When I was in second or third grade, I had an odd prayer: "Please God, why can't I be like my friends and have allergies and glasses?" Well, I've learned two things in life: (1) so many of my most earnest childhood prayers centered on fitting in, which is pretty damn sad; and (2) careful what you pray for.....
As far as Prayer #1, I'm over fitting in, I'd rather stand out! But that second prayer -- God got the last laugh. Glasses at 15 because I was blind as a bat, and worsening allergies throughout my adult life. Turns out I had allergies all along, just not severe enough to warrant the allergy shots that my friends needed. My worst offenders are pollens of all kind, and grass pollen especially. The smell of cut grass is enough to induce a headache. And I won't even discuss what bug bites do ... Mosquito bites are huge welts on me, not just little bumps.
As I've grown older, I've developed a couple of strange allergies. I'm apparently allergic to certain components in some cosmetics and skincare. I've had to start using dye-free/perfume-free laundry products. Otherwise it will become an ugly case of contact dermatitis that seems to last forever. And the other oddity is egg yolk. I can eat egg whites with no problems. But egg yolks give me an upset stomach, usually fairly shortly after eating them. Mixed into baked goods, no worries. An omelette? Not so much. And to make it even more interesting, I had a strange adverse reaction to one year's flu shot because the vaccine was grown in an egg base. Whatever enzyme or protein chain that sets off my stomach was in the culture base ..... The day after the shot, I didn't have "mild flu-like symptoms" but I did have excruciating abdominal pain. Yeah. My doctor at the time told me I could pretty much forgo future flu shots. Hooray for that!!
Otherwise, not much bothers me. My mom was highly allergic to bees and I'm hoping that's not another allergy that will develop for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment