Dog allergies

Yesterday a friend stopped by to introduce a visiting friend from out of state. The new friend brought her allergic dog along. It turns out that the little 'princess' and I share some common allergies. So she could probably eat my table scraps (along with her hypoallergenic dog food)

You thought this was going to be about somebody being allergic to dogs, didn't you? Come on, admit it.

My favorite allergy quote!

'I am having an inappropriate immune system response to an otherwise harmless substance.'
Stefan Kavan

Are allergies all in your head?

Some people have put forward the idea that allergies are all in your head (or the head of the allergy sufferer.) I don't subscribe to this theory (It would probably cost too much for the cheap paper it is published on.)

From personal observation, I can tell that allergies frequently attack other areas of the body than the head. Skin contact hives, Full body hives, digestive upset, chest congestion, and other annoying symptoms can occur on the full body.

Aside from that, even when I don't know that an allergen is present, I still get the hives. When I washed my hands using a previously safe soap and developed contact hives all the way to elbows (yes I had been working in the yard so washed up to the elbows in prep for making lunch.) then I read the soap container to discover that they had decided to add something new. Something I already knew I was allergic to. ALOE VERA.

If soap manufacturers want to keep some customers, they should think carefully before adding an ingredient just because "All the other brands are doing it."

Did you think I got allergic to blogging?

No but I think my computer is allergic to power outages. One teensy weensy little power outage and the drive died. Then, new drive and power outage and second new drive.

I did take a cross country drive to see what new and more powerful allergens I could find. Discovery 1, I am allergic to carob. What is carob you ask. It is a strange tasting thing that some people insist tastes like chocolate. My taste buds find no similarity to chocolate and my immune system (which tolerates chocolate very well as long as there is no soy in it) has decided that carob is a major assault on my body.

Do you think that carob tastes like chocolate?

Maybe I'm allergic to melamine

Isn't that a scary new ingredient for food? Hopefully it didn't go into the human food, but you never know do you?
It makes a pretty good argument for buying locally farmed food.

I have to stay away from the second bathroom in the house right now because it is filled with cheeping little feathered creatures and evidently I am allergic to chicken dander. Soon they will be big enough to go into their outdoor coop.

That's why I am still not better!

Why does medicine have lactose in it? I just found out that my allergy medicine has one of my allergens in it.

Is this so
I would keep getting symptoms so
I would keep buying medicine to
take for my allergies which
the medicine is prolonging which
I would buy medicine to ......

you get the picture.

Water! Need ... wa...ter.....

Why do allergy meds make you dry up (well make ME dry up then if you want accurate?) Can't some gifted scientist come up with an allergy med that doesn't turn a person's throat into the deadly desert?

And, my eyes are still itching, my throat is tickly and the ears are still stuffy so what good did it do anyway?

Also, why does it take three pints of blood, showing all the papers you have to prove that you are human, possibly able to drive, and live somewhere nearby, and signing your name to a list that reminds me of the cold war blacklist days to get one small package of sudafed? What is up with that?

Why Must I be allergic to things I like?

Why can't I be allergic to things I hate? It would be great if a person could choose their allergies. I would be allergic to canned spinach, fuscia polyester pantsuits, mean people, and soap operas.

I would not be allergic to chocolate brownies, ice cream or any other yummy thing.

What would you be allergic to?