Five on Friday #10: Achoo!

1. Do you experience any seasonal allergies? Are you allergic to anything else?
   I don't think I have seasonal allergies, although everytime I get a cold (at any time of the year) everyone always wants to tell me it's allergies.

   Me: "Sniffle, snort, sneeze."
   Them: "Allergies?"
   Me: "No, just a cold."
   Them: "Yeah, my allergies always act up around now."
   Me: "No, I think I have a cold."
   Them: "Right. Must be the pollen."

   I guess the fever and the predictable pattern of progression from throat to sinuses to chest over the course of 5 to 7 days, and the fact that Shrike often gets exactly the same symptoms a week later, isn't enough to convince them.
   
   Other allergies: Penicillin, Antihistamines, Decongestants, Cough Suppressants

   
   

2. What kinds of symptoms do you experience during your allergic reactions?
   Penicillin: Twice, I've gotten hives a few days after finishing a course of Ampicillin or Amoxycillin, or one of those A...cillins.
   
   Other things: Anonymama can tell you better, because I was a tiny thing, but it involved being completely freaked out and possibly (based on LadyKay's similar reactions, when she was old enough to recognize them) hallucinations.

   
   

3. How do you manage your allergies?
   Avoidance. The antihistamine allergy is a serious incentive for avoiding the penicillin which will give me hives, and the stories of my reactions as a kid keep me away from the cold meds.
   

4. What is the strangest allergy you've ever heard of?
   My "anything one might possibly take to feel better when one has a cold" allergy.
   
   The upside: When I had a cold a few weeks ago, at about 6 six weeks pregnant, all the drugs that are "no-nos" during pregnancy were already on my "can not take" list, so unlike most pregant women with a cold, I was no more miserable than I usually am when I'm sick. Yeah, it was a small consolation.
   

5. How do you feel about school and social policies banning peanuts and other allergens?
   If there's a kid in a class who has a serious peanut allergy, it seems reasonable to ban them from that classroom, or the lunchroom or whatever. It would be one thing if we were talking about something he'd have to actually eat to be affected, or something that might cause a few sniffles, but a serious peanut allergy can kill a kid, just from being around it. I don't think that's something that you should take chances with. It's not going to hurt the other kids to save their PB&Js for after-school snacks, in order to protect the health of their classmate.

Visit the Five on Friday Blog

View My Five on Friday Posts