I am allergic to a lot of things, but almost none of my allergies are life-threatening.
I’ve always had annoying skin. In other words, I have a list of environmental allergies and rabid atopic dermatitis. It wasn’t until late high school that I discovered I had contact allergies to Propylene Glycol and fragrances.
Yup. Fragrances. Any time you walk into a room and say “Ahh this smells nice,” or see a lovely scented candle, that air is painfully itchy for me. Fragrances are everywhere, and pretty much impossible to completely avoid.
Propylene Glycol is the same way. Most people don’t know what it is, but it is in pretty much everything. Hand sanitizers or soap, shampoos and conditioners, even my old medications.
A contact allergy is when an allergic reaction occurs after your skin comes into contact with a substance. It can be airborne, through personal care products, etc. Contact allergies usually aren’t deadly, but lead to uncomfortable rashes, swelling, hives and so on.
Contact allergies are incredibly sensitive. I can be in the same room as someone who used fragranced shampoo and get a reaction. It is almost impossible to completely avoid them.
The worst part is when other people don’t acknowledge contact allergies as being real allergies.
Allergic reactions are nothing to mess around with, but a common misconception is that allergies lead to anaphylactic shock. Any allergy can be life-threatening, but not all of them are. Quality of life is a large factor in allergic reactions.
Yes, you can live through being itchy, but being unbearably itchy all of the time is generally uncomfortable and really sucks.
I get people saying that I should just suck it up and deal with it, since “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
In reality, I do suck it up. Every single day. I cannot avoid my allergies, they are everywhere. Outside, inside, even in the walls of my home. They’re at my friends’ houses, school, work, the grocery store and, essentially, everywhere. But the more I can limit them, the easier life is.
I deal with my rashes in the best ways I can, but the greatest way to keep my skin at bay is to avoid triggers.
Roughly 30.5% of the general population has a fragrance sensitivity, yet the triggers are still everywhere.
It means the world to me when someone gets rid of whatever I am allergic to without saying anything. I don’t directly ask people to change whatever triggers me. I feel guilty asking, so I just don’t say anything. There is nothing more heartwarming than knowing someone cares enough to remember and act.
I am stuck with my skin and allergies forever, but that’s okay. I’ve learned to control what I can control and just do my best with the rest.