It’s that time of year. Pollen counts are high, people are sniffling and moaning about hayfever and “allergies”. Today everyone has allergies (it seems like). Benadryl is over the counter, and there are more allergy meds than you can shake a stick at.
Some days I just look at everyone and laugh. I think, “If you only knew.”
From birth until the age of three I was, by all accounts, a holy terror. I never stopped screaming (although this is disputed by slides of me actually smiling – so it did happen). Nothing made me happy.
When I was three years old somehow my mother found what could label the cause of my problem.
I had allergies.
Oh, but this is more than the common problem of today. I was allergic to some very basic foods that are in EVERYTHING you eat (practically).
1. The protein in dairy. This meant no milk, no ice cream, no cheese, no butter. Nothing related to dairy products at all.
2. Corn. Yup, that yummy delicious food was among the list of my enemies. No corn on the cob, no corn on Thanksgiving. Imagine the cereals I was restricted from? Oh, and on that note:
3. Wheat. I barely remember this one so I’m pretty sure it’s the first I outgrew. (I only list it because my mom mentioned it in our last discussion of my little hell)
4. Cats, cat dander, don’t come near me if you have a cat. I sort of outgrew this in highschool, but it came back w/ a vengeance right around the time I got engaged to my husband.
5. On that note, any long haired animal was evil. I still remember in first grade we had a long haired guinea pig that I wasn’t allowed near. I always had to switch chore days w/ my BFF at the time (Hi Wendy!) when I got assigned the guinea pig.
6. Typical hayfever – pollen, dust (this one still majorly is true), mold…you know, the generics.
7. Soap. Bar soap (very much), bubble bath, shaving cream (oy, very much), body wash, deodorant (ugh. Yes, I use it). This one is still (mostly) true. I have to be selective of my liquid soaps and I still cant use shaving cream.
Weekly I went for shots (yes, shots. Most try to treat with oral meds these days) to “Dr. Bob”. My pediatrician and allergist extraordinaire. I couldn’t eat anything hardly, but meat and veggies. It was a good thing I was a freak of nature that loved my vegetables, because I HATED meat. All I could drink was orange juice or Kool-aid, the only cereal I could have was rice crispies or oatmeal.
My cousin (hey cuz!) to this day reminds me of the days I used to eat orange juice on my oatmeal or rice crispies. I think of those days and shudder.
I am addicted to pop nowadays because I still cannot bring myself to enjoy juice of any kind thanks to those influences. Kool-Aid is like a four letter word to me, but I’ll occasionally enjoy a Capri Sun or some pink lemonade – that’s my limit.
I eventually started to outgrow some of the allergies. Corn, thankfully, is something I enjoy frequently these days. Corn on the cob is still a favorite treat. Wheat, I don’t know how long that lasted, but I remember enjoying sandwiches in kindergarten so it can’t have been that long.
Dairy was tricky. I mostly outgrew it, and was drinking milk like a normal person by high school. When I got pregnant with my son, it came roaring back. And can I tell you something? Don’t EVER tell the hospital you have a dairy allergy. Otherwise your menu is seriously compromised. Anyway, with each pregnancy this sucker came roaring back w/ a vengeance and I was limited to no more than one serving of dairy a day (which I often opted for in ice cream). Now between my allergy and my lack of a gall bladder – dairy has once again become a four-letter word to me.
Cats. Oh, how I love cats. I love their purr, how they curl up with you, their grace…hell, I love the musical. Love, love, love cats. I got a cat in high school, Cali. I was not as affected by her dander as most other cats. Then we adopted Jazzy from my brother, and learned that I still had issues, but it was tolerable. We moved and eventually switched cats, and once again proved that I tolerate some cats better than others. Then I went to visit my cuz in NY. She had a huge ball of fur…Seriously, the cat was super-fluffy long hair. By the time I left her house 2 days later I could barely breath (after hogging her inhaler the whole time I was there)…got home and ended up in the hospital. Now, no cat is tolerable once again.
The worst these days is the soap/deodorant issue. Yes, I do use these things, I’m not a horrible pig. But I have to be VERY picky. I cannot use bar soap, of any kind. I don’t know what it is about forming the bar that does it, but I react every time. I have to use certain liquid soaps or shower gels. I CAN’T use shaving cream. I’ve ‘dry shaved’ since I was 11. It sucks. Then there’s deodorant. I have to switch about every six months to a year. I develop an allergy the longer I use a brand. I think I’ve been through almost every brand on the market and it’s time to switch again. Looks like I’m moving to the men’s aisle.
Needless to say, I don’t know how my mom did it. She should have put me in a bubble and fed me a liquid diet and be done with me. I was blessed to not have any kids w/ allergies beyond hayfever. For the almost two years we dealt w/ just a dairy allergy in Riley (who, thankfully has no issues now), I was at my wits end trying to find foods she could eat.
I admire my mom for the struggle she had
My Mom’s husband has Celiac Disease, which means no wheat, and is ALSO allergic to corn, which includes corn syrup and all corn derivatives. I don’t know how he even eats sometimes…