Dito.

My pharmacist once told me that a person can develop or lose an allergy at any time in his or her life -- I didn't know that till then. However, it explains a lot.

For instance, I have always been a fan of tomatoes and have been known to take a big ripe fatty out of the garden, slice it up, slap it between a couple slices of bread and call it a sandwich. Then, 19 years ago, I got pregnant and, apparently, other changes also occurred within my body. Now, whenever I eat fresh tomatoes, I get big blistery sores on my lips, tongue and the roof of my mouth (cooked tomato-based items, like spaghetti sauce and salsa don't seem to bother me!?!). The good news is that the herpes drug Valtrex seems to reduce the effects of said sores. The bad news is that the herpes drug Valtrex is in my medicine cabinet.

I also am allergic to a couple of prescription medications, which I found out the hard way. I was given the miracle antibiotic Biaxin during a serious bout of illness about 15 years ago and, while semi-unconscious and soaking my itching epidermis in the tub my mom showed up at my house and announced I looked like Barney -- you know, the big purple dinosaur? Sure enough, in addition to the raging body rash, I had turned a lovely shade of purple.

Recently, my eyes have been dripping like a night spent watching Hallmark channel movies so I'm guessing there's something in the air that I've developed a new allergy to -- I'm thinking it's some sort of vegetation, but I'm hoping it's housework!