NORFOLK --? Allergies to foods, pollen and animals are common.
You might be surprised at some not-so-common things that will make you run for the Kleenex box.
An allergy to the sun's rays is called Solar Urticaria.
Some people, although it's rare, have a water allergy.
"I've had some people who get hives in certain types of water, so they might get it in the ocean, not the pool or the pool, not the ocean and the temperature doesn't seem to be a factor. It's the type of water that it is," says allergist Dr. Gary Moss
Another odd allergy is called Cold Urticaria. Getting cold can cause hives.
"If they jumped into a pool, they could have a really bad reaction with that full exposure, so in the summer, if they are swimming, we ask them to kinda dip a toe in first," Moss explains.
He says an ice cube test can really show the symptoms of an allergic reaction.
"The reason we do the test is not to confirm it, because it's usually pretty obvious, is that there's particular antihistamines which work better for it than others, so we want them to go on the antihistamine and then we do the ice cube test to see if that's an effective way of suppressing the hives," Moss adds.
There is a real allergy that makes people allergic to exercise. It's called exercise induced anaphylaxis.
"They're allergic to food, but they don't have a problem unless they exercise within an hour or two after eating that food," Dr. Moss notes, adding that there are some people who can have anaphylaxis just with exercise itself. It's extremely rare.
A kiss could be troublesome, too.
"If you're really, really allergic to peanuts and the person you want to kiss has just eaten it, brushing your teeth and chewing gum might not work. Time is the best thing.? You might have to wait a few hours," he notes.
Computers, caffeine, nickel, plastic and wood round out the list of
