I have had seasonal allergies for as long as I can possibly remember. It has actually been quite a normal routine for me to get not only allergies, but a sinus and/or ear infection with them to boot. Like clockwork, at the beginning and end of every school year, I start to get that usual stuffy, runny, itchy, unabated sneezing nose. While I am no longer going to school, this year is still no different. I have sinus congestion and drainage, and an all-over diagnosis of pure misery. Allergies... are NO fun.

Now I am lucky to be limited in my experience of allergies, because some people have it much worse, but I am also discovering a new allergy that I just might have in addition to these bi-annual sneeze fests. It may not make complete sense, but I think that I have discovered an allergy to cold. I've had this problem since I was little as well, but I never connected it with an actual allergy and never really thought about it too much... until now. Now most people break out in hives or welts or have their hands start to swell when it gets hot. Not me. I am actually quite the opposite. Not only do I react to the outdoors (during fall and spring) by sneezing, itchy nose and eyes, stuffiness, and sinus congestion and drainage; I also break out in hives and swell up when I experience extreme changes in temperature.

Let me explain. My body breaks out in red spots and becomes very itchy and swollen whenever I am in a really cold place. This mainly happens in air conditioning or after being in water. Some people think I'm crazy because I lived in Northern Wisconsin for 3 years which reached levels of fifty degrees below Fahrenheit. Well I didn't have the reactions then because it was a consistent cold reached gradually as the season changed. The problem I have is when I go from being warm (like outside in the sun during the summer or in the warm water of a pool or hot tub) to extremely cold (air conditioning or cool breezy weather). I know this sounds super weird and abnormal, but I looked it up, and from what I've seen, it looks like a cold allergy. Weird, right?

All this to say, allergies are the worst, because it's something your body just does that you can't control. Sure allergy medication helps sometimes, but ultimately, you just have to suffer through it. I can honestly say that allergies are the devil's work since they are basically just our bodies fighting against nature. Can anyone else relate to the torture of allergies? What weird allergies have you run across?