AIBU to have been an idiot to eat this in the first place?

[Zulor]

So about 6pm today, I ate 'fish, chips & mushy peas' ready meal.

About 7pm, I needed my inhaler (not terribly unusual, I'm allergic to just about everything)

About 7.30pm I noticed a nettle type rash on my arms. Looked at my tummy and it was like a measles type rash all over me; legs, arms, torso.

So I rang my Mum (as one does) and she was asking me all about different cleaning products etc., and I was like no, I bleached the floors this morning, but did not come into contact with the bleach. Then it struck me, the fucking fish. I had actually read the ingredients before buying it, to see whether it was cod/plaice/whiting etc. But the ingredients only state 'white fish'.

I was hungry, so ate it. I live far from shops and don't drive, and it was the only thing in freezer.

Now my brother is allergic to shellfish. I have never eaten shellfish in my life, so don't know whether I'm allergic or not, but it surely has to be the culprit? WTF is 'white fish'?? And why the fuck was I so dumb as to fucking eat it!!?

I've taken piriton, the asthmatic symptoms have eased, but the rash is glaring.

It had to be the 'white fish' right?

You had an anaphylactic shock op. Breathing difficulties are not always present during an anaphylactic shock. DS’s main symptom is blood pressure dropping.

I would get to your GP and ask to be referred to an allergy clinic.

Ignore those winging on about the ambulance.

were there peanuts anywhere possibly? in the batter? in the mushpeas?

So you should have bloody well gone then on their advice. You tied an ambulance up that wasn't really required.

If 111 sends an ambulance Op is hardly responsible. My DP called 111 and they sent one because the flow chart or whatever it is they were using said he might be having a heart attack. They told him to crunch an asprin by didn't explain why (In case he started to panic maybe?), just that it would help and that an ambulance was on its way. He had no idea what was happening and it was only me with my (limited) medical knowledge that clicked what they thought was happening and tried to get them to cancel but by that point the ambulance was practically at our door. It took longer for the ambulance drivers to fill out the paperwork to say he was refusing to go to hospital than to actually get him there. We were fuming and the drivers said that unfortunately that's what happens with 111. But it's not his fault that an ambulance was tied up and we were both fuming about it. Maybe focus your anger somewhere more appropriate rather than at someone who was in the middle of what could have been a serious medical emergency...

Regardless, Op was having an allergic reaction. It could have killed her. Probably not the right time for her to be waiting for a taxi or getting behind a wheel to get to A&E? I can only imagine the potential damage that would be cause if someone in the middle of an anaphylactic reaction decided to drive somewhere.

oh its the ambulance police!
give it a rest

No mention of possible other fish/shell fish in the factory or possible traces of peanut/nut oil etc in the batter ?

Cross reaction to the potato from hayfever could be a possibility? Can rarely be anaphylactic.

Sorry, Quartz and SoupDragon!

I missed that OP doesn't think she's allergic to any food apart from maybe capsicum.

Though if she's not allergic to any foods but is allergic to just about everything, then who knows what she is allergic to?!

My friend’s Dd is e trendy allergic (anaphylactic allergic) to peas.

Have you kept the box?

Take it to your GP and get tested for the ingredients. Because next time you really, really might not be fine.

Also if the manufacturer has put some shellfish product in there (bulking out the ‘white fish ‘) and not listed it as an allergen on tne Box they need reporting.

‘Extremely’ not ‘trendy’

Cooked in groundnut (peanut) oil? Thats not good. Get yourself checked, it's in all kinds of stuff.

OP you need to go to your GP and get a referral to an allergy clinic for testing. You don't know what caused it, so you need to find out. Otherwise you'll just be removing food groups in the hope of avoiding the reaction.

It could have been the fish, or egg in the batter, or a spice of some sort.

Companies use the phrase 'white fish' so they can use whatever is cheapest/available at the time without changing packaging. If you want to know what you're eating you need to buy 'cod' or 'haddock'. White fish could have been...well any white fish. If you still have the packaging you could get in touch with the company, send the bar code, and see if they could tell you what type of fish it was.

You say you have an allergy to Capscium? That could easily be in the seasoning to the chips or in the batter. "Allergy to bell pepper is often associated with the celery-birch-mugwort-spice syndrome." Paprika is another related source.

You should have gone in the ambulance - it was anaphylaxis, you have been lucky.

Now you don't know what you are allergic to. There were multiple ingredients in the batter, chips before you start blaming fish.

You need an allergy clinic referral for a proper assessment and to see your GP ASAP as you likely need an Epipen, even more so as you don't know what the trigger was.

White fish just means it's a fish that comes from deep water near the sea bed and is to differentiate it from the oily fish types. It's not shellfish.

coppercolouredtop Mon 03-Dec-18 03:22:49
Plus I'm work in emergency services. Given cpr to similar.

It's really terrifying if you work anywhere near emergency services after that rant you had about the OP's "little rash".

I though 'white fish' was when they used cheaper fish like pollock, not cod/haddock? White fish is a fish that isn't an "oily fish" So trout, salmon, mackerel, sardines are oily fish, plaice, cod, haddock are white fish.

My ds is anaphylactic to shellfish, we've eaten 'white fish' for years and always been ok.

copper
I really hope you dont have that attitude with patients if you really do work in ambulance services.

If you dont understsnd a severe unexpected reaction that includes breathing difficulties isnt serious then god help them.

Anaphylaxis can kill very quickly. You can be fine one minute and in severe trouble the next even after meds. Cop a grip and spend some time re-educating yourself.

Op.you really should have followed
advice. It could all have intensified 5 mins after ambulance crew left.

And you need to check out the ingredients on the packet and get tested and see your gp for follow up after this reaction. It could be much worse next time.

Sorry I just get disheartened - I'm not a paramedic but the job I do often involves them and I see so often people wasting their time. It's rare I go to a job with them that genuinely warrants one but we don't go to every job with them so there will be many genuine cases that I don't see.

Accept this was probably not one of those occasions and op really should have followed their advice and gone to get checked out at hospital.

I do realise anaphylaxis is very serious. I don't think op thought her reaction was that serious, maybe 111 sending ambulance was a bit ott and that obviously wasn't OPs call.

Apologies, just a little jaded.
Hope you're ok now op.

Interestingly when my DBrother gets anaphylaxis one of the first things to change is his mental state. He will often get stroppy and refuse treatment or make poor decisions.

I was going to suggest, like a person higher up, that your capsicum / pepper allergy is probably to blame.

My partner is allergic to all peppers including bell and chilli peppers, and we have to be really careful to read what’s in the seasoning on things. Paprika is in everything and is a particular problem as it’s a pepper based product. Also manufacturers will often just put “mixed spices” on the ingredients which means we have to avoid them as we don’t know what has been used.

The amount of times we have eaten out or had something ready made that didn’t list peppers / chillies as a component but caused a bad reaction is frightening, he checks everything himself and sometimes asks me to double check but it’s not always listed it seems.

@AnnieOH1 also known as 'Basa' it is presented as a white fish and a good sustainable cost effective substitute to cod. Where is your source as it would be very interesting for me to read- thanks.

There is sometimes a preservative used in mushy peas that is derived from shellfish.. Something to think about. I have a peanut allergy and am not allergic to peanut oil.

It’ll be the peas.

You are certainly not an idiot for eating it. Maybe an idiot the way you keep going on about how stupid it was to eat it when you have zero known allergies . Definitely an idiot for not going to A&E. I take it you don't know about secondary reactions?