Before getting too involved with the topics of allergies, politics and television, let’s first define the word allergy. According to my copy of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (1997 version), this word is defined as an “exaggerated or abnormal reaction (as by sneezing) to substances or situations harmless to most people.”

I’m not too sure if ragweed, dust, heavy smoke or other aggravating substances are really harmless to most people. I do know there are situations which cause me to get involved with a series of sneezing attacks several times a day. I’m used to these series of sneezes and sincerely hope those folks who part of my unintended audience are understanding. Anyway, it’s something I just tolerate and that’s something to sneeze at.

(There’s an attempt here to twist around an old saying.)

However, there are allergies many of us have to contend with in our lives. One is based on certain foods. Another is pharmaceuticals. And at a now strong third are politics and questionable television. At this point we’ll just defer that last part to later in the column and comment further on the food and medical aspects of allergies.

For many folks the food choices for eating and/or avoiding are based on taste preferences, diets, customs and on allergies. As an example, many people consider chili to be a real taste treat and one hot entree (pun intended); for others this particular item is something to always avoid.

Labels on packaged foods do help those folks with known allergies. One key is with the ingredients listings. And another is with a part of the labels under the section called allergy information. This part of the labeling usually says, “Manufactured on the same equipment that processes peanuts, tree nuts and milk.”

This food allergy topic can be rather complex, and even trickier is anything to do with medical or pharmaceutical allergies. Thus, my comments on this last portion are going to be confined to just a few general aspects of this subject.

Years ago one of my second cousins out in Oregon died after he was given just one shot of penicillin which was intended to cure a bad cold. At that time penicillin was considered to be the miracle cure of the last century for just about every disease and medical condition known to humanity. Sadly, all it took to cause the death of cousin John was just that one shot. He was allergic to penicillin, period.

Anyone who uses prescribed or general over-the-counter drugs has to be careful with their use. In my case, there were problems a few years ago with an overly advertised over-the-counter product. It was high priced and described as the miracle of the decades to solve running noses and other basal problems. For me, this product didn’t solve anything at all, but resulted in two serious sessions of nose bleeding. I quickly stopped using this product.

A few years ago I wrote an article for a special Tribune section with the prime message for folks to do all their pharmacy purchases, prescribed or over-the-counter, at just one place. Thus, the pharmacist could detect potential conflicts involved with the drugs or products being used by the customers. This could certainly prevent allergies.

Now, as promised, let’s deal with the allergies based on politics and television. As a result of the overly long campaigns, all of us were exposed to all too much false and overwhelming numbers of commercials for the candidates. Thankfully, there were options on the remote controls for cutting off the sound or quickly changing the channels.

With the grateful demise of the campaigning for a few years, we can gradually recover from the politically-inspired allergies. However, we’re still stuck with so many channels to see and so few worthwhile programs to watch. Again, there’s still another part of the remote called the power button. At the first sign of induced television allergy, hit the power button to turn off the set and find something more worthwhile to do. Exercising or walking would be excellent options.

Ed Shannon’s column has been appearing in the Tribune every Friday since December 1984.