I am African & I Suffer from Allergies

Oh yes; its spring all over again so goodbye WINTER. It’s that time of year once again for the females to bring out the short shorts; sun dresses and open-toe. Yeah fellas, ME LIKES! Ah-choo; excuse me, Ah-choo; excuse me, AH-CHOOOOOOO; EXCUSE ME! Oh, I also forgot that this also means its pollen season all over again for yours truly “P”.

Irite people; let me get focused…

What is a Allergy? I mean what is this? (In my Nigerian accent) Loool…

Allergies are abnormal reactions of the immune system that occur in response to certain foods, pollen or micro-organisms. Common symptoms include sneezing, itching and skin rashes.

 

It kills me to now just find out more than 20 years later that I actually have food allergies (seafood), seasonal allergy (pollen) and get this I am allergic to “Grass” and not the s**t you smoke either. I mean WTF? Who is allergic to Grass?

So the question that I pose this week is since when did African people start getting allergies? Better yet, how many of “My Omo Naija” family, viewers and supporters have suffered from allergies all these years without recognizing it?

It all started really when I first moved back to America to live. The image remains fresh as if I was back in junior high. All I heard from my new school mates were how they couldn’t eat or drink this, their parents would not allow them to play with or touch that and they need an inhale for this… Na Wa O!!! The list is too DAMN long. Guess what; as they shared their testimonials, all that would cross my mind was how soft and weak these group of American kids were. I was like man these American kids like to COMPLAIN about everything. Man up; you BIG BABY! I swear…

Fact is the medicines available to us in Nigeria such as Alabukun (can someone tell me what exactly is in this packet?), Piriton, Panadol, Camoquine and Fansidar bought at the local markets can and would more than likely cure whatever was troubling you and wash away your ills. But to treat allergies? I seriously do not recommend going this route.

Growing up in Nigeria , I never heard of a kid talking about how he/she can’t drink milk because they would get a reaction or someone telling his/her friend of how eating certain foods would lead to their body breaking out in hives. Can you just imagine mentioning this to someone who deems it a luxury to even have one nutritional meal in a day? The facial expression on that individual would be priceless. Truth is no one I knew had the audacity to even make such a proclamation because they knew they would be ridiculed by their peers as snobs, pretentious and just far too pompous.

So now fast forward to the past 3-5 years in my life and I see my nieces and nephews (Kool Keeds what up???) at birth already getting medical attention for allergies their bodies are unfit to fight off. Man, am just glad their parents are not from the Chris Rock School of Health which explicitly states; “Ain’t nuffin a little Robitussin can’t fix. Put some Tussin on it and walk it off”. LMAO!

To all my African peoples that have to put up with the ordeal of living with seasonal allergies such as myself, please make sure you go see a physician and get the proper care.  As you already know, that pollen is a beast and will break your body down seriously. And to add insult to injury, I have now become the source of entertainment for my family and friends as they crack jokes at my expense in the same manner I used to amongst my so called “weak & soft minded” classmates.

Panko don become a je butter boy o…

Good Health, Long Life!