I’m just gonna say it- I hate getting older.
I know there’s some popular post about how getting older is great and your body’s constantly changing and stuff. Well, I disagree.
My body is starting to react differently to certain things. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, I’m turning 24 next month, or some other reason, but my body is definitely changing.
Since I’m lactose intolerant, I’ve started looking for an alternative to milk. I’ve tried Lactaid, soy, almond, coconut, and oat milk in the last month. And I’ve ended up having reactions to all of them. Itchy lips, gums, throat, loss of my sense of taste for a short period of time. (Also, depending on the amount I drank, it got worse) I was so scared of how the reaction progressed.
I decided to avoid all types of milk altogether. The only problem is I work in a bakery. We’ve been trying new recipes this week and while eating a brownie that did contain dairy.
First, my mouth almost instantly felt itchy, and then after a few minutes, it felt like it had many tiny cuts in it. My throat started swelling.
Followed by what I call a “take your breath” away sensation. It was not so severe that I couldn’t breathe. Still, it did contribute to a head rush and heart rate elevation that made eating the brownie a more visceral experience.
As far as I understand, it’s to do with the immune system ‘turning on’ a response that it shouldn’t. Our body is always coming into contact with these allergens. The body will generally look at that allergen and decide that it’s not worth worrying about… but sometimes, the response gets confused. It thinks it is a foreign matter that is a worthy concern. Suddenly, you will start producing all these antibodies for that particular allergen.
Also, when your immune system is lowered or hyper-alert, and you come in contact with an allergen, you can become allergic.
Dairy contains Birch pollen, which is the cause of OAS or Oral allergy syndrome. I’m also going based on Dr. Google, which says it’s cancer.
The most important thing I’ve learned is: If you are suffering allergic reactions, do not try to train your body back to accepting the foods you are allergic to. In the best-case scenario, nothing will change, and you will have a bad time. Worst case scenario, you will eventually progress to anaphylaxis (if you haven’t already) and wind up in hospital or dead.
