We've All Been There

We've all been there.... I say that sarcastically because I don't think most of us have.

Have you ever gone to some one's house for the first time for a social gathering and then had to leave early because it turns out you were severely allergic to something there? Maybe the house pet? Maybe the dust? Who knows when you are living daily with severe allergies!

It's hard on family and friends to really understand what it's like to feel like an outcast when all you're trying to do is fit in. I wanted to be at that party. I wanted to have fun. I wanted to drink margaritas! Instead I popped an antihistamine, took a few puffs of my inhaler and then sat outside in the 16 degree Chicago winter weather so I could breathe free of allergens while everyone else was inside having fun.

After trying to "stick it out" for another hour my eye swelled up (most likely due to a dog hair getting in there) and my arm broke out in hives. This is when I grabbed my boyfriend in a vain attempt to keep some of my self dignity (and looks). Definitely didn't want the other eye puffing out!

I got a few hugs and well wishes. While most people just stared at me most likely thinking I was making it all up. Come on they don't have allergies! Certainly I could handle a little dog hair?  No one seems to understand that little things like dog hair and dust can threaten something as important as a life. Most people think guns, knives, cancer, heart disease kill people. Scary things and people that lurk around at night threaten your life, not dust!

Until allergies are better understood and more widely talked about, people will continue giving me that half sympathetic-half "she's making it up" eye. If only I were making it up...