Hay Fever and Skepticism

Malaysia lies on the equator and although all my life I’ve thought that it’s normal to have sunshine the same amount during the whole year, there are more people that is more familiar with seasonal aspects of the year. Spending two years in the UK, I have come to grasp (a bit) on the seasons and the impact on life, such as the adapting the daily routine to the shorter or longer day light, clothes according to the season and other small bits of life. I’ve also come to appreciate the seasons and now eagerly awaits the warmth of spring and summer. Yet I still struggle to accept the concept that humans can suffer hay fever, a form of malady affected by the amount of pollen in the air.

Recently however I suffer a severe case of allergy where it caused my whole face to be swollen. It was so bad that my eyes can barely be seen. I’ve been showing the picture of it on my phone to anyone who care to look at it but for obvious reasons, I won’t be putting it here. The reaction from anyone who saw my face then is shock and surprise. Alhamdulillah I have recovered well, after taking some (cortico)steroid pills which reduced the swelling and allergic reaction.

I attributed the allergy to eating prawns/shellfish, which the doctor confirmed had been reported the same occurrence last year. However when I think about it, my face was already itchy and dry before I ate the prawns. It was not swelling, but the reaction was already there. I assumed now that when I ate the prawns, it simply blew off my body into producing all the histamines it can muster. Now, even a week after the incident, I have slight itchiness. Add to that fact, I suffered the same breakout last year in early spring/late winter and didn’t suffer anymore after May.

Since I have problem with my skin, I’ve been joining Facebook support group talking about skin problem and eczema. I’ve noticed that quite a number of people, especially in the northern hemisphere who posted having flare ups on their skin, especially on their face. Their cases are similar to mine so I assume there are more people affected at this time of the year. That or Facebook algorithm decided to show all the same posts on my feed.

Social media aside, I’ve seen local examples too. My colleagues at work are scratching their legs and arms while talking (to me). This act is very distracting so I am very sure they didn’t do this before and they confirm so too. My youngest child also been scratching herself vigorously as well as runny nose. We have been wondering what food might be triggering her allergy, but can’t find any pattern since there is no new food introduced to our diet. Only assumption it is hay fever.

I still have a hard time believing that the plants can cause so much problem but even NHS says it is possible (NHS hay fever).
I guess I might as well treat the possibility as true but sometimes your mind wrapping itself around it. Here’s to hoping that the hay fever will stop while the sun keep shining.

Thank you for reading.