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Eva LaRue
Galloping Past Allergies
and into Motherhood
and into Motherhood
By Donna Smith
Long-time fans of All My Children know her best as Maria Santos. If you're a fan of CSI: Miami, you know her as Natalia Boa Vista, a lab specialist with a knack for grant writing. Or maybe you've seen her on The George Lopez Show, as co-host for E! Style Network's Modern Girls Guide to Life or weekend anchor for TV's Extra! But for Eva LaRue, her favorite job is being mom to her daughter, Kaya. Unfortunately, she also has a permanent role as an allergy suffer – and has since childhood.
"I've suffered from allergies for 12 years," says LaRue, who is also a supporter of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Learn The Signs. Act Early" campaign and recent recipient of a Gracie Allen Award by the Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television. "My allergies became noticeably worse when I moved back to California after living in New York off and on while filming All My Children."
LaRue is allergic to horse hair, pollen spores and the grasses in California. "My doctor said I'm insanely allergic to this state," she says. "When I moved to New York City to do All My Children, I had my first bout with 
seasonal allergies. I'd walk through Central Park during the spring and would find myself sneezing and my face would get itchy."
As people with allergies know, sometimes common activities can cause a reaction. "I was unable to walk through a park during the fall and spring because of the intense pollen," LaRue says. "Almost two years ago when I moved to California I developed a persistent cough that lasted over a year. After several doctor visits, I recently saw a pulmonary specialist who gave me an allergy test. It turns out I was severely allergic to six different grasses in California. The bumps on my back where they administered the allergens didn't go down for three days!"
