As I was driving home, I noticed that my scalp was really itching ALOT! I'd just gotten retightened on Wednesday so sometimes I feel a little itchy after that but this was kind of outrageous. I got home and when I looked in the mirror, I was mortified. My cheeks and chin were covered in hives. I started to itch on my arms and hands, my face, ears, nose, eyes, and even my torso. As any grown woman would (even with Benedryl in the house), I picked up the phone and called mom. "It's an emergency! I'm having an allergic reaction to something I just ate!!" I told her as I snapped a couple of pictures in the mirror and emailed them to her; aaah, the wonders of technology.... My mother is a nurse and even though I knew that I needed to take the Benedryl, the call to mom absolutely had to be step #1. ha ha
We of course agreed that I should take 2 Benadryl capsules but at the same time, worried that I could possibly get to a point of anaphylactic shock where my throat could start to close and my tongue start to swell as this is sometimes a delayed reaction that may not occur for hours. Indeed the Benadryl might slow down the process of the reaction but still not completely relieve it.
Being that neither Sydney nor Sammy would be able to call 911 if that happened, and I might not be able to drive myself to the hospital, Mom and I decided it was time to go ahead and drive to the hospital immediately. So now here I was sitting in the Emergency Room itching like a crack fiend in need of a fix. I was quite a sight to behold as my hives were starting to spread to my hands and arms, and I was starting to get welts in all of the places I'd scratched.
The nurses laughed at me and scolded me to "Stop it! Don't scratch! Just rub it!" I told them that I couldn't help it and that if it got any worse, I might just strip naked and run down the hallway scratching like crazy!! But, I got lucky and they were able to get me in to the doctor in a reasonable amount of time.
The doctor confirmed that yes, I'd definitely made the right decision in coming in to the hospital immediately as yes, a delayed reaction could be a serious if not fatal issue. I got 2 painful shots of more Benadryl and a steroid, and Pepcid to act as an antihistamine in my stomach. Armed with prescriptions to fill the next day and orders to follow up with my primary care doctor, I was out the door.
I thought that once I got the shots that it would pretty much be over, but I realized at first light on Friday morning as the itching started again that I better get to the pharmacy asap to get those prescriptions filled as I was again turning into the crack fiend look. Thank you Lord that I didn't have to work that day.
Today is Sunday and here I am. So far I'm feeling okay but I can still tell when the antihistamines have worn off because the itching returns again. Thank God the prescriptions were for 5 days! I'm thankful that God allowed the reaction to begin slowly enough that I was able to get myself to the hospital early and safely and that Mom was available on the other end of the phone.
I'm also thankful that I already had Benadryl in the house. I usually keep some in case Sydney has gotten into something that makes her vomit and the Benedryl calms a dog's stomach. But, I'm grateful that I had just basic first aid knowledge of what to do and not to really panic. I'd never had a food reaction before or any allergic reaction other than basic seasonal sniffles and itchy watery eyes or itchy skin from the grass. It's so important to make sure you know what to do in the smallest or largest of emergencies around the house. Had I not called my mother, I don't know that I would have rushed off to the ER. I probably would have taken the 2 Benedryl and called it a night and only God knows what would have happened next.
Lesson learned and the moral of the story is.... know the basic steps of first aid and know what over-the-counter medications to keep in the house in case of an emergency. Second, if in doubt the emergency room is there if you really need them so don't be too afraid of the hospital to go. It could be the difference between life and death.
Here are the mugshots of the hives on my face that I sent to my mom. I knew immediately that something was wrong because even with my occasional acne, this beautiful face has never looked like this before. hee hee hee
8 comments:
OOOHHHHHH Girl!
You did the right thing by going to the ER and having Benadryl in the house. I told you of my allergic reaction a few weeks ago, no hives just swelling of the face, no tongue or throat, but definitely a scary moment.
Glad you are feeling better!
How scary,,,,What are you allergic to ? I was reading what you ate and thought what a great meal, she is making me hungry. Well..hope you feel better and no more delicious meals like that.
I wish I knew what caused the reaction. I suspect it was maybe one of the seasonings and might consider going in and talking to the manager to see if they use the same seasonings on other items so that I'll know not to order those as well. In the meantime, no itching today!! Yahoo! But still a couple more days on the meds... booo!
Oh my! Have you ever had an allergic reaction like that before? It sounds scary. I'm glad you were able to make wise choices. I hope you'll be able to find out what caused your body to go haywire.
It sounds like you need to go and get a new scratch test. Over time and with age brings new things to be allergic too. It is best to know before you eat it again. I've had this experience, only worse because my throat did close up temporary.
You did a good job, better to be safe then sorry later.
Oh My, I am glad you are doing better. My first step is to always call my mom or my grandma.
Wow! That is some scary stuff. Good thing you got help in time.
Thank you all so much for caring about me!! Believe it or not, here I am one week later and still itching. I followed up w/ my primary care doc and she prescribed an epi-pen for emergencies, more steroids, and a referral for allergy testing. In the meantime, I'm kind of afraid whenever I eat out (which is alot) because I'm afraid of what food might cause a problem. Oy oy oy....in all of my years, food and I have had a wonderful loving. This is the first time I've ever been afraid of it.
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