I frequently experienced them. One day, she bought bookcases that released chemicals as antigens without talking with me.

2. Evaluation for tiny bookcases releasing chemicals as antigens

1) The room’s set aside for storing

Since our apartment was small, we needed room for everything we had brought. The house we were living in at that time had a 1m² built-in closet in the bedroom, a 1m² balcony in the living room, and a shoe cabinet with the top on the left side of the kitchen as the accessible storage spaces. The clothes we had brought together had to go into the built-in closet. We also had to put food ingredients in the balcony after buying them or the clothes in it after using a washing machine.

2) A tiny bookcase and a storage trolley cart

The only thing left was the shoe rack, on top of which were put books that we had brought. But it was so tiny that a little bookshelf was required. In 2018, my wife was busy of buying several necessities for the home. A storage trolley cart is one of those that is still in use. The cart had wheels, so she could easily transport it to wherever she wanted to go, even if the house wasn’t that big.

However, there was one item that we were unable to even utilize correctly: a little bookcase. She purchased it when buying a storage trolley cart at the same time, and we needed to assemble to use it. For these reasons, we bought it at a low cost. After assembling the bookshelf, I put the volumes inside while they had been waiting outside. Similarly, it was easy to transfer the little bookshelf to the desired location because it had with wheels.

3) Chemicals as antigens from bookcases inducing sneeze

After assembling the little bookshelf together and putting it in the living room, I started sneezing a lot. Even though it was made of wood, the quality of the material was probably poor. The unidentified chemicals from the wooden pieces affected me. I thus relocated it to the balcony and put all the books back where they had been. We talked about finding the way to remove chemicals as antigens released from tiny bookcases, but we were unable to come up with anything creative.

– Efforts to remove chemicals as antigens from tiny bookcases

A few days later, my wife purchased a phytoncide to eliminate sneezing of me, sort of sick building syndrome. She sprayed it all over the inside and outside of the small bookshelf. The idea was that by covering the entire surface with spray, antigens would be prevented from leaking out. After spraying three times over the course of three days, she eventually consumed all of the phytoncide. Thus, the tiny bookcase came once more into our living room, which was our couple’s primary living area. We used it again, a little more carefully that time, but eventually I sneezed. When I was about to sneeze, there was no specific way to use the little bookshelf. After some discussion, we made the decision to take the little bookshelf out of the living room and temporarily store it somewhere else.

4) Tiny bookshelf after a year

We made the decision to wait at that point in the hopes that the antigens would eventually disappear out of the little bookshelf. After about a year, we wanted to know the condition of it. In order to check it, we chose to bring it into our home. After a year, I checked the condition of it in the living room and found that antigens were still coming from it. This was because I sneezed again, again and again. Unfortunately, we returned it to an abandoned spot and never looked for it ever more.

3. Blocking chemicals as antigens from tiny bookcases

It is important to find out ahead of time whether anything that is required around the house would trigger allergies in the occupants. Naturally, until we buy it and bring it into our home, we are unable to check whether allergy-causing chemicals discharge, no matter how thoroughly we inspect the components or materials beforehand. To the greatest extent feasible, nevertheless, we must test everything we bring into the house. If we get an allergic reaction following testing, we shouldn’t use it at home. Or, it appears that the only option is to choose a specific place to use it.