Highly Allergic and wish to travel the world… Help me with my dream…

Hi

This is Marie Alonzo. I am from the beautiful State of Goa, India. My name may sound a little different from the rest of the Indians, this is because Goa was a Portuguese colony and hence the European heritage. I am born and raised in Goa.

And I’m Highly Allergic to a lot of things....

I am a victim on daily basis, For people do not understand the kind of allergies that exist in this world.

Now some of my allergies, might sound very weird and bizarre to you but apparently I have them.

Basically I have a very sensitive skin. And skin is the largest organ in the body.

My skin reacts when it comes in contact with another substance through touch.

This is the list of the things I am allergic to,

And you might think I am nuts for saying this.

You might think 'Who on this Earth might be allergic to such things'... But apparently I am. I am the special one, I guess.

Allergy No. 1:

I have sun allergy – My skin goes bonkers in the sun. Develops a very bad rash. I feel dizzy, And worse case scenario my face looks all disfigured with the hives and the rashes caused by the sun.

Allergy no 2:

I am allergic to water.

Now my water allergy is not as severe as my sun allergy. It is not an immediate reaction. I do have 5 minutes, before water starts causing irritation to my skin...

But I do need to be very careful. If I wash my hands and do not wipe it soon - Then the next thing you know, I’ll be sick and will be in bed all day with rashes all over my skin. And water on my skin also causes a lot of pain.

Now My skin only reacts to stagnant water on my skin. Running water, it has no issues with, so I can take long showers, As long as the water is running the skin has no issues.

Allergy no. 3:

I’m allergic to dust, Now this is very severe. Even with a very little dust in the room, My nose goes bonkers, continuous sneezes, My nose starts running and doesn't seem to stop. My sinuses go bonkers. My skin - it itches very badly and develops a lot of rash...

And I live in the country of India, It is dusty everywhere... You just can’t escape dust in this country... I myself live in a city and no matter how many times you clean your place... at the end of the day it does get a lot dusty.

Allergy no. 4:

Now since my skin is very sensitive – It is prone to bruises, A simple tap on my skin causes a lot of pain, develops a bruise instantly and results in a black blood clot...

This is what most people do not get, 'How can a simple action of a tap on my skin cause me so much of pain'... Mostly people think I might be exaggerating it but when they see the clot they are amused mostly... It is as real as it can get...

Allergy no. 5:

I suffer from Eczema. Eczema is a condition where patches of skin become inflamed, itchy, red, cracked, rough, and very dry.... So I need to continuously keep moisturizing my skin... at-least 5-6 times a day... It gets really bad otherwise... The sole beneath my feet cracks and bleeds.

Allergy no. 6:

I am allergic to plants especially pollen. So the mornings are really bad for me.

In the morning, if I am surrounded by plants when I wake up, then my sinuses shoot the roof... I'll be sick, And in bed for a week...

And most people in my life cannot understand, Why I cannot do sleep overs at their place.

So many a times, I have to show them what it does to my health. They see the outcome. They get it for a week. And then the very next week they are back with their sleepover proposals (Relatives i'm referring to here)

Allergy No. 7:

I am allergic to oil, the skin just reacts when it comes in contact with oil.

Now I just can't touch oil, My nose immediately sneezes when my skin comes in contact with oil.

Allergy No. 8:

I am temperature sensitive.

A sudden temperature has to be maintained around me... Or I immediately catch cold, if its too hot or too cold... Now my room is designed keeping this in mind... I use the Air Conditioner, as both- a heater and an Air Conditioner...

I can monitor the temperature of my room, it is constant at all times... irrespective of what the temperature is outside....

My body temperature is also affected when I come in contact with other human beings... A simple handshake – sometimes it is too cold, sometimes its too warm.. That also affects me and I immediately catch a cold...

A sudden change in temperature makes my skin react...

So I will usually shake hands after the person has been in the room for a while so that, that person’s body temperature is in line with the room temperature...

Problem No. 9:

I have sinus...

Now most people already know about sinuses. So I really need to take care, so that the sinuses do not go bonkers. If I wake up without a cold, then the day is good. So I have to make sure everything is good, before going to bed, I need to take proper precautions at all times.

Allergy No. 10:

I suffer from migrane... Now this is not as bad as most people have it... It’s kind of tolerable and I do not prefer taking meds for it, unless it gets too bad...

Problem No. 11:

Now, The biggest thing of all is that I suffer from hearing impairment...

And no, I am not deaf. I just hear at a higher volume. And with each passing day my hearing capacity reduces a little bit. I could hear yesterday a little better than what I can hear today.

Now normal hearing range is basically between – 10 dB to 20 dB. I cannot hear anything in the normal range...

I can hear from 40 dBs onwards.

And certain frequencies I can hear from 70 dBs onwards.

For example : Every word has syllables, and every syllable has a sound. And every sound has a frequency. So I can hear certain syllables(Frequencies) better than the others. I mostly lip read. As long as the person is facing towards me, the conversation is smooth.

And no, I do not wear hearing aids, Why because

1) They are expensive . A lot expensive. - Not just the initial cost but they also have the running cost of battery replacement every single day. And hearing aids need to be changed every 5 years.

2) Hearing Aids Amplify the sounds. And this is a problem in my case.

You see, there is this continuous ringing sound in my ear. The one that you hear when you bang your head on the wall or something. That very irritating noise, is ringing in my ears all the time.

So basically if I wear hearing aids. It amplifies that noise as well. It is very irritating and you just cannot concentrate on what the other person is saying then . And the noise also gives you headaches.

This irritating noise is the very reason why most people do not like wearing hearing aids. it is very irritating and annoying. Trust me on this, I have tried hearing aids and it is really bad.

People who do not have the ringing sound in their ears, Hearing aids work for them.

But since I cannot hear anything below 40 dBs. I cannot hear the irritating noise without the hearing aids, And I can have normal conversations, In the normal scenario.

Problem No. 12:

I cannot control my pitch and my volume.

Since I cannot hear or differentiate at what volume I speak, Sometimes I tend to speak very loudly, And the other person assumes that I am shouting.... It gets very difficult to explain that I am not.

Problem no. 13:

I suffer from speech impairment.

It is not as severe. But there are many words I cannot pronounce correctly. No matter how much I try, I cannot make out the difference between my pronunciation and the actual pronunciation of the word.

Many a times I am told, that I am not saying a particular word correctly, and the proper pronunciation is told to me... But I seriously cannot differentiate... Both sound the same to me..

And yes, children are the ones, that make the most fun of me in this area I guess... They do not mean to... But yes, they can say a word, and I cannot... So that’s that...

Like recently I am told that I do not say yelling correctly... I do not know what it is called... Yelling... Yelling... Well it all sounds the same to me...

Problem No. 14:

I forget how to say certain words.

Like I know the word... I know the pronunciation... I know the spelling... But I just cannot say it at times... Sometimes the signal from the brain to the tongue just doesn’t work...

I literally have to ask someone to say the word, for that I need to describe the word first... And then I need to at least repeat the word a hundred times for my brain and my tongue to re- remember it...

And I need to keep practicing words everyday, So I do not forget how to say them... It’s not the same words that I get stuck with everyday... They are different words.... Random words... But words more than 4 syllables is what i get stuck with.

Like the other day I was stuck with the word intelligent.. Like now I can say it because I have said it several times... But the other day I was literally stuck with it.. I was like inte inte... I just couldn’t say the next syllable....

Sometimes it does get little troublesome...

So usually when I get stuck with a word, I’ll use a synonym in the sentence... And then come back home and say the word several times till I get it right....

And coz of all my conditions, I rarely leave my house....

l cannot go out in the sun without covering my self completely during the day... at night, my head is covered at all times... So hoodie is basically my best friend when I’m out.... I wear it day and night...

At home... I can wear anything... My home is designed as per my needs...

I need to wash my hands several times a day.... Literally dust, oil is everywhere....

I need to immediately wipe my hands with a clean towel...

I usually just leave my house just once a week... And the sleep in bed for the next 2 days if I step outside, otherwise it’s a lot for my skin to take in...

So yes... This is my life...

I need to take a lot of precautions just to live a normal life...

And luckily for me, I do not have any food allergies yet... But the doctor has said, That I might have some food allergies in the future so just to be on the checkout...

Today I am 28. And no I didn't have all this allergies when I was born. I lived a pretty normal life. Until, Everything got triggered 10 years back. And life has never been the same again...

I lost my dad when I was 3. I lost my mum when I was 20 to cancer.

And i'm battling life everyday. With each passing day my condition on worsens... The allergies are getting bad. I'm losing my hearing. I am forgetting words, more often than ever before now.

I always wanted to travel the world, And I would like to do that...

With my condition, a lot of care needs to be taken and I cannot travel as hectic as other travelers, My skin will just not be able to take it.

And travel costs money. Care costs money. And I need your help to fulfill my dreams. I do not even know, How long I have, before my skin goes completely bonkers.

It's a humble request, Please help in whatever little way you can.

And I know, the amount that I have asked, will not be sufficient to travel the world. But yes it can at-least get me started. And yes, I cannot travel the world in one go, I need to do it in bits and pieces for my skin just cannot tolerate the sun.

Thank you. I appreciate your time and efforts.

And Thank you for reading my story. It means a lot to me.

Many out there, suffer from the same allergies as me and people are not aware of the allergies. So Thank you.