Posing with the Enemy

When I took these photos I was suffering from a bad allergy from birch pollen. Cleareyes helped for a couple of minutes and then make up was running down my face.
This meant runny and itching eyes from hell. A wonderful season that becomes a rather unpleasant period when the high pollen levels are reported. It was not always like this. I was 18 years old when all of a sudden I became allergic to one of the dearest and most important things in my life – animals. Not all of them, but the furry ones. I was devastated, but eventually I came to peace with the idea of just being able to cuddle with them often but not having one in my home. My symptoms are asthma, not bloodshot eyes or a runny nose, therefore I can ride a horse for hours or cuddle with dogs and cats a whole evening without problems. But I can’t spend 24/7 with them.

My birch pollen allergy started when I was over 35 and this pisses me off. Seams kind of unnecessary at my age. What else does mother nature have up her sleeve for me? Most experts agree that is a matter of environment and life style and not a matter of biological changes. You hear about the claim that air pollution, which has increased gradually since the beginning of industrialization makes allergens more aggressive. This might explain why most allergy sufferers live in the city. But the complex of it all seems to be that the poorer you live, the healthier you are. Farmer children in rich industrial countries have more allergies than farmer children in poor agricultural countries. Are we to clean? I don’t know. There are a lot of unanswered questions and the progress of allergies is still considered a riddle.

Now I have heard about “allergy shots” for years? The treatment that consists of a series of injections containing small amounts of allergy shots. I have heard of stunning results. What have you heard? Do you have any experience with this?

The photos are taken in Småland, in the south part of Sweden, by photographer Göran Magnusson.

P.S
I also speak Swedish and Spanish as many of you already know. So you can write in those languages here too, if you wish.