I am in my early 30's.... 32 to be precise...and I might have as many number of allergen sensitivity.. As day passes, I discover one more thing that my immune system gets provoked at.......they certainly have undesirable effects on my day-to-day like.........now I know, what morbidity means....
I am sure, I am not the only one to suffer such physical-mental-emotional anguish.....despite, having a good health all these years...and I don't really have a family history...
My first brush with serious allergy was when I was 19...few dabs of a sunscreen that my sister had gifted me...and I had rashes all over my face, cheeks were swollen and eyes were sunken......it made me take corticosterone, which healed the problem with the cost of peeling off the skin and regenerating...I got back to my original self, but it was an ordeal........since then, I am a minimalist, when it comes to cosmetics...
Some sporadic sensitivity with metal jewelries...swelling of lips after consumption of avocado, tomato, persimmon, kiwi fruit etc. have been part and parcel of life .......which I have compromised with, by avoiding or handling more carefully....knowing its the nickel and lectin allergy, respectively........
Then the big shock came after eating blueberry-added yoghurt, during a road trip, in Montana.....It was almost anaphylaxis...I can still feel the misery of choked throat, difficult breathing and swallowing, puffy face, lips pain due to severe edema...It took two days to restore normalcy.....after remaining in dark for long, I learnt, its the food preservative that led to such hypersensitivity.......learnt my lesson to be judicious eater.......
But by learning curve and elimination journey was not over yet....the biggest allergy was yet to come..it was the trivial-looking cockroaches....I have no clue, how they made their way into our house. In an attempt to eradicate them, I killed them, using an old footwear...You might be thinking, how stupid I am..should have called an exterminator...yeah, probably I should have, but to avoid chemical exposure, I resorted to the mechanical way........barely a month later, I felt rashes, itching, insomnia, anxiety........While discussing the cause of sudden illness with my spouse, we caught the culprit...its the protease and other allergens from the cockroach body, that's overwhelming my immune system. Once, the cause is known, I mended my action....which certainly avoided further aggravation, but damage was already done......
Other then recurrent allergies with the insect allergen, cross-reactivity was conspicuous, the way I had rash and itching after having cheese, egg, meat diet..
Immune system has become so agitated, now it thinks everything as a potent enemy, an allergen...
I have noticed, its stating to object food preservatives like sulphite...after having the frozen pizza, and the salted crackers, I felt breathlessness, almost asthmatic...
I am a microbiologist and strong understanding of immunology and overall physiology, that's why I can piece together the responses with the offenders, without running to a physician at the drop of a hat...I imagine helplessness of a layman or someone with no means to get treatment....its another worry that, allegy don't really have sure-shot therapies...I hope, this experience will help anybody going through this difficult path.....after all, though we are same Homo sapiens, our genetic makeup is different, unique to each other...making us susceptible to different things...
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