What I Know about Allergies so far

     Imagine you own a house.  You have  two dogs.  A small one and a large one.  Whenever there is a threat the small dog goes out to investigate.  The little dog barks, if the threat goes away the little dog comes in.  No problem.  If the threat stays the little dog comes in and the big dog goes out to bark.  Most of the time the threat goes away.  If it doesn't then that is the beginning of an allergy.
     Let's say the threat is  a wolf.  The large dog comes in and alerts you that the wolf is planning to come back with his pack.  He tells you that more large dogs are needed to protect the house.  So you go out and get 11 more dogs.  To support them you work a second job.  Now when you come home after 12 or 14 hours of work you still have to take care of the 13 dogs.  That is how the allergy wears you down.
    The wolves are allergens (pollen) and the dogs are your immune system.  The wolves have no teeth or claws but your dogs don't know that.  So the troops line up for a battle that doesn't have to be fought.
     Let's go back.  Allergies were virtually unknown until  1800.  Then something happened.  Was it the industrial revolution?  The revolution of agriculture?  No.  It was the revolution of hygiene.  People got clean.  First the rich, then the middle class, and then the poor.  The same way that allergies manifested themselves.  We got too clean for our own good.
     Only children and oldest children are more prone to allergies than other children.  Older children go out and get exposed to a full dose of allergen.  They come back into the house and give a small, inoculating dose to the other children in the house.  The small children have a chance to develop immunity to allergies.  My big brother protected me for a long time.  But he wasn't around when I got to Texas.  So I have allergies now.
     They say local grown honey will give you a chance to develop an immunity to whatever allergens are in the area.  Bees fly through the air and pick up small amounts of allergens, which they incorporate into the honey.
     So that is what I know about allergies so far.  I am indebted to Jonathan Brostoff's book on Hay Fever, which I am halfway through.  More to come.