. I'm only posting it because I find it amusing, allergy season is right around the corner, and I'm too lazy to post an original blog entry. So enjoy.

I am seriously allergic to my entire home-state of Louisiana. Every time I visit my parents, I end up sneezing and sniffling up a storm. I’m allergic to one of the most common trees in Louisiana (pine); the most common grass everywhere (crab); and the most common household allergen (dust). I was fine with constantly battling snot as a child because that’s all I knew. But now that the Illinois’ fall and winter seasons have me, for the most part, sneeze-free, I’m very fond of it.

I need you to understand that I was a very sick child growing up. In daycare, I’d watch the other kids play in the grass while I sat under a tree. I carried a nebulizer to school with me. I took allergy shots once a week for five years.

My mom, a nurse, is the sole reason I was never hospitalized for my asthma or allergies. She’s also the reason I’ve never slept in a tent. And the reason I developed a taste aversion to grape and cherry flavors thanks to ingesting large amounts of Dimetapp and cough syrup in my youth. Well, it’s not her fault. I blame dust.

So a break from the constant sneezing and sniffling was a God-send when I moved to Illinois.

But last summer, there was definitely something in Illinois I was allergic to. June and July had me constantly sneezing, and to make matters worse, I didn’t know the culprit. The last allergy test I had was 20 years ago, and they tested me for Louisiana trees, grass and most common allergens. When I moved to Illinois, it introduced completely foreign allergens to my system.

I met with an allergist last Friday to conduct an allergy test and refill my asthma inhalers. Along with all the other things I already knew I was allergic to — blue and crab grass, cats and dogs, dust mites, ragweed and mold — there was a new item to add to my allergy list. Want to guess what it was?

Wait for it … Wait for it …

Corn pollen.

That’s right. I’m allergic to corn pollen.

My initial reaction to this news was a very Homer Simpson-like “Doh!” to the thought of moving to a state completely COVERED in corn without realizing I was allergic to its pollen.

But with all things considered, I only have two months of concern in Illinois, whereas I had 12 months in Louisiana. And now I at least know what affects me during the summer. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no way to avoid it. I can just stare out at the endless fields of corn through my car window when I’m driving thinking, “I know you’re out there. But this year, I’m ready.”

Armed with two fresh respiratory inhalers, a prescription nasal spray and over-the-counter antihistamines, I can face this summer with my head held high, and hopefully with less tissues.

But on the bright side, I am now officially out of the running to be our unofficial OD Corn Editor. It’s hard to be the editor of something you’re allergic to. Too bad, so sad.

***Photos stolen from Google