Are allergies really incurable?

There I was having dinner with my husband, his boss and the boss’s wife.  I wanted to make a good impression and was fine until I saw out of the corner of my eye – a cat.  I thought, “Oh, no. Please don’t come near me.” I was at that time so afraid of being near a cat.  All of my friends and family knew I was allergic to them and made sure that when I came to visit, any cat was securely locked away.  But the boss and his wife did not know that.

Sure enough, as cats are wont to do, this one picked me to rub against.  He wanted to even hop onto my lap.  I gently tried to push him away, but he would have none of it.  Having already touched the cat, I started to show signs of the allergy.  I tried to ignore these irritating symptoms and vowed to make it through dinner without too much of a scene.

This incident happened many years ago and I can’t remember if I had to leave early but I do recall I was extremely uncomfortable.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, allergies of all types are on the rise and more people suffer from this chronic condition than from heart disease, diabetes and cancer combined. They also say that: “There are no cure for allergies.”

Yet, I’ve been free of allergies now for over 40 years, and we’ve had many beloved cats in our home.

A turning point in my illness came during a visit to my sister’s.  She had dutifully locked her cat in the basement while I was visiting.  However, unbeknownst to me, I slept in the bed where the cat usually rested.  The first night, I was awakened with the familiar allergic symptoms and found the cat sleeping right by my face.  At first I panicked.  Then I got up and went into the bathroom to calm myself and to think- and pray - about the situation.

I was new at praying about things like sickness. But from my study of the Bible, I remembered two ideas that were helpful:  God gave man dominion over every creeping thing (Gen 1:26, 31) and then it says God saw everything he had made and it was “very good.”  I did not see the cat as a “creeping thing” but the allergy felt like that to me.  So, I had power over such a thing that, clearly, wasn’t “very good” at all.  I also remembered a statement by Christian healer Mary Baker Eddy that, while speaking of another type of allergy, still resonated with me that night. She said: “What an abuse of natural beauty to say that a rose, the smile of God, can produce suffering!  The joy of its presence, its beauty and fragrance, should uplift the thought and dissuade any sense of fear or fever.” S&H 175:9 (1)

I reasoned that the cat, like the rose and me, was a creation of the Divine. Its beautiful qualities such as grace, playfulness, softness, independence, and peacefulness were to be admired not feared.

I went back to bed confident that all was well.  The cat was still sleeping peacefully and I slept soundly the rest of the night. And, that was the end of the allergy.

What a joy it was for my children to realize they could now finally have a cat for a pet without fear or concerns for my health.

My own experience tells me that we don’t need to suffer all our lives from allergies; they can be cured.

(1)    Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy

Kate is interested in blogging about health, health care, spirituality, science, religion, and the importance of prayer in maintaining a healthy mind and body.  She is a Christian Science practitioner and the media, legislative and public contact for Christian Science in the state of Maryland.