Allergies Suck!

So I just read on Laura and Alex's blog (see link on the right- lauralexnmore) that Timothy had an allergic reaction to peanuts last weekend. I know my allergies are getting worse everyday. I am wheezing a lot more nowadays. And poor Show has an asthma attack almost every time she comes to our apartment. (I swear, we clean and dust!)

So why does it seem like allergies are affecting more people now than when I was young? I don't remember ever seeing any products that were gluten-free or made in a manufacturing facility that has peanuts. I knew of kids that were allergic to strawberries or bees. But why does it seem like there are so many more people now who are afflicted with allergies? Does this allergy epidemic stem from changes in the atmosphere that leave our bodies unable to defend itself against these germs? Or are there more germs now than there used to be? That seems unlikely to me. As I've grown older, I have also learned that I am now allergic to cats and kiwis. Maybe I wasn't around cats very often when I was a kid so I didn't notice it. I know I didn't eat very many kiwis growing up in Cleveland.

Alas, my poor little nephew will never know the joys of peanut butter. Peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favorite combinations. (To be truthful, almost anything and chocolate is pretty good to me.) But I love peanut butter and apples, peanut butter filled pretzels from Trader Joes, peanut butter on a bagel for breakfast, I think even some egg rolls are made with peanut butter... I could go on ala Bubba and his shrimp in Forrest Gump, but I'll spare you.