This morning Martin had a light allergic reaction to his breakfast. About halfway through eating he started to rub his eyes, which were red and teary. When I asked whether his eyes were itching, he stammered, “No, they’re just being funny.” Then he sniffled and grabbed at his nose. It looked like his recent reaction to wild boar.

I happened to have photographed his breakfast before he started eating.

The pancake-fritters had five ingredients (butternut squash, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, and red palm oil) and were fried in rice bran oil. The smoothie contained coconut water, fresh mango and avocado, and frozen berries.

What on earth could have caused the allergy? My best guess is maybe the cast iron pan in which I fried the pancake-fritters. It’s a well-seasoned pan, and most likely it’s seen wild boar in the past month. That would be only trace amounts, I suppose. But nothing in the breakfast invites suspicion. Other than butternut squash and rice bran oil, Martin ate all the same ingredients yesterday, when I made sweet-potato waffles for breakfast.

I am disturbed by Martin’s increasingly frequent (and sometimes seemingly random, or at least unexpected) histamine reactions. For years, I told myself, “Autism is enough to deal with. Thank goodness he’s not also an allergy kid.” Understanding Martin’s health and immune system is maddening enough without constant new variations, thank you very much.