The Fall Allergy Plague

For the first 18 years of my life, I never experienced seasonal allergies. When I started my freshman year here at Ohio Northern a wave of fall allergies hit me like a ton of bricks for the first time in my entire life. It started with a runny nose that soon leads to severe congestion and dry, itchy eyes. Ever since that very first fall semester at Ohio Northern, my seasonal allergies have flared up every fall and spring since then. I’ve been trying to figure out why my allergies only flare up in Ohio and I think I have it narrowed down to a couple of different sources. I think the leading factor causing my allergies to flare up only in Ohio is the different plants and pollens around me that I am not normally exposed to in Michigan.

Another factor that may be contributing to my allergies is my age. It is also likely that I didn’t have these allergies when I was younger and they are something that I have developed over time. This has been the case for me when it comes to my tree nut allergy. When I was younger I used to eat almonds and pecans all of the time, but one day I decided to eat some chocolate covered cashews and I almost immediately had an allergic reaction to them. I later found out that I was indeed allergic to tree nuts and if I hadn’t had that allergic reaction, I would have never found out about my tree nut allergy. Going back to my seasonal allergies, I can say the same thing about coming to ONU. If I never would have come to ONU, I would have never developed these horrible seasonal allergies.