Coping with allergic reactions

I have written a lot about my allergies and how the affect me. Being allergic to salicylic acid is a nightmare. It is in everything from fruit and veg to toothpaste. I have been salicylate free for a good 10 or so years now. On days where my asthma is not too bad I can manage food that has a low level of salicylic acid in it but even then I still react a bit but just break out in hives, go bright red, itchy and get a really productive chest and upper airways. This is with 3 different anti histamines onboard, a H2 blocker and oral steroids. I hate to think what I would be like if I did not take all of that and had a reaction.

The physical impact of allergic reactions is not great and the left overs hang around for ages, the itching particularly and then the exhaustion which is not helped by the extra anti-histamines I have to take when I do have a reaction.

For me the effect an allergic reaction has on me mentally is fairly significant. For example today I had a reaction when having my lunch. I had a lovely morning down at Cramond with Ghillie followed by some formal obedience training for Ghillie. The afternoon was full with meetings at the university. I had a reaction at lunchtime which knocked me for 6. I tried to get on top of it quickly so I would be able to make it to the university for my meetings but it didn’t work. I had to cancel and bail out of them. This is the part of having an unpredictable condition that I find so hard to deal with and cant find a good way to deal with it.

My main concern that I think about is what others think. I know I shouldn’t worry about what others are thinking and today of all days I should not have worried especially as the meetings I was meant to be at were with researchers from AUKCAR who all know about allergic reactions. You see so much and hear so much about people who say they have allergies to things but they don’t, it might be an intolerance or something just doesn’t agree with them but it is not a real allergy. This worries me so much as salicylic acid is in so much and I think people must think I am a fussy eater. I also have heard so many times from people who say their friend or family has allergies but they still eat things so it gives this false sense of what an allergy actually is. I have this fear that people think I am a hypochondriac when I wont go near stuff etc.

I don’t really know what I am trying to say other than my salicylic acid allergy is really difficult for me to deal with and having to cancel things at the drop of a hat due to a reaction is so frustrating as there is nothing more I can do to keep them in check.

In this day and age I just wish people would understand what a true allergy is compared to what disagrees with them or is an intolerance etc. It seems like everyone has allergies particularly gluten just now. In restaurants every other person appears to be ordering things that are gluten free yet then tuck into the bread or when they don’t like the taste fo the gluten free option they switch and just have the normal food. If it was a real allergy you would not be doing that, you would be avoiding the food like the plague.

One day I am sure I will be able to get a better handle on things and manage them in a way that I can recover from them quickly so I am not having to cancel plans so often.

A take away I would like readers to think about is how the person who is having to cancel things feels. I never do it because I want to, I cancel because I have to.