Allergies And Me

For most of my life I never experienced an allergic reaction of any kind. Nada. Last winter I was determined to be extra careful to not get infected by cold or flu. So I washed my hands repeatedly and stayed away from sick people.

The strategy seemed to work. Then April rolled around and I came down with a serious head cold. Someone suggested that I did not have a cold, I have allergies. I disagreed. Someone else offered the same diagnosis. I am not sure what tipped the scales but I came around to their way of thinking.

So I went to see my chiropractor and he said the problem is in the gut and recommended probiotics. You can buy probiotics at the health food store or you can eat Kimchi or unpasteurized sauerkraut both of which contain probiotics. This sounded wacky but I bought probiotics in pill form as well as  Kimchi and unpasteurized sauerkraut.

I wasn't keeping detailed notes and I wasn't expecting great results but I would be pleasantly surprised. I was taking OTC allergy relief meds as well so I attributed the immediate relief to them. As I recall, my sniffles and sneezing improved on day 1 and by Day 3 I was back to normal.

I incorporated Kimchi into my diet. I ate sauerkraut from time to time but even smaller amounts seemed to produce loose stools so I dc'd that dish. As the Kimchi seemed to work perfectly I dc'd the pill form probiotics and I still have some in my refrigerator.

Over time I stopped eating the Kimchi. It is good but it is a bit pricey. My allergies were non-existent so I ceased the Kimchi as well as the pill probiotics. This week my allergies seemed to flare up again. Being the dead of winter I immediately suspected the onset of the fabled cold virus. Sucked on a few zinc lozenges and bought a few more. Then Ms. D. suggested I might have allergies once more.

Ms. D. is smart. I took some of the aforementioned probiotic pills before going to bed. I woke up feeling much better. I purchased Kimchi and unpasteurized sauerkraut, ate some Kimchi for lunch and I feel much better.

This is an ongoing saga. For now the allergies seem to be under control.