The Girl In A Mask

Life for me has taken on a peculiar turn. I have recovered from the horrible flu bug. As usual, after a bout of flu or cold, I will end up with a loss sense of smell for a period of time (which usually lasts a couple of weeks). In the meantime, while the sense of smell is slowly returning, I have become super-duper-hyperly-extremely-sensitive to smells. And the best part is, I can't smell them at this point of time! But the smells and scents trigger reactions. And I have deteriorated where smells and scents are concerned. 

This incident happened last week. After buying Joel's books and uniform, we both went to a mall for lunch. Of course, my lunch is in my own in a Thermos flask. I did not know that they had incense wafting through the restaurant as I did not smell it. It was only later that I remembered that there was an altar in that restaurant. But we were already there for a period of time. And then we left and went to look for back-to-school stuff. And there was another shop which was undergoing major renovation. And even with my none-smelling-nose, I could smell it. And boy, could I smell the paint, lacquer, spirit and CHEMICALS! I ran from that place. And then we went to the supermarket. And they had just finished a MAJOR renovation. And that place stank to the high heavens! By the time I got home, I had a migraine from Hades, my sinus, mouth and tongue burned with such intensity that I thought my face was going to drop off and my stomach was in chaos. And then I had a new reaction which I had never had before. The insides and the back of my ears swelled so much that half of my hearing was gone. I had thought that it would escalate into another anaphylactic attack. And the pain was so severe. I swallowed a Zrytec and Xyzal together to stop the attack. And thank god, it did. And I am glad it did not end in an anaphylactic attack. 

Before I had the severe flu, I could 'tolerate' smells. But this reaction, which happened last week caught me by surprise. It was so severe. And it scared the hell out of me. And my fighting spirit has been hit. I feel depressed and down in the dumps. And the scary part is, I don't know whether I can go through another attack and come out unscathed.