August Makes Me Itchy & Cranky, So I’m Doing This

/ Ally Bean

Photo from an old greeting card. I’ve no source for it, but it’s how I feel right now, so here it is.

Unbelievably hot. Intermittently sunny.

Humid. Rainy. Windy. Moldy, with irritating tree + grass pollens in the air.

That’s our weather now.

Schizoid. 

I don’t like it, but that’s a given because August is my least favorite month of the year.  Some years I don’t try to keep this blog going during Hell Month, but this year I guess I’m feeling optimistic that I’ll have something to say here.

That I’ll do something, preferably fun, potentially interesting.

But you knowz what, my gentle readers?  The only thing I have going on this week that might even vaguely be called interesting is that I’m having BlephEx™️ done at the doc’s office.

BelphEx™️ is a medical procedure to combat blepharitis.  What is blepharitis you ask?  Allow me to quote from the BlephEx™️ brochure:  “Blepharitis is a chronic, inflammatory disease of the eyelids caused by an overgrowth of normal bacteria living along the lid and the base of the eyelashes.” 

Sorry you asked, aren’t ‘ya?

Getting to my point here, the BlephEx™️ procedure I am to have on Friday is to clean my eyelids and eyelashes in a way similar to the way a dental hygienist cleans your teeth.  This procedure will be a first for me, so I’m hoping that it’ll make my dry eyes itch less, as advertised.

To that I’d say HALLELUJAH.

So, my gentle readers, what have you got going on this week?

Something I hope that is a darned sight more interesting and less old-person-like than getting your eyelids professionally cleaned.

Lord love a duck, even typing that last sentence, I feel pathetic…

89 thoughts on “August Makes Me Itchy & Cranky, So I’m Doing This”

  1. So BlephEx™️ is to eyes as Stanley Steamer is to carpet? Set to a jingle . . .”BlephEx™️ procedure, the dry eye pleaser” Uh huh, uh huh . .. yea, yea . . drop the mike!

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  2. I will be very interested in your treatment as I have the same issues. I’ve never heard of it although I was looking at Lipiflow treatments earlier this year. There are things I like about August but this year’s excessive heat and humidity aren’t one of them. I love the locusts singing in the trees and usually by mid-August there is a coolness in the air overnight. This year all bets are off.

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    • Kate, the Doc has recommended this procedure before, but this year I’m irritated enough to go for it. I’ll let you know how it goes, what it does.

      Our Augusts are always awful. Either too wet/moldy like this year, or too dry/parched like a few years ago. I’m not a fan of the month, but I try not to complain too often about how lousy this month is. *meh*

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Oh my Ally Bean, I apologize because I actually sat here laughing to myself thinking this was a joke 😦 That word sounded so outlandish I figured you had to have made it up! Seriously though…yuck! I am imagining all sorts of horrors now so very close to your eyes…and I have just visited the link you provided! Eye lash mites!!! Holy crap I did not need to see that this morning. I sort of want to claw my eyes out right now. Good luck with this whole process 🙂

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    • Deb, I wondered about the name for this procedure when the Doc said it, too. I was all: “HUH?” However, if it helps my eyes be less itchy, then I’ll love it. But you’re right, once you learn about all the crap that is in and around your eyes, you can’t unlearn it. 👀

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Never heard of such a thing as having to have your eyelids cleaned, but that could explain my dry eye issues. Lordy, I dislike August as well. Too hot. Peeps are cranky and I love the crisp cool mornings of fall. Best of luck with your procedure today. For now I’m gonna blame dry eye on the fan constantly blowing on my face. LOL

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    • artistpath, this concept was new to me, too. The Doc suggested it a year ago, but I balked. However, I my eyelids are so itchy this month that I’m going for it. I want crisp cool mornings, too. I feel so alive in the fall, don’t you?

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  5. Since I freeze all day at the day job, I can’t really complain about August. The sounds outside are what I like best…they remind me of playing outside all day when I was child. Good luck with your cleaning. I think I have something similar but mine is below my brow.

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    • Jill, I like the sounds outside, too. But so far this month we’ve had so much rain that all I hear when I’m outside is the creek flowing behind the house. Crickets and birds may be making sounds out there, but water is what I hear.

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  7. I’ve learned something new (and somewhat yucky) today already. Thanks! And don’t feel bad — now, you’re just like Jennifer Aniston, what with her dry eyes and all (annoying commercials she does for that).

    This week is the same as every week in August: Stay cool; hang in there (kitten in a tree!); look forward to cooler and vacationy days ahead in September. Ahhhhhhhh. Thanks for asking!

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  10. Good luck with your procedure Ally! I hope it does the job. August is a tough month for allergy sufferers, for sure. Summer used to be my favourite season as a kid (when I spent my days swimming in Georgian Bay and my nights sleeping in a pup tent – no wonder the heat never bothered me). Now I love the fall – weather is cooler but still great (usually), bugs die off, and the trees put on a fireworks show before dropping their leaves. All of which makes hiking in the forests in these months so ah-mazing!

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    • Deb, August just makes me itch. It always has, so in some ways I’m resigned to it– the price I pay to get to glorious fall. But in other ways, all I want to do is whine about how I’m itchy and NOT HAPPY. Your childhood summers sound idyllic and your take on fall is spot on. Your realities are making me happier. Thanks.

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  11. I am typing this as apologetically as I can….but I LOVE August! For me, it’s summer’s last big hurrah before we hit that long descent into February (which is not my favorite month). Good luck with your eye procedure. I had never heard of that before.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Donna, you live where August must be lovely. If I lived where you are I know I’d love August, too. But around here it is a miserable, mixed-up excuse of a month, added into my life to make me appreciate fall even more. I think this procedure is newish here in the USA, so I’m not sure anyone has heard of it yet.

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  12. After you get your eyelids professionally cleaned, I hope you can see your way clear to finding some fun in August. I have to agree, it’s my least favorite month, too. I may pull up some snow scenes to have something to look forward to.

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  13. Humid. Rainy. Windy. Moldy, with irritating tree + grass pollens in the air. ~> Yup. That’s us too.

    Except we also have Red Tide pathogens in the Gulf, dead fish on the beach, and toxic fumes swirling in & around the sky high humidity. Call me Pollyanna if you will, but it is G~R~O~S~S. And hot. And sticky. And not my preferred beach environment.

    Good luck with the BlephEx™️ . . . hope it relieves your blepharitis so that your eyes are Clariton clear.

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    • nancy, I hate that Red Tide stuff. It’s far worse than what we have here, so you win the Lousiest August Weather Contest. Congratulations on surviving the ick.

      I, too, hope this procedure helps in some way, preferably a large way, but even a little bit of relief would be appreciated. Clear, Clariton or not, would be great.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Friday morning we walked on the beach next to turquoise seas. The Red Tide arrived at 2 pm that afternoon. Saturday morning, the sea was thick and brown with Red Tide drift. We’ve avoided the beach since then . . . but even inland the air is laden with S~T~E~N~C~H.

        August + Hibernation = Perfect Together!

        Best of luck on Friday!

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Good luck with the procedure, Ally. I worked for a husband and wife ophthalmologist team in my previous career and so I know about blepharitis. They were children’s eye docs so we didn’t get a lot of cases and I’m not sure this procedure was invented then. Most of the time it was antibiotic ointment that was given along with instructions to wash the eyes with baby shampoo. Am I somehow lacking because I don’t have a particular month that I love or hate? I mean, there are great things going on in March (my birthday), May (our anniversary), etc. but as far as avoiding a whole month? Maybe it is because I live in California…we’re so mellow all year long 🙂

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    • Janet, interesting about the ophthalmologists. I started with antibiotics and a baby shampoo wash, but have over the years gotten worse– hence Friday’s fun.

      If I lived with your weather I imagine I’d like all the months equally, too. However here, some months are consistently lousy year after year, August being the one that does me in. I could pretend to like it, but instead have chosen to whine about it. ‘Cuz I can! 😉

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  15. Just dry and hot here, which can get miserable with no central a/c. Hard to work outside or get any walks in. I can’t complain though because I have no allergies nor funky sounding eyelid procedure. I hope it helps!

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    • Janis, you’re awake. I’m told it’s messy as in don’t wear any make-up and expect to have it on at the end of the procedure. I don’t have to have anyone go with me, so I’m thinking this will be weird, but doable.

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  17. Some people will do anything to top the rest of us, I guess – I mean, eyelid cleaning? Okey-dokey! Seriously, I do hope it helps.
    I’ve spent the last two days chiding myself for feeling like I’m really ready for fall – not winter, mind you, but a very long fall season. Temps are rising, wildfire smoke levels are at very unhealthy, my yard needs attention which it won’t get until smoke and temps subside, and I’m getting irritable about all of it.

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    • Carol, YES, I’M DOING THIS FOR THE ATTENTION! How clever of you to figure that out. 😃

      I wouldn’t like all that smoke hanging around. It’d be like pollen to my eyes and make me anxious. I can understand why you’re irritable, and I can understand why you want a good long fall. So do I.

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    • Betsy, I’ve asked around and no one I know has had this procedure done, so I’m the first. Oh goody! They tell there is no recovery time in the same way that you get your teeth cleaned and return to your life immediately. I have my fingers crossed that it’ll relieve some of this itchiness.

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  19. That’s a new one on me!
    I’m so glad you’ve found something that might help you feel better. This summer has been hell for allergy sufferers. My husband’s hay fever shot is already…well, shot. He’s been pounding Zyrtec for weeks since he can’t get another steroid injection til at least mid-September. And I just picked up another Zyrtec package for MY CAT, who’s been snoring, sneezing, and wheezing for weeks too. His dose is 5mg a day.

    August…grrrrr.

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    • nance, this procedure is relatively new in the US but has been in Europe for a while. We’ll see how it goes [pun intended].

      I agree about this being a super allergy summer. I started my August sneezing in mid-July. Your husband gets steroid injections for allergies? Never heard of that one, but whatever works, works. And as for the cat, poor guy covered in fur and allergic to August. What a combo.

      Like

  20. Belph you, my child, for a good outcome on your procedure Friday. And “belph” you with cooler weather soon. Florida has similar stats in August. We’ll survive!

    What else have I got going on this week? Doing laundry after two sets of weekend guests. Quiet house now, simple happy!

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    • marian, cute use of words. Clever, aren’t you? Cool weather would be great.

      I enjoy that feeling after the guests leave, and you can get back to your normal. Simple happy, indeed.

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  21. Generally August isn’t too bad where I am (San Francisco area) but this year the whole dang state is burning up and so we live in fog. Very depressing. Good luck with the eyelid procedure. Hope it helps!

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    • Jan, yes, I see the news and worry about CA. That smoke is awful, she says stating the obvious. I’m hoping for the best with the eyelid procedure. It’s worth a shot.

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  22. Oh my goodness. Ally, a proper eye cleaning sounds like a miracle solution! I sure hope it works. Modern medicine is marvelous! Darn demodex — demon-whatevers, causing such chagrin.
    I have love hate with August. I love my anniversary and the fair. The rest, SO HOT!

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  23. Ally – I’m trying to wrap my mind around this. This is the first I’ve heard of the condition, much less the treatment. Positive thoughts winging your way. Hoping the treatment will be completely successful and give you the relief you need. If you don’t mind my asking, where are you that is so moldery in August? If it’s not a word, it is now. Go ahead. Stick your tongue out all you want. I’d be cranky too.

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  24. What am I up to this month, you ask? This week I’ll be getting my 30 meat birds into my freezer, well, 13 of them into my freezer; the rest are sold by the pound. That’s Thursday. It’s an exhausting job; I think I’d rather have my eyelids scraped. I least I can lay back. Do they put you out? That’d be nice. Good luck with the Blepherectomy or whatever. Interesting word. Just like slaughtering my meat birds (I don’t call them chickens), it’ll be great when it’s over.

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    • Janet, I wish you well with your project that seems more stressful than fun. You must have a large freezer and nerves of steel to do in so many meat birds at once.

      You’re awake for the eye procedure. They tell me it’s about on the level of the stress/pain you have when having your teeth cleaned. No big deal.

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  25. You probably don’t want to know this, but I can’t help myself… I watched a documentary once that used very special cameras to film the microscopic things on our bodies we can’t see. There are tiny mites that live in the follicles of your eyelashes!!! Yes, little “invisible” bugs loving the cozy, little caverns you provide. Warmth. Light. Midnight munchies. Mmmm!
    Now, I’ll bet you’re REALLY looking forward to that cleaning!

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    • L. Marie, I’m told that there’ll be no pain and that I’ll be able to go back to doing whatever I do immediately after the procedure. I’m figuring that in reality I’ll just go home and veg like a potato with sore eyes. No pun intended there.

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  27. I’m not sure I can beat BlephEx for this week’s plans, but I am currently waiting for the poop truck to come and pump out our septic system. How’s that for making the most out of your summer?
    😬

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  28. Love a duck and shiver me timbers Ally Bean. It’s a routine procedure I believe so you’ll do good. But good luck for that and let us know … not too much detail, I’m squeamish. Vegging like a (hot) potato sounds like good post operative care along with a coooool drink. August here in my world trundles along … it’s cold at night, warm in the day. Signs of spring though it wouldn’t surprise me if the cold freeze suddenly jumps out. (like your post does, nothing like a surprise to wake me up)

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    • Susan, having never had this procedure before I’m unsure as to how unnerving it’ll be, but I trust this Doc and he says it’s easy to live through. He’s never lead me astray so I’m not anticipating any trouble.

      It’s hot and humid here. I don’t mind it in theory, but in practice I get itchy from the allergens in the air. I never plan on doing much in August– and so far I’m following my plan to the letter. 😉

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    • camparigirl, I’ve known of this procedure for a few years now, but it’s only been this summer that I’ve been willing to do it. So moldy outside, so hot– and my eyes are so itchy. Not happy.

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  31. Sorry for smiling, but really? Eye lid cleaning? That’s a new one for me, but considering how I need to use eye drops every morning to open up my dry sore eyes, it’s starting to sound good. These last two weeks have been so muggy/hot/humid here in NE also. Last night a HUGE thunderstorm right on top of us. We cheered, but it did nothing to clear the air. Me? I go for an hour walk every morning before 9:30. Helps keep my mood from being to mooooo(dy). 🙂

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    • Pam, I don’t know if this procedure will help me, but I’m willing to give it a try. Then we’ll see what I think of it. We had a big thunderstorm two nights ago. It took out the electricity for 4 hours, but it did nothing to reduce humidity. Weird summer all around. And yes, you made me smile with your comments. 🐮

      Liked by 1 person

    • Katie, I’ll write a post next week about the whole thing. There seems to be more interest in this procedure than I realized there’d be. You just never know with blogging, what’ll catch someone’s eye. [Pun intended.] 🙃

      Like

  33. So sorry you ha e to deal with an annoying eye thing – and you know – I recently heard someone who washes their eyes with activated charcoal – I use charcoal for many many things and never thought of the eye scrub (she said it made her eyes really white too – and think she washed it off with coconut oil)
    Anyhow – sending good thoughts your way for the procedure
    🙏💜😊

    Liked by 1 person

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