Allergies

I have allergies.

I hate them.

The thing is, I don't even know what I'm allergic to. A few years ago, I asked my doctor if there was a way to identify what caused my allergies, and to possibly become immune to it. She told me that the technology existed, but the process was very tedious and unnecessary. In other words, she just told me to deal with it.

I do have a few suspicions about what I'm allergic to. Looking at my past sneezing fits, most of the evidence points to dust. For example, whenever I clean my room, I always start sneezing, sometimes for the rest of the day. In fact, this Tuesday, I wore a sweater that I had hung in the (dusty) corner of my room. The instant I put the sweater over my head, my nose started to itch and eventually, I started sneezing. If you saw me during school, you'd probably think that I was sick.

Another possibility is pollen. Although it does not have as much support as dust, there are still events where I can identify pollen as the culprit. Whenever I stand in a large field, especially one with flowers, I sometimes undergo a sneeze attack.

My final suspect is school. This theory may sound silly but hear me out. This past summer, I was allergy free, so was my winter break earlier in the school year. I mean, is it a coincidence that once school stops, my allergies go away?

You might be wondering. "Jeez David, it's just a few sneezes. Grow up already." Well, these "sneezing fits" that I go through are very, VERY painful and annoying. Often, I sneeze two or three times in succession, being barely able to catch my breath. My nose gets really itchy and feels weird. I also sniffle a lot. Basically, it looks like I'm really sick. To illustrate this agony, I will describe one of my most scarring allergy attacks.

One day, I decided to clean my extremely messy room. I was feeling extra responsible that day, so I tried to do a thorough job. In order to do so, I crawled under my desk and enter other dust-infested areas. After cleaning my room, I headed off to my violin lesson. As soon as my lesson started, I was hit with a fit of sneezes, a sign for worse to come. My nose was runny, so I was sniffling the whole lesson. My eyes were watering. My nose was super irritated and itchy. I would sneeze every other minute. Not to mention I was trying to play the violin while undergoing all this physical pain. It was the WORST thirty minutes of my life.

When I was in elementary school, I used to wake up and immediately start sneezing. I'm talking about 6-7 sneezes here, not my average 2-3. Although this phenomenon has not happened to me in a long time, I still sneeze everyday. I feel like my sneeze has become iconic in some way. Many of my classmates think my sneeze is funny (you know who you are). Even my teachers have noticed. Once Mr. Bergandine asked me: "Do you only sneeze in my class?" That wasn't it though. A few weeks later, he provided me with some life advice: "David, you shouldn't be a spy when you grow up. Your sneeze would instantly blow your cover."

My allergies have been with me all my life. In fact, I have started to accept my sneeze as a part of me. If I was offered the option to get rid of my allergies, I really don't know if I would take it.

Jk. I definitely would.