Monday, May 14, 2012

Allergies in today's world

Allergies in today's world are so much more visible than they were when I was growing up.  I don't remember hearing about severe allergies until I was working.  Now-a-days you hear people talking about the challenges of allergies, and its now just part of our lives.

Allergies for some people are harder, as these people deal with life-threatening ones.  Some people grow up with this type of allergy and others grow into them.  You never know if you are going to have life-threatening allergies until it happens.  I know this as I grew into some severe allergies.

Knowing that someone has severe allergies is very important.  I know some people have said I don't look like I have severe allergies, I didn't think someone with severe allergies looked any different from anyone else.  People have called life-threatening allergies an invisible disability, and I agree with that.  As hard as I try to have a normal life, I always have to watch and check to ensure I don't encounter the things I am severely allergic to.  People with life-threatening allergies look like everyone else.

It is very important to respect someone when they say they have severe allergies.  Not everyone reacts the same way when exposed to their allergen.  For me, I can be exposed to a small amount of an allergen and just feel uncomfortable, while other people can be exposed to a small amount and have a full anaphylactic attack.  The degree of the attacks do vary, but I do know that whenever I am exposed to my allergens it could result in a severe attack.  If someone says they have severe allergies, don't expose that person to their allergen just to see if it's true.

Severe allergies are difficult to deal with.  Knowing how to handle your own allergy is important, as well as letting others know about them.  Not telling others close to you about your severe allergies is not acceptable.  Severe allergies could cause a fatal attack, so ensuring others know about them and what to do in case of a severe reaction is important.

Allergies are more known today, so it means it should be easier to handle them.  We can't just reply on others to handle our allergies, we need to do it ourselves as well.

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