Snow White

I was never allergic till three years ago. I blame college and the job search for that, as well as my "I've been in the army" pride (i.e. serves you right). I used to laugh at people with seasonal allergies, thinking it was an ailment for suburbanites whose greatest adventure was six flags. Har har.

But low and behold, I started sniffling and wheezing in the Spring of 2006. Every year since then has been a struggle; eye-drops, anti-histamines, alternative medicines (e.g. apple cider vinegar) and even a seminar... while most families hit the beach in summer, we spent a weekend listening to the link between sin and sickness. My sis and I still talk about the seminar, which sometimes finds its way into our brand of repetitive and immature humor - I admit it. I do think there is a link between stress and immunity/allergies, but... I won't go there.

Anyway, I ate an apple this morning and started to feel my mouth tingle. It felt like someone was flossing each of my teeth individually, but was using a guitar string and not floss. I've never done this, but imagine it would hurt. In any case, my mouth started to swell and the corners of my mouth developed - what felt like - instant cold sores. BTW, all this should clue you into how often I eat fruits and floss. I actually did floss this morning, which was what I thought caused all of this.

But... Thank God for google. I found this interesting link from the Canadian CBC. There's no way to verify this article, but it lines up with what I experienced. It seems like seasonal allergies may translate to "hay fever in your mouth" when eating fruits like apples, pears and oranges.

Well, well.. I think I just found my justification for drinking V8 and eating dried mangoes and yogurt covered raisins as my daily intake of fruits and vegetables. Or eating apple pies. What a great idea.