When I was starting grade school my father started seeing an allergist. Mother's behavior became disturbing.

At first the lesson around the house was, "Always follow doctor's orders." That got drilled in a lot. Then the results of the allergy testing came in and Mother started subverting the orders.

There was one brand of laundry detergent we were supposed to use and another to absolutely avoid. The "good" detergent was on the shelf above the washing machine but the "bad" detergent was what actually washed all our clothes. Mom kept that hidden behind the washer. When I confronted her about it she said the right kind was too expensive. When Dad got sick and thought something was wrong and confronted her, she lied.

This went on with a variety of allergens. When Dad was out of the house Mom would even take his list of diagnoses off the refrigerator and keep it by her side at the kitchen table while she read cookbooks, announcing that she was looking for recipes that would conceal his allergens. All of this alarmed me but there was nothing I could do about it; the only boundary I was able to set was when we were in a department store and she tried to spray me with a perfume tester--I shrieked and backed away. She looked around anxiously--wondering whether the other adults had noticed something was wrong--and put the tester away. She never tried that again. (Fragrance products were supposed to be avoided for Dad's health).

She used to joke about sneaking peanuts into his food.

Anyway not all allergies develop during childhood. I have anaphylactic allergies now (the kind that can kill you). Reading this question I counted and realized I hadn't seen her in twenty years. Small wonder...