I started a new book two nights ago and I’m convinced that I’m allergic to it. It’s super old and the pages are brown. For years now, I’ve mostly consumed books digitally or audibly. I was excited to read a physical book and smell the old pages as I read.
I’ve been itchy most of this year, but I can confidently say that my itchiness level went up significantly as I was reading the book. To the point that I noticed it. I realized I was reading an old book and remembered that dust mites liked things like books, records, newspapers, knick knacks, etc. The book! I was reacting to the book!
This year, I’ve realized the severity of my dust mite allergy, because I started a dust mite allergy immunotherapy treatment called Odactra. It’s a tablet of dust mite extract that I keep under my tongue for two minutes. My body has had obvious adverse reactions to the tablet and I’ve had to cut down on the dosage in order to control my reaction to it.
Clothes, shoes, blankets, books … I’ve reacted with rashes and itchiness to all these things this year. It’s been a hard year with my dust mite allergy. Or, maybe it’s been a good year, because I’ve learned the intensity of my dust mite allergy.
Well, I’m going back to digital books. Who needs the clutter of books anyway. I’m just glad to know enough to avoid the trigger.
