Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Allergies

Allergy is a disorder of the immune system which is a form of hypersensitivity.  Allergic reactions occur to normally harmless environmental substances known as allergens; these reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid. Strictly, allergy is one of four forms of hypersensitivity and is called type I (or immediate) hypersensitivity. It is characterized by excessive activation of certain white blood cells called mast cells and basophils by a type of antibody known as IgE, resulting in an extreme inflammatory response. Common allergic reactions include eczema, hives, hay fever, asthma attacks, food allergies, and reactions to the venom of stinging insects such as wasps and bees. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy
As a child, I don't recall ever being asked whether I was allergic to anything.  Perhaps it was because I wasn't allergic to anything.  My sister was allergic to accessories which weren't made of gold and I used to think how 'expensive' some people were.  Lo and behold, I too had that sort of reaction as I  grew older when I discovered that those cheap tiny brooches I used to pin my head scarf together under my chin always gave  me a reaction.  They simply had to be changed to gold!  Even worst, as I grow older (the bitter truth),I am now very sensitive to pollen - which is a drag, as the best precaution is to stay indoors.

When I was 14, my close friend, MW, told me that she had eczema and was allergic to seafood, i.e. prawns, crabs and certain types of fish.  I felt sorry for her and couldn't believe my ears when she said that she had never ever tasted prawn or crab all her life!  Imagine what she was missing out: sambal petai udang, ketam sweet sour, udang goreng tempura, etc. ;)

As a contrast to my younger days in school, today my children are often prompted whether they are allergic to anything, be it through food consumption or physical contact.  A few years back, my Princess came back from school and pestered me to tell her what she was allergic to, clearly not satisfied when I told her she wasn't allergic to anything at all. So finally, after thinking hard, she came up with an allergy she could declare to her friends and teacher:  I'm allergic to vegetables. It makes me sick!

Yesterday, Little D came up to me and asked whether I knew what he was allergic to.  As he came with a cheeky grin on his face, I knew that he must be up to something.  Nonetheless, I played along by making a few guesses, Hmmm... could it be eggs? I don't think so, because you love half boiled eggs in the morning... Pollen? No, because you enjoy rolling on the grass and you never get a single rash... Oh, I give up!

I'm allergic to tickles Mummy!  So, don't tickle me but let me tickle you!!

With that, he attacked his mother without knowing that she was even more allergic to tickles than he was!

So what are you allergic to?

8 comments:

ileena said...

oh little deennn is so adorably cute!
me allergy??yes...to Ibuprofen, the most famous pain killer.
ended up with a periorbital edema when i was in peadiatric's lecture during my period pain.
24 years old --> to the peadiatric's ward shortly after.

zonaku said...

owh... so sweeeeeetttttt....
who wins the tickle battle?


er.... am allergic to seafood n certain type of fish, chicken n beef. but mild one n under control.

anti-histamine is a must at home or whenever n wherever i travel.

Alhamdulillah I used to enjoy all the food I'm allergic to. the worst reaction I will receive is from ikan pari.... really loved it back then....

Naz in Norway said...

D,
Your kids are sooo sweet lah! Cerdik!

I'm allergic to seafood. Used to love seafood before but now, I can't even take a single prawn. If I do, I would get pouting lips immediately, followed by bumps all over the body. So these days, Zyrtec is my best friend :)

Cosmic_GurL said...

I'm allergic to ppl with bad BO. Hehehe...seriously. Oh oh and I'm also allergic to yellow mee. Your princess is so cute la :)

Fadhil said...

As far as I can remember, I'm not allergic to anything. But I'm quite susceptible to skin rashes similar to eczema like your friend, except that it's not due to seafood or shellfish. When the rashes surface, they take a long time to heal, even after applying different types of medication.

It puzzled me at first, but then I managed to trace it to the work site conditions. Whenever I spend considerable time at a construction site, I get rashes. I am allergic to cement dust.

Ms B said...

I didnt think I was allergic to anything until last year when I realised I kept sneezing and had flu-like symptoms when I sat at a particular area in the office. It happened to be under the ventilator, so my colleagues said dust was the culprit. Also, I started to develop reaction against pollen.

Still, they are still under control, so I dont need any medication thankfully. The young lady on the other hand, macam tuan puteri! Foodwise ok but it's chemical that I need to watch out eg detergent, soap etc.

savvygreenmom said...

Awww... so cute! Our little boy has severe food allergies and food intolerances that have caused him to have awful skin eczema. He suffered so much from terrible itchy and bleeding skin from the time he was a baby until he was almost three. I wanted to share that after going to so many doctors and trying all kinds of meds and creams, the one thing that has made a huge difference for him has been a children's chewable probiotic called Belly Boost. I wanted to share this incase it might help other little one's suffering from this. It has been amazing and our miracle and we are just so happy that he feels better finally.

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