My daughter's preschool teacher sent home a memo the first week of school to let all of the parents know that one of the children in the class has a severe allergy to peanuts. We were supposed to keep this in mind for when it was our turn to provide the class treats each week. I had never had to deal with a food allergy in my family, so this was completely new to me. When it was my snack week, I went crazy trying to find something that would cause this child to have an allergic reaction. I am shocked at how many products without peanuts have warnings that they may have come into contact with peanuts at some point. However, I ended up picking out some treats that didn't adversely affect the child and everything was fine.

We have a few allergies in my family that I am always keeping in the back of my mind. I am allergic to penicillin, which has become much milder as I've gotten older. Of course, that doesn't affect me on a daily basis. My husband is allergic to cats. I had two cats when I first met him and he neglected to tell me this. Once we were married, he couldn't hide his allergic reaction anymore. I found him sneezing hysterically one day when I returned home from work. Oddly enough, he loves cats, he just gets a stuffy allergic reaction to them. We've kept the cats as family members, I simply spend more time ensuring that there isn't as much cat hair around to irritate his allergies. My daughter is allergic to bees. It didn't take long, after one stung her as a baby, to determine that she was having an allergic reaction to the sting. She developed a rash within minutes and started to swell. As scary as it was, we have been dealing with it for 4 years now and know how to properly handle the situation if and when it

arises.

There are so many things in the world that cause an allergic reaction in so many different people and countries, it makes it difficult to narrow down the causes. Whether it is an allergy to an animal or to a food, everyone experiences their allergic reaction in different ways. You can't always cater to every type of allergic reaction or allergy that may cross your path, but sometimes, you need to be aware of them. If you do have school age children, you should know if there are some kids that may have an allergic reaction to certain foods. If you're having overnight guests, you may want to find out if they are allergic to your pets. If you are aware of allergies ahead of time, you may be able to avoid quite a bit of inconvenience for yourself and others. Plus, it may be appreciated much more than you could ever realize.