ACHOOOoooo!

I’ve mentioned it before, but each Christmas, which is the only time of the year I spend more than 30 minutes in my MIL & FIL’s house, it bears repeating or else I’ll end up taking it out on my husband.

I have allergies to anything with hair, e.g. cats. My husband’s parents have two, both long hair.

Now my allergies aren’t just your sniffling, sneezing kind of allergies so for those who may feel inclined to tell me to take a benadryl and suck it up, that doesn’t work, but thanks for the assvice.

No, my allergic reaction is first the sniffling, sneezing followed by the wheezing because it triggers my asthma. Such severe asthma that I’ve had to have my husband take me to the ER on more than one occasion and has even earned me an overnight stay in the hospital.

I also took some allergy medicine to buy me some time, but within an hour of being at my in-laws, I was sneezing. My MIL asks me if I have a cold.

No, allergies, I replied.

Really? I didn’t know you had allergies.

All I could do is stare at her. She’s known me for almost 17 years. The one cat she has is one we gave her because no matter how many shots or how much medication I took, I just couldn’t have that cat in our own house and MIL willingly took her under her own wing.

How could she not know?!

Also, putting your animals outside or in the basement or in the bedroom does not alleviate the allergens already in the home. It drives me crazy when my SIL can’t understand why I keep having a reaction even though the cats are in another room.