Rant #1,157: Allergies

I have terrible allergies.

I have had this affliction--and yes, I call it an affliction, although some people may disagree with me--seemingly my entire life.

Today, I am having it really bad.

My right eye is tearing up something terrible, and my nose is running as fast as a short distance runner makes it around the track.

I can't breathe, I can barely see out of my eye--supposedly my good eye--and I am a mess today.

I get my monthly allergy shots tomorrow, but what about today?

I have your standard allergies, dust, ragweed, those types of things. I am not allergic to any foods, thank goodness.

But anybody who has allergies like these knows exactly what I am talking about. They seemingly come and go, and can take over your body when they hit the hardest.

I remember as a kid, I had really terrible allergies, and I had episodes where I couldn't do much of anything.

Back then, the study of allergies was in its infancy, and doctors didn't know what was wrong with me.

Then, in the early 1970s, I went for my first patch test, one of the most horrid--and later best--things I ever did.

In those days, you went to a special allergy clinic, for lack of a better word, and they did a test on you where you laid out your arms, and they used an apparatus that was like a stapler to literally implant different chemicals into you.

Those that puffed up meant you were allergic to them.

It ruined your arms for about two weeks. I remember, I had this done in the summer, and for two weeks, I had to wear long sleeves, because my arms looked like I was a drug addict from all the puncturing.

Anyway, it gave the doctor a specific reading of what I was allergic to, and serum could then be established through the results, which were injected into my arm through monthly shots.

That was when I was 15 years old, and I have been getting the monthly shots since--nearly 42 years.

Today, they can do the same thing with a simple blood test, but back then, you had to go through this procedure to find out what you were allergic to.

My allergies have been fairly stable for the past 42 years, but I do have episodes. Some last a few minutes, some last a few hours, and in the worst cases, they can last a day or two.

I am having an episode today, and with work ahead of me, I am hoping that it all peters out by the dreaded 9 a.m. hour.

Right now, I am typing this with about 1 1/2 eyes, so if I make any typing mistakes, just please excuse me today.

I really, really wish I could go back to sleep.