Severe allergy attack out of the blue

[MissAriel]

I am nearly 50 years old and had no history of allergic reactions to anything - pollen, dander, dust, foods, medications, etc. However, last week I had a massive allergic attack that sent me to the emergency room.

I ate pretty benign things throughout the day, but did go out to lunch and had a BLT with avocado and salad. Started itching a bit mid afternoon. By dinner time I was itching like crazy - mostly on my abdomen and upper legs, and some on my arms. I took a shower, changed clothes and went to bed. Woke up at midnight with my lips swelling. (at this point I should have gone to the ER, I know now), took some benadryl and went back to bed.

Woke up even more swollen and itchy. Both lips swollen to make Angelina Jolie jealous, eyes swollen, hands and feet swelling. Went to Urgent care who loaded me up with iv steroids, antihistamines and im epinephrine, monitored me for a few hours then packed me off to the ER! More observation and another round of steroids and they sent me home by evening with prescriptions for oral steroids, antihistamines and an epi-pen. Luckily I never experienced any respiratory effects, but probably only because of the medications.

Now I am under orders to avoid all potential allergic triggers! But I have no idea what it could have been. So no eggs, shellfish, dairy or nuts (surprised they didn’t list soy and wheat as well) until I see an allergist, which will be in January! Oh, and keep my epi-pen handy!

Has anyone developed sudden, severe allergic reactions? What was the trigger, and how did you figure out the culprit(s)? Any words of wisdom for avoiding so many foods, ones I used to eat regularly?

[dotneko]

Wow! Never heard of this. And such a long time after eating. Do they not think it was a potential spider or
insect bite?

[BigMama1]

The slow development of symptoms does seem weird, assuming it was something you ate. But now that you’re sensitized you might have a more immediate and severe reaction the next time so do keep your epi pen on you at all times until you see the allergist. Hopefully you will get some answers!

[CanadianTrotter]

I had a severe allergic reaction quite similar to yours, ended up in the Emergency with my throat closing up and a week stay in the hospital. After a few weeks of morphine for the initial pain and months of heavy steroids it still took almost a year to feel “normal” again.

They think it was a slow reaction to an antibiotic I was put on for bronchial pneumonia or that in combination with any number of things. I had only taken three of them and felt very nauseous and sick to my stomach, dizzy and disoriented so I stopped taking them. Still feeling dizzy/disoriented and flu-likeI started feeling itchy and got hives on my abdomen, back and arms. Four days after the first symptoms had started I went to emergency and they sent me home with Benadryl with instructions to go back if the symptoms got worse. I dealt with these symptoms for about another week and then my entire body started swelling up and then my face, lips and tongue and soon after my throat. I was in denial, which I was later told is a side effect of a severe reaction, and didn’t want to go to the hospital telling everyone I was fine. My family called an ambulance thankfully because the doctors told me I would have been dead if I had been a 1/2 hour later getting to the hospital. Slow reactions are not common but they do happen. The pain during healing was pretty intense for the first week and it took three weeks to just feel moderate pain and soreness. I couldn’t hold a fork, spoon or toothbrush, none of my clothes or footwear fit me and I could barely walk for a week.

My neighbour on the other hand just had a severe reaction last week. She went to a walk in clinic the week before and was put on antibiotics and a puffer for bronchitis. Then she went to her doctor and had a flu/shingles vaccination the day after she finished her antibiotics. I went with her to the emergency that evening after she began turning red, getting itchy with hives and her face was beginning to swell. They put her on a Benadryl intravenous for three hours and then sent her home. She slept most of the next day and was feeling much better the 2nd and 3rd day.

Severe allergies can get better and go away or they can get worse and you can develop new allergies if you are susceptible …they aren’t something to play around with. You should always have an epi-pen and Benadryl on hand and it’s a good idea to get a medic alert bracelet when you get to the bottom of what caused this reaction.

Sorry this happened to you and I hope you feel better soon, severe allergic reactions are not fun.

[Fillabeana]

Well, I don’t have anaphylactic reactions but I have developed histamine reactions at a similar age.

I react to all nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant), raspberries, mushrooms. I used to be able to eat these things, four years ago. I react with a lot of sneezing and a runny nose so bad it’s like a faucet, but usually not right after eating the offending food but six to nine hours later.

I also figured out that I am either Celiac or severely gluten intolerant. (Iwas already mostly off gluten, and the testing is usually ineffective if you aren’t eating two slices of bread or it’s equivalent daily).

And… now I am having trouble with eggs, nuts, dairy…

I do eat rice, quinoa, beans (all soaked before cooking) , sweet potatoes, squash, avocado, olive oil, gluten free oatmeal, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, apples, bananas, carrots, cabbage, beets,…greens…

My mom went on an allergy elimination diet.
There will be some resources by alternative health providers (naturopathic docs, chiropractor s, holistic or functional or integrated medicine MDs) that work with nutrition as a major tool in their practice. These folks will structure elimination diet or cleanse diets, for which they provide a lot of suggestions for what a person can eat.

​​​​​​​Start with Terry Wahls autoimmune protocol diet, I think she has a cookbook. If I have time I will look up some more suggestions for you.

[Mango20]

Did you switch clothes-washing detergents or dryer sheets or anything like that? I’ve had some reactions to those things. It usually started around my waist or anywhere with close contact with the clothes and/or sweating.

You might want to check with the restaurant to see what the ingredients were in the salad dressing you had. There could be something unexpected in there that triggered the allergic reaction.

You may or may not ever figure out what did it. I know someone who is allergic to mango skin. Not mango meat, just the skin. I have no idea how they ever figured that out.

[StefffiC]

I just had an severe reaction to some unknown allergen. Got an ambulance ride and night in the hospital because of it. No idea what caused it but I’m seeing immunology and allergy next Wednesday to see what we can do.

[MissAriel]

@StefffiC

I just had an severe reaction to some unknown allergen. Got an ambulance ride and night in the hospital because of it. No idea what caused it but I’m seeing immunology and allergy next Wednesday to see what we can do.

Yuck. So sorry you experienced something similar. Good luck at the allergist next week. My appointment isn’t until January! :eek:

In the meantime, I have established that it wasn’t dairy, wheat, nuts, corn, egg white, various other grains. One of the docs told me while I was at Urgent Care that a lot of times this happens and you never find the cause.

[Tyrus_Mom]

I had my first severe allergic reaction (also out of the blue) when I was in my early 20s. They never discovered what triggered it. This was very bad, by the time I got to the hospital (went immediately after I started getting hives and I was about 40 minutes from a hospital) – I could hear my heart slowing down in it’s beats in my ears. I’m thinking to myself, “this is a stupid way to die.” (It’s very peaceful, tho. Body probably goes into a shock mode to soothe you.) They pulled me in the ER and gave me Epinephrine. My face was swollen, tongue, throat, lips too. Yeah, you should never ignore hives and go to bed. You might have died in your sleep.

My second episode was a few years later, then another one a few years later. Each time occasioned an immediate trip to the emergency room, because I don’t take chances now. One time I went to the ER and they treated me very lackadaisical, taking their time until when the ER nurse came in to take my BP the last time, and I noticed her immediate rush afterward to give me Epi, fumbling in her rush.

I have never discovered exactly what caused it. I had a battery of allergy tests the first time and they did not find my allergen. I had eaten strawberries from a stand that day - the only out of the ordinary thing I noticed. The next time it was seafood and a salad, the next time it was a salad. So… I have begun to think it’s a pesticide that has not been washed off of the vegetables and fruits. I can get very sick from seafood on occasion, so I’m very picky about that particular choice when I eat. However, the seafood allergy is more of a sick to my stomach problem and not a hives and worse issue.

FYI to the general pop: A swollen face and lips usually denotes it’s something you ate.

I have not had an allergic reaction for many years now, knock on wood. If you start getting hives and Benadryl does not help, run, don’t walk to the ER.

[MissAriel]

@Tyrus’ Mom - yes, I know now that what I did was incredibly stupid. I am very fortunate that it all worked out, and I won’t do that again! At the Urgent Care they did note that my BP was low, and although I tend to run on the low end of normal typically, this was low even for that. I realized the severity when the first nurse was calling for the anaphylaxis kit while trying to find a vein not obscured by hives. They were moving with purpose!

Luckily, I have never been a fan of seafood in general and shellfish in particular so avoiding that isn’t a big deal. I do suspect it was something unknown in the salad I ate - maybe a pesticide (although that restaurant is big on local and organic sourcing) or maybe a bug or spider in the greens got ingested. If that is the case, I may never know.

[Tyrus_Mom]

@MissAriel

[USER=“244081”]

Luckily, I have never been a fan of seafood in general and shellfish in particular so avoiding that isn’t a big deal. I do suspect it was something unknown in the salad I ate - maybe a pesticide (although that restaurant is big on local and organic sourcing) or maybe a bug or spider in the greens got ingested. If that is the case, I may never know.

Maybe the restaurant got a shipment of something that wasn’t organic, was misrepresented and not properly washed. Every so often I’ll get a salad that has a little bit of grit to it and I think… well someone was asleep washing the greens today! I love eating out, but you do have to depend on other people doing their jobs. For me, it’s hard to think the same insect got into my food three times. Incidentally, each time I got an allergic reaction it was in a different city. The second time I missed a concert by Dido because I was in the ER.

[StefffiC]

@MissAriel

@Tyrus’ Mom - yes, I know now that what I did was incredibly stupid. I am very fortunate that it all worked out, and I won’t do that again! At the Urgent Care they did note that my BP was low, and although I tend to run on the low end of normal typically, this was low even for that. I realized the severity when the first nurse was calling for the anaphylaxis kit while trying to find a vein not obscured by hives. They were moving with purpose!

Luckily, I have never been a fan of seafood in general and shellfish in particular so avoiding that isn’t a big deal. I do suspect it was something unknown in the salad I ate - maybe a pesticide (although that restaurant is big on local and organic sourcing) or maybe a bug or spider in the greens got ingested. If that is the case, I may never know.

I ignored mine, too Tyrus’ Mom. My throat had swelled so much I couldn’t talk and had to text my husband laying next to me to call 911. He thought I was kidding until he realized I literally couldn’t talk and was in serious trouble. A couple of my doctors have thrown around Mast Cell Activation Disorder but I’ve never had any bouts of anyphalaxis so didn’t meet the full diagnosing criteria, and now we’re doing some tests to see if that may be my issue.

[CanadianTrotter]

@Tyrus' Mom

(It’s very peaceful, tho. Body probably goes into a shock mode to soothe you.)

I have never discovered exactly what caused it. I had a battery of allergy tests the first time and they did not find my allergen.

If you start getting hives and Benadryl does not help, run, don’t walk to the ER.

I was in shock and that caused denial, I was trying to get up off the stretcher to go home because I thought I was fine until my throat was almost fully closed up. Then the body starts to panic and fight because you can’t get air into your lungs.I had a horribly loud and high noise in my head and couldn’t hear anything happening or being said around, the last thing I heard before I passed out was a nurse yelling “Trach tube!”

Many severe allergic reactions are caused by a combination of things ingested by the body, that’s why it’s sometimes hard to find exact allergies. I was told that if the body is sensitive to several things at the same time it can also trigger a full blown severe reaction.

If you’re having a reaction that isn’t responding to Benedryl, don’t run because the extra adrenaline will cause the allergic reaction to speed up and you might not make it to the hospital. The best thing to do is get a friend to drive or call a taxi or ambulance.

[stressgirl37]

This won’t be helpful other than to say you’re not alone as far weird allergy things go. My husband had a similar thing happen a few years ago. All of sudden he broke out in a cold sweat, hives, and just abut passed out. He also had a sudden evacuation of his bowels. Called ambulance and they they decided he had an allergic reaction. Happened not too long after and his lips started to swell and feet and hand felt tingly. Did allergy skin tests and found nothing. Went to UC Davis and had more tests and they only thing they could say was it was mast cells that were causing the reaction but never did find the trigger. A daily allergy pill keeps it at bay MOSTLY. They also said it should resolve itself in 12-18 months. So after about 3 years he started to gradually wean off the allergy pills and BAM had another episode. so… a daily allergy pill is worth it. Hope you get some answers. Carry Benedryl with you.

[CanadianTrotter]

@stressgirl37

This won’t be helpful other than to say you’re not alone as far weird allergy things go. My husband had a similar thing happen a few years ago. All of sudden he broke out in a cold sweat, hives, and just abut passed out. He also had a sudden evacuation of his bowels. Called ambulance and they they decided he had an allergic reaction. Happened not too long after and his lips started to swell and feet and hand felt tingly. Did allergy skin tests and found nothing. Went to UC Davis and had more tests and they only thing they could say was it was mast cells that were causing the reaction but never did find the trigger. A daily allergy pill keeps it at bay MOSTLY. They also said it should resolve itself in 12-18 months. So after about 3 years he started to gradually wean off the allergy pills and BAM had another episode. so… a daily allergy pill is worth it. Hope you get some answers. Carry Benedryl with you.

Wow…that is really confusing and very scary!

It sounds like he’s allergic to something or a combination of things that they don’t have on their list of allergen tests. The only way you might discover what it is would be by a major elimination regime and even then you may not find out. It’s one thing to try eliminating certain things but when you have to start looking into combinations is it really worth attempting? I’m glad the Benadryl mostly works for him but don’t drop your guard in monitoring his allergies because one or more of them may get worse over time or even overnight. Best wishes for your husband and you as well.

[Tyrus_Mom]

@CanadianTrotter

I was in shock and that caused denial, I was trying to get up off the stretcher to go home because I thought I was fine until my throat was almost fully closed up. Then the body starts to panic and fight because you can’t get air into your lungs.I had a horribly loud and high noise in my head and couldn’t hear anything happening or being said around, the last thing I heard before I passed out was a nurse yelling “Trach tube!”

If you’re having a reaction that isn’t responding to Benedryl, don’t run because the extra adrenaline will cause the allergic reaction to speed up and you might not make it to the hospital. The best thing to do is get a friend to drive or call a taxi or ambulance.

Yeah, my reaction was different. My BP plummeted and I could hear my heart in my ears slowing down as I was semi-conscious and being dragged by my shoulders into the ER. My throat never closed up, although it was swollen. Everyone is different.

I know, don’t run… it’s a figure of speech… get your butt to the ER asap is another way of saying it!

If that isn’t a wake up call to your mortality, I don’t know what is. The first time scared the hell out of me. I used to carry an Epi pen until it broke. I never got a replacement and have just been careful. The other two times I went to the ER immediately upon getting the crazy hives so it never got that far. It is weird to think of yourself as being that vulnerable and fragile in that way. I prefer thinking of myself as tough.

[Bluey]

@Tyrus' Mom

Yeah, my reaction was different. My BP plummeted and I could hear my heart in my ears slowing down as I was semi-conscious and being dragged by my shoulders into the ER. My throat never closed up, although it was swollen. Everyone is different.

I know, don’t run… it’s a figure of speech… get your butt to the ER asap is another way of saying it!

If that isn’t a wake up call to your mortality, I don’t know what is. The first time scared the hell out of me. I used to carry an Epi pen until it broke. I never got a replacement and have just been careful. The other two times I went to the ER immediately upon getting the crazy hives so it never got that far. It is weird to think of yourself as being that vulnerable and fragile in that way. I prefer thinking of myself as tough.

Epipens only are good for two years, be sure to check the expiration date and get new ones.
Or if left in the heat long, for less.
You can tell if they are ok because they change color, if you can see the fluid in them.

Two days ago I used a new toothpaste in the morning.
New because I bought the wrong kind, the paste had stripes, was not all the same color.
It seemed a bit strong, my mouth was burning a little, but I didn’t think much about it.

About noon, the inside of my lips started swelling and I was thinking, there I go.
They swelled and had some extra peasized bumps here and there.
They got so big, then quit swelling and nothing else was happening.
No hives, no trouble breathing, just the very swollen mouth tissues.
I didn’t do anything about it, but was thinking about this thread.

Lips are finally almost down today, some bumps still there.
It was either a direct chemical burn, or some allergy.

Now to figure out what from all in that was a possible allergen, so I don’t use any like that again.
I have had allergies all my life, so used to all that.

Grandma never had allergies until in her mid 80’s she developed an allergy to … soap?
Dr told her to try a special allergenic soap and that worked fine for her.

The OP is new at this and just found out, allergies may crop up at any time.

[CanadianTrotter]

@Tyrus' Mom

Yeah, my reaction was different. My BP plummeted and I could hear my heart in my ears slowing down as I was semi-conscious and being dragged by my shoulders into the ER. My throat never closed up, although it was swollen. Everyone is different.

I know, don’t run… it’s a figure of speech… get your butt to the ER asap is another way of saying it!

If that isn’t a wake up call to your mortality, I don’t know what is. The first time scared the hell out of me. I used to carry an Epi pen until it broke. I never got a replacement and have just been careful. The other two times I went to the ER immediately upon getting the crazy hives so it never got that far. It is weird to think of yourself as being that vulnerable and fragile in that way. I prefer thinking of myself as tough.

Lol, I realized you meant it as a figure of speech but others may not, like my neighbour that panicked and started running around and then driving herself to the hospital. You’re right, all reactions are different during and after the episode and it’s definitely a wake up call to your mortality where just a matter of minutes can mean life or death. Scary stuff!

[MissAriel]

It is good to hear that I am not the only one to have something similar happen. It has been an eye opening experience, to say the least, and I appreciate hearing of other ways these episodes can present, in case the next episode takes a different form.

It it does give you a different outlook on life and how you live it.