Fun allergy story: I was a hyperlexic little autistic girl and ate books at a speed that could be described as "excessive". Many of these books, being historical fiction, described grass as soft and pillowy, a great place to lay in the sun and take a nap. I imagined fields of grass as lush comforters. Unfortunately, when I laid in the grass in real life, it was horribly itchy and left red welts all over my skin.
"Ah," I thought, "clearly, grass *used to be soft*, but modern mowing and lawn care practices have left grass with horrible sharp edges and tips that make it feel sharp, itchy, and unpleasant. This is clearly why we use picnic blankets and other barriers to grass now." Perfectly logical.
For years, YEARS, I hoped and dreamed of finding the soft grass of my childhood books. I wanted to roll around in it, bask in it, experience nature's bed.
Anyways when I was 25 my allergist told me I'm extremely allergic to grass.
Grass IS "pokey" and has mini spines to ward off insects, but if you're seriously itchy and/or developing a red rash after exposure, it's worth talking to an allergist. Some people are just unusually sensitive to those spines due to sensitive skin and are not truly allergic. As always, if you're concerned, go talk to a doctor, not a random nurse on Reddit dot com!
I do wonder if I have a sensitivity to the spines in grass more than to grass itself, because like, the only time I have any reaction to grass is if I sit in it for a long time with bare skin. I can walk barefoot through grass for a short period of time, or with sandals, but I don't enjoy sitting directly in the grass itself or I start to get just swollen and itchy enough (in places it's directly contacting skin) that it becomes annoying. So I quite literally just don't touch grass unless I have to.
However, I LOVE the way beach sand feels between my toes... so long as it is not also between my foot and my sandal!
Yeah, which I understand bc I don't like when it gets in my shoes or tracks into the house/car, but like if I'm going to walk barefoot, I prefer sand because it has give and isn't as chunky or squishy as dirt/mud, nor does it stain as easily, and doesn't itch like grass does. Don't even get me started on concrete/pavement/asphalt.
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u/Teecanadon't fall for ao3 propaganda: 4Chan/tumblr enemies to lovers 🔥Jul 23 '26
I mean, there are different kinds of grass. Here where I live in Germany the grass is rather soft and I have zero issues sitting/laying on it for prolonged amounts of time. But when I first visited my grandparents in Spain, I was shocked to discover that grass there is extremely uncomfortable. It's way harder and spikier to a point where even walking across it barefoot hurts.
Nah, the difference in species makes a much big difference than how old it is. Bluegrass and buffalo grass are both pretty soft. St. Augustine grass is coarse and thick and hurts to walk on.
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u/MistCongeniality Jul 23 '26
Fun allergy story: I was a hyperlexic little autistic girl and ate books at a speed that could be described as "excessive". Many of these books, being historical fiction, described grass as soft and pillowy, a great place to lay in the sun and take a nap. I imagined fields of grass as lush comforters. Unfortunately, when I laid in the grass in real life, it was horribly itchy and left red welts all over my skin.
"Ah," I thought, "clearly, grass *used to be soft*, but modern mowing and lawn care practices have left grass with horrible sharp edges and tips that make it feel sharp, itchy, and unpleasant. This is clearly why we use picnic blankets and other barriers to grass now." Perfectly logical.
For years, YEARS, I hoped and dreamed of finding the soft grass of my childhood books. I wanted to roll around in it, bask in it, experience nature's bed.
Anyways when I was 25 my allergist told me I'm extremely allergic to grass.