When I was younger I dated a vegetarian who was allergic to cats. M. and I spent our dates away from my family home because we had a long-haired cat in permanent residence—Sparky. Eventually, the time came that my parents wanted to meet M., so they invited him for supper. “I’ll have to take my anti-histamine,” M. said.
The day came, the evening arrived and M. showed up on time. Warmth and harmony ensued in our living room as my parents and boyfriend got to know each other.
And then trouble started.
As M. started to answer one of my mother’s umpteen questions, he sneezed loudly, paused and reattempted speech. But he sneezed again. And again. And again! I passed him a box of tissues. M’s eyes were red and watering, and he was mouth-breathing loudly as he faught to clear his sinuses. It was obvious he had not taken his anti-histamine!! Then he spotted poor Sparky–who had slunk into the room cautiously, taking cover under the coffee table to check M. out. “I’M GONNA SHOOT THAT CAT!” boomed M. as he pointed accusingly at our favourite feline.
Thankfully, to the relief of my parents no weapons were produced and the cat remained unharmed—but Sparky took the hint she was not appreciated and disappeared from the social scene.
My mother, being the thoughtful person that she is, offered M. some anti-histamines from the medicine cabinet so that the evening could continue. He took them, and the rest of the evening was uneventful in comparison.
Of course, M. thought his lesson here was always take allergy medication before being exposed to cats. Knowing M. well enough to realize he meant no harm, I appreciated his frustration with the cat who he blamed for ‘ruining’ his attempt at making a good first impression on my folks. But was it the cat’s fault? Was it M.’s fault?
Don’t blame the allergen. Blame your immune system! The symptoms that lead to us feeling poorly during an allergic reaction are produced by our body’s defense system. When the allergen comes into contact with certain cells of the immune system in our digestive system, respiratory tract and blood, inflammatory chemicals are released. What follows is swelling, heat, redness, pain, and/or itching. This is our body’s way in protecting us from threats it perceives.
The problem is, an allergy is a case of mistaken identity—a malfunctioning immune system. After all, the majority of people do not have an inflammatory response when they come into contact with cats. For complex reasons, the allergic person’s immune system seems to think of the cat’s hair, dander or saliva as a dangerous substance that must be expelled from the human body.
Diet Influences Allergic Response
What we eat can influence the strength of the inflammatory response. Feed the body too much of the wrong foods and it will become inflamed more easily. Some foods contain histamine; others stimulate our body’s production of it, and others still feed the machine that makes other inflammatory products like PG-2, leukotrienes, kinins, and thromboxin.
Even environmental allergies to dust, pollen, moulds and animals can improve when we clean up the diet. A registered nutritionist can help you plan meals and snacks that both avoid your allergens and reduce the production of symptom-inducing inflammatory chemicals.
Important note: anaphylaxis is a life-threatening, extreme form of allergic reaction. Do not attempt to eat or expose yourself to your known allergens under any circumstances if you have an anaphylactic allergy.