Talk to me about allergies/maybe needing an epipen

[PatPhelansRedVan]

Had a reaction yesterday, not sure to what. Possibly accidental pineapple in a smoothie is the best I can come up with. Had a very mild reaction to pineapple a few years ago and avoided since.

Got itchy mouth, hives and redness on chin, neck and chest.

Short of breath, coughing and a bit wheezy.

(Known asthmatic)

Took meds at home but didn't settle so phoned ooh and went to ooh gp at a local hosp. Spent 2 hours there on nebs with oxygen and being monitored. Blood pressure dropped a little bit at one point but came back up. Sats were ok. Had steroids and more antihistamines. Was nearly given adrenaline.and sent to bigger hosp but it seemed to settle.

Dr I saw said she thinks I need epipens. I've had Allergy tests before in relation to asthma but nothing significant food wise showed up. (Allergic to animals) so based on the food allergy not showing on tests I assume it's unlikely I will get epipens? Plus my sats didn't drop or anything so wasn't that unwell was more the risk of it progressing more.

I have an appointment but it's in 2 weeks so just wanted to kind of chat things through now. Keen to hear others experiences and if a reaction like this can just be a one off and not happen again?

Thanks.

In my experience, if you’ve needed to go to hospital due to allergies you’ll be prescribed 2 EpiPens. Allergy testing can give false positives and false negatives, and each time you’re exposed to your allergen the reaction is likely to be more severe than the previous. I’d push for an EpiPen if I were you- must have been scary. Hope you’re ok now.

As a lifetime (so far) survivor of an anaphylactic peanut allergy, avoid eating anything that you haven't made yourself until you've been tested. Each time you come into contact with the allergen, your intolerance increases.

It's tricky cos I think it might be pineapple but I don't know.

I'm in a similar situation.
I have had allergic reactions to various things over the course of two decades.

After my first anaphalatic episode when I was 18, I was referred to a hospital allergy clinic for prick tests.
They didn't find anything.

I had a number of anaphalatic reactions over the following months. There was too much common ground to tell what it was. It was always sandwiches. Then it went away and a few years later I developed the same reaction to wine and beer.

Then that went away too. More recently it's been a brand of yoghurt, fresh banana and durian. And most recently of all it's been a wood dust I come into contact with at work, so not eaten, but breathed in.

I don't know if I should go to my gp for an epipen. I used to have them years ago but I never had to use them because since my first reaction at 18 I always carry liquid antihistamine and tablets wherever I go. At the first sign (I'm very aware of the signs when I start to react) I get away from the allergen/stop eating it and swig my antihistamine, I've always stopped the reaction this way. After a few years I didn't bother getting my prescription renewed as it seemed a waste of money.

I'm slightly worried that perhaps one day, the over the counter medications I carry might not be enough.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/29/allergic-reaction-pret-natasha-ednan-laperouse?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

Get the Epi pen. Reactions get worse every time and especially since you don't completely know what you reacted to it is even more important to carry one.
It's not a case of taking an anti histamine ASAP. A full anaphylactic reaction needs adrenaline and is life threatening even if in hospital. If you're out of hospital you need to everything you can get. One of my friends had an anaphylactic reaction and I almost didn't get them to hospital in time and we lived around the corner from A&E.

I think you need an epipen especially if you are a younger adult (the most at-risk group).

I have severe food allergies, including peanut, but in fact my worst reactions have not been to the foods I am most allergic to. I once had a severe reaction to unfiltered honey (presumably go the pollen), and In one case (when I nearly died) we do not know what the allergen was - I hadn't eaten anything at all.