I woke up this morning to a sore throat, a stuffed head, and a large amount of frustration. Not again! I sat there in bed and pondered the fact that this is now the third time in less than two months I have come down with this same whatever-it-is. And I decided that maybe, just maybe, it was time I went to see a doctor about the situation. I've stuck it out the last two times because I knew it was most likely viral and that antibiotics wouldn't do anything, and that if I went to see the doctor they'd just pat me on the head, tell me to drink plenty of fluids, and send me home to suffer in silence.

Well, it is, indeed viral - that much at least was confirmed. But when I mentioned how often it keeps coming back, as well as the fact that this past year or so I've been getting sick more and more often with sinus infections, the doctor eyed me and then asked me about allergies. How bad were my allergies? And had they gotten any worse?

So in other words, the most likely reason that I keep getting sick; that I keep fighting off these sinus infections only to have them reemerge weeks later; that I cannot seem to shake this thing, is my allergies. I've already got the inhaler and the pills for when I'm in situations of exposure. But apparently those weren't enough. She wrote me a prescription for two new medications - both nasal sprays - and thereby confirmed my fears. I have allergies, yes. And they have gotten slowly worse. But by prescribing me medications for the allergies that I must now take daily, I know that I have finally succumbed to the California Plague. I am one of them now.