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Altaira
Superuser
Jul 27 2017, 12:45am
Post #1 of 24
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Allergies, anyone?
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I thought so! 
For me, hay fever of one degree or another stays with me from March to November, but my real achilles heel is dratted sesame seeds! Even one of the little nasties causes my face to turn red, mouth to tingle and ears to burn. I avoid them like the plague, of course, but they still sneak up on me in the most obnoxious of ways: croutons, stuck to the bottoms of bagels that have been baked with sesame bagels (I no longer eat bagels), even sesame oil in salad dressing and skin lotion! 
The reactions manifest in various ways, but for years they've mostly been external: hives, welts, red palms, itching. That was up until this past Sunday when I ate what must have been all of 1 tsp of sesame oil in some salad dressing. I knew I was in trouble when the sensation in my mouth, throat and and ears was painful as opposed to annoying, but to my surprise, my insides started swelling up! Throat for sure, horrible indigestion, and it felt like someone was forcing a bowling ball into my rib cage through my back.  Six hours in the ER (such fun), a battery of tests for heart attack (I didn't have one), multiple drugs, and 3 days later, my blood pressure and innards are finally feeling normal.
So, any allergy horror stories to share? Funny ones are allowed to, as are multiple votes!
(This post was edited by Altaira on Jul 27 2017, 1:09am)
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jul 27 2017, 12:52am
Post #2 of 24
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Another poll without an option that I can choose. Oh well.
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Altaira
Superuser
Jul 27 2017, 1:10am
Post #3 of 24
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I added it one for 'allergy free'
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It occurred to me even before I saw your post, so vote away! 
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Fereth
Rivendell
Jul 27 2017, 1:15am
Post #4 of 24
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Good old springtime allergies for me
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Grass pollen used to be the worst for me, then they tapered off so that I just need nasal spray every once in awhile.
Penicillin is another one. I was taking it for an infected tooth when I started breaking out in hives all over. So it's other antibiotics for me.
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jul 27 2017, 1:20am
Post #5 of 24
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I added it one for 'allergy free' It occurred to me even before I saw your post, so vote away!
Done and done!
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jul 27 2017, 2:16am
Post #6 of 24
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What a horrid reaction, I'm quite glad you've finally "pulled through", but what a thing to go through!
When our kids were little, one of their babysitters had a severe reaction to peanuts. No peanut butter sandwiches when she was there, even having the oil in the air was near-lethal to her.
All I have are seasonal allergy headaches and sniffles, so I consider myself fortunate! My youngest when little had a reaction once to a sulfa medication, her entire body broke out in little measles-like bumps.
I used to be allergic to mornings, especially during 8 a.m. classes back in college (even coffee didn't help), but getting up at 5:30 for work has (temporarily) cured me of that...until retirement!
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Alcarcalime
Tol Eressea
Jul 27 2017, 8:45am
Post #7 of 24
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My allergies start in the late winter. When the trees start to wake up, I get whacked. Then it is grasses. Minor food allergies. Nothing like your awful experience (so glad you are better now).
Driving behind a vehicle with bad exhaust makes my breathing difficult, and a lot of chemical cleaners are a problem, also. One of my biggies is cologne (scent, perfume). When I come near Polo, I just stop breathing and start to wheeze and then get a terrible headache. Before I buy soaps or shampoo, I have to smell them -- in the store. Cats (which I love) make me feel like I have cat hair in my nose and throat. I also get rashes from Penicillin. This is a fairly new one. It took me almost 70 years to acquire that one.
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Starling
Half-elven
Jul 27 2017, 8:50am
Post #8 of 24
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Strawberries, linseed, latex.
Hay fever most of the year.
And I am severely allergic to jargon. It has been this way for all of my journey, and going forward.
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Elberbeth
Tol Eressea
Jul 27 2017, 2:55pm
Post #9 of 24
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to some cats, notably black ones and Siamese (I don't know why the colour matters). I didn't start reacting until I was in the mid-teens, and by my 20s had some de-conditioning by being injected wwekly for a while. Now I'm mostly okay as long as I don't cuddle or pet excessively. I'm fine with dogs, except for brushing them -- the hair seems to wrap around me and then I get a minor case of hives.
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Alassea Elensar
Rivendell
Jul 27 2017, 3:14pm
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Wow, that was quite an ordeal! If you have a reaction to just one seed, is it any wonder that you had such a bad reaction to the oil? Yikes!
That's a really sneaky allergy to have, as you never know where sesame is going to turn up. Another sneaky one is the allium family. I've always felt *very* sorry for anyone with an allergy to onions and/or garlic, there's almost no escaping those. They're in *everything*.
As for myself, the only confirmed allergy I have is to sulfa drugs. The usual reactions -- rash, swelling of the throat, difficulty breathing. Thank goodness I'm ok with penicillin. My mother was allergic to both.
I suspect I might be allergic to shellfish, but this hasn't been confirmed. I had a minor reaction after eating shrimp once, but whether it was the shrimp or something else, I'm not sure. And I'm not about to try it again, because truthfully, I can't stand the taste of them anyway. 
Interesting poll, thanks for posting it. *So* glad you're feeling better now.
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
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Jul 27 2017, 7:09pm
Post #11 of 24
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That must have been frightening.
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I'm so glad to hear you're alright now - but having an *internal* allergic reaction? I can't imagine what was going through your mind at the time.
I have hayfever. It's annoying now but it used to be terrible until my late teens, when I had such a bad season that I pretty much sneezed myself out. (My record for sneezes in a row was 32. Wicked stomach cramps afterward.)
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Alassëa Eruvande
Valinor
Jul 27 2017, 10:01pm
Post #12 of 24
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I will win the internet with the next three words:
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gynecological exam lubricant
Think severe sunburn on your nether regions. While 5 months pregnant.
And what does a sunburn do when it is healing?
It itches.
And peels.
Your welcome.
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Starling
Half-elven
Jul 28 2017, 6:25am
Post #13 of 24
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forever.
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zarabia
Tol Eressea
Jul 28 2017, 4:38pm
Post #14 of 24
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Yikes! I thought my allergy was sneaky
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That's truly frightening -- to have such an extreme reaction to something so prevalent yet often hidden! Glad you're feeling better.
Much to my regret, I'm allergic tp mango and papaya.  I could live on mango and papaya if I could always find good ones, which in Oklahoma would be a challenge.
Anyway, I had a relatively mild reaction a few years ago after eating said fruit, but also after cleaning out a closet that hadn't seen the light of day in...don't want to say. Because I had had no trouble with the fruit before, I blamed mutant dustbunnies. But after eating more later, my face swelled and my lips turned inside out.
At the urgent care center the next morning, thr doctor said that next time I could likely have a worse reaction. But here's the thing. When the nurse was giving me a steroid shot you know where, she told me to always tell medical professionals because there is a component from papaya that is used in some medication or something. However, i was a bit distracted by the shot, so I didn't catch what she for sure. I always let doctors and nurses know about my allergy to mango and papaya...the look I often get is, "Well, we're not having any luaus around here, so I think you're safe."
But as mango and papaya become increasingly popular, it turns up moreand more unexpectedly. Still not nearly as easily hidden as sesame seeds through.  Be careful!
(This post was edited by zarabia on Jul 28 2017, 4:41pm)
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zarabia
Tol Eressea
Jul 28 2017, 4:53pm
Post #15 of 24
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Oh, I'm so sorry! I can't help but laugh, but at the same time, the very idea gives me the squinchies.
Glad you can laugh! You definitely win the internet!
(This post was edited by zarabia on Jul 28 2017, 4:54pm)
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jul 31 2017, 12:53pm
Post #16 of 24
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I truly don't have any allergies... except maybe to house cleaning. That always makes me break out (and run outside! ;)
My older sister has allergies to her environment and many to food. Like corn. She can't go to the movies because just the smell of popcorn triggers migraines.
I'm so sorry you're caged by your allergies :( So many days feel like Russia Roulette... you never know which one will invade your day.
*hugs*
(This post was edited by grammaboodawg on Jul 31 2017, 1:02pm)
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Annael
Immortal
Jul 31 2017, 3:17pm
Post #17 of 24
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they do things to the wheat here. I know so many people who can't tolerate it, but in Europe can eat all the bread they want.
I'm also allergic to a pain medicine that's rarely used any more. Gave me a WHOPPING hive.
I did used to have "hay fever" type allergies - grass, house dust, mold - but I got the shots and they worked for a couple of decades. The next thing that helped was to move to a completely different climate for several years; I came home to the damp Northwest after a spell in the high desert and didn't react to the old triggers for years.
When I started reacting again, I found that sodium cromolyn (NasalCrom) not only prevented me from having symptoms of an allergic reaction, after three years of using it during my usual allergy season, I stopped reacting altogether. I've now been allergy-free for a decade.
Except to wheat. Some snuck in the other day (it was in ICE CREAM of all things) and ooh boy. But nothing like your horrible experience! Glad you got care in time. Did they give you an EpiPen?
(This post was edited by Annael on Jul 31 2017, 3:31pm)
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Annael
Immortal
Jul 31 2017, 3:30pm
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as an editor I am often "triggered." I now refuse to do ANY marketing work. But every discipline has their own.
I tell all my clients "it's fine to use it with your colleagues, but no one else is going to understand you, and what is the point of writing something that can't go beyond a small group?"
The real problem is that jargon can be a shortcut word that stands for a difficult concept, and often I find those who use it have forgotten the underlying concept and can't, in fact, put it in plain English even in their own minds. This can create a whole new set of problems, as I saw in a dissertation recently where it was clear that the candidate did not have a clear sense of what her own research question actually was, and as a result did a poor study and an even worse job of trying to interpret her findings and come to any solid conclusions. In short, the whole thing was crap. I did one editing pass, she rejected most of my suggestions, and then I told her I was too busy with other work to continue working on hers.
I looked up her school and it appears to be one of those predatory online "universities" that give out degrees in exchange for a lot of money. Her basic concept would not have been approved at my school or, I am quite sure, any reputable university. But she DID know how to spout jargon!
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entmaiden
Forum Admin
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Aug 1 2017, 2:01am
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and started to observe that my eyes were itchy, and I was stuffed up, but only when I was at home. At that time, I was traveling every week and home on weekends. I was fine during the week, but as soon as I arrived home, I was miserable, especially when I cleaned the house. I realized I had grown allergic to my cat. I resolved to tough it out until she was gone, which might have been years. Sadly, she developed cancer three years later, so I had to put her down. I've been cat-free ever since. I can be around cats, or spend the weekend in a house that has cats, but I can't live with them long-term.
I have a slight histamine reaction to wine, especially red wine. My neck gets all red and blotchy, so it's a complete give-away when I drink wine. It doesn't stop me, though. 
Other than that - no allergies - except getting up early in the morning
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Altaira
Superuser
Aug 1 2017, 4:32am
Post #20 of 24
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I own two epi-pens, but they're both expired by years, and I had no idea where they were at the time.  The reason is that I'm pretty good at avoiding sesame seeds/oil for months, or even years, and when I eat one or two seeds my reaction isn't nearly bad enough for such drastic methods. I DO keep a ready supply of benedryl and pepcid (apparently pepcid controls different hystamines). But, I have to say that I think I've now learned my lesson that it only takes one bad reaction, even it it's once per decade, to really ruin the evening , and to keep an epi-pen up-to-date and readily available.
Very interesting about American flour. Is it whole wheat flour too? I can't believe you ate wheat in ice cream!? Was it like, cookie dough or something?
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Altaira
Superuser
Aug 1 2017, 4:34am
Post #21 of 24
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You definitely win! As if you weren't uncomfortable enough at 5 months pregnant. At least now you know.
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Annael
Immortal
Aug 1 2017, 3:39pm
Post #22 of 24
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an article about how students at the local university have invented a much cheaper device that does what the Epi-Pen does. (Take that, greedy corporate pig who raised the Epi-Pen price hundreds of dollars!) It's still being perfected but you should have a good alternative in the next year or two. My sis-in-law always carries two as she goes into anaphylaxis if stung by a bee or wasp.
No, it wasn't cookie dough ice cream, I avoid any kind that I know has cookies in it. Sometimes they put it in as thickener. I buy premium, pure-ingredient brands, but it was a hot day and we were walking by a soft-freeze place and . . . .
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Delrond
Rohan
Aug 2 2017, 4:44pm
Post #23 of 24
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K Y
And to think how impressed I was with your gas giant knowledge.
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The Grey Elf
Grey Havens
Oct 11 2017, 12:55pm
Post #24 of 24
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Yes, I read a few years ago that the dander protein
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produced by dark colored felines was worse than lighter colored for causing allergic reactions. Though that doesn't explain Siamese which are mostly light.
You sound like you still like cats despite your physical difficulties. Which is nice as a serious allergy can turn some people into haters.
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