Member-only story
Allergies
and the Stroller
We had gathered for a two-day family get-together, and, as so often happens at family gatherings, one topic somehow led to another. With the newest baby in the family among us, it wasn’t long before we found ourselves talking about food and allergies.
“Nowadays, they introduce solid foods quite differently from how they used to,” my sister-in-law explained.
“They give babies tiny amounts of potentially allergenic foods right from the beginning. In the past, we were told to wait until a certain age before introducing things like nuts, eggs, or other foods that might cause an allergic reaction.”
That naturally got us thinking about the allergies and strange reactions that seemed to run in our family.
My brother, for example, had a peculiar reaction to salt: whenever he ate something very salty, he would start sweating — but only on one side of his face.
My sister was allergic to kohlrabi. Whenever she ate it, one of her ears would swell up.
And me?
I searched my memory but couldn’t come up with anything.
“I don’t have any allergies,” I announced confidently. Then, just to be on the safe side, I added, “Unless there’s something I simply can’t remember right now. Maybe we’ll find out later.”
