Allergies

I am fortunate that I am not an allergy sufferer.  I can eat anything I want, wear anything I want, go outside anytime of year.   I don not have to consider possible ingredients, intolerances, or air quality situations in anything I do.  And for that I am grateful.

I used the term sufferer, and I do believe that is an apt description.  The sneezing, itching, watering eyes, and general malaise is bad, and more severe allergies with anaphylactic complications can be life threatening, so in my opinion, that qualifies as suffering. 

I have a friend who has reactions to metal on or near her body for an extended period of time, so she cannot wear bras with underwire.  Another friend's son has a peanut allergy that can be life threatening in minutes if not treated.  These require a level of awareness and vigilance in order to remain healthy.  It requires planning and adaption, and then life goes on.

My wife has food allergies.  They are fairly mild and quite varied.  Strawberry, kiwi, whole corn (but not milled), garlic, cinnamon, and canola oil are the main ones.  She gets itchy, hot, and queasy, but nothing more serious than that.  It affects our meal preparation a bit, but nothing too serious.  So long as she avoids these foods, she feels good.

When she does have these foods, it takes about 45 minutes to an hour before the inevitable " My stummy hurts".  Stummy is a portmanteau of stomach and tummy, said once by mistake, but now is one of our favourite words.  Anyway, this leads to a bit of whimpering, and a trip to the bathroom.  More of an annoyance than anything else.  And it does happen, usually by accident while having restaurant food with unknown ingredients.

Which takes us to supper the other night.  We had lasagna, with garlic pizza bread and salad.  Wife had one small slice of bread, which shouldn't hurt her too much, and the kids and I torn into the rest.  When the meal was over and we were cleaning up, there was two slices left.  When I turned around, there was only one slice left on the platter, and there was Wife, with her mouth jammed full and a shocked/guilty look on her face.  I made sure to scold her pretty good for her self-inflicted friendly fire, and she meekly agreed that was a silly move.  "But it was SO yummy!" she pleaded.

About 45 min later, sitting on the couch: " My stummy hur-  BUT IT'S NOT BECAUSE OF THE GARLIC BREAD!"