Allergic

To be fair, I've always had opinions about people who claimed allergies. I was firmly in the 'toughen up' camp. Although this was only ever in my head. Externally I was sympathetic. When I was about 17, after subjecting me to every other test under the sun to try to explain why I 'wasn't well', the doctor decided I might as well have an alergy test.

I did. I was allergy free. Not allergic to cats, dogs, dust, grass, mould, trees, polen etc etc etc. You get the idea.

And then I moved to Auckland. Auckland of the poor housing with damp and mould and no insulation or central heating. And in my second full summer I developed this irritating sneezing habit. My ears were so itchy, I longed to stick needles deep into them as the pain would be preferable, my entire face would feel like it has swollen up and after the first thirty or so sneezes my throat would feel like it had been grated. Streaming eyes and nose, the inability to hold a conversation, swollen tear ducts the whole nine yards.

And when I went to the doctor thinking it was most likely consumption, she diagnosed allergies. Apparantly everyone gets them in Auckland. So now I am allergic to lots but the big ones are cats, dust and silver birch. Cats aren't too bad- you do eventually build up a resistance with exposure so I'm fine with my own. The dust thing makes housework a bit of a pain and very necessary at the same time but it's ok if we keep the place clean.

Silver birch.

When she did the tests I reacted to all of the above with a lump, like a mosquito bite. I reacted to Silver birch with a lump like a golf ball.

So my new flat is carpeted - dust is inerradicable. And the neighbour has a line of silver birches running along his fence and my driveway.

I feel like my entire head has been boiled.