Heightened Allergy Awareness
I was watching the Today Show a few weeks ago and one story featured a young woman that ingested one Tylenol that she consequently was allergic to and suffered a major allergic reaction. We’re not talking about a swollen tongue or splotchy hives, this young woman’s skin literally began falling off of her face. It was the most bizarre thing I had seen in quite some time. That story really got me thinking about different allergies people have and why are they so much more prevalent now than ever before?
Practically everybody knows at least one person that suffers from allergic reactions. They are often caused from bee stings, peanuts, milk, fragrances and millions of other things. I’m allergic to Naproxen (the leading ingredient in Aleve, Excedrin and Midol), bee stings and certain household cleaners/detergents. Last year, I was prescribed an anti-biotic that sent my body into full anaphylactic shock. A very scary moment that left my body covered in bubbling hives, and made my skin feel like it was on fire. Now I always carry Benadryl or an Epi-Pen wherever I go.
I think it’s important for people to understand the differences between allergies and allergic reactions, they are not one and the same. Allergies are more along the lines of watery eyes and out of control sneezing. However, allergic reactions can be life threatening, sometimes killing people in a matter of moments. If you have children that go to school it’s important to find out if classmates have any known allergies. You should teach your children to never swap item at lunch and to wash their hands frequently. I recently read an article about a boy at school that had a small amount of peanut butter on his hands and then he touched a little girl on the arm. That little girl happened to have a severe allergy to peanuts and that forced her into a state of anaphylaxis.
Bottom line is that you should not only be aware of these allergies, you should be sensitive to them as well. I have one friend that is severely allergic to shellfish and another allergic to peanuts. When I throw parties you can be sure I never serve food with these items and I alert people bringing food what is forbidden. It’s just the smart thing to do, especially if alcohol is involved. People tend to get forgetful when they drink so you want to eliminate as much risk as possible.
With the amount of individuals that suffer from these kinds of reactions, it makes you wonder what we are being exposed, and what has cause such a recent influx of sufferers? The girl featured on the Today Show was able to make a full recovery, thankfully. For some reason I wanted to bring her story to your attention, and hopefully I have encouraged you to become more aware on the topic. Even if it doesn’t happen to you, chances are it will happen to someone you know at one point or another.
Practically everybody knows at least one person that suffers from allergic reactions. They are often caused from bee stings, peanuts, milk, fragrances and millions of other things. I’m allergic to Naproxen (the leading ingredient in Aleve, Excedrin and Midol), bee stings and certain household cleaners/detergents. Last year, I was prescribed an anti-biotic that sent my body into full anaphylactic shock. A very scary moment that left my body covered in bubbling hives, and made my skin feel like it was on fire. Now I always carry Benadryl or an Epi-Pen wherever I go.
I think it’s important for people to understand the differences between allergies and allergic reactions, they are not one and the same. Allergies are more along the lines of watery eyes and out of control sneezing. However, allergic reactions can be life threatening, sometimes killing people in a matter of moments. If you have children that go to school it’s important to find out if classmates have any known allergies. You should teach your children to never swap item at lunch and to wash their hands frequently. I recently read an article about a boy at school that had a small amount of peanut butter on his hands and then he touched a little girl on the arm. That little girl happened to have a severe allergy to peanuts and that forced her into a state of anaphylaxis.
Bottom line is that you should not only be aware of these allergies, you should be sensitive to them as well. I have one friend that is severely allergic to shellfish and another allergic to peanuts. When I throw parties you can be sure I never serve food with these items and I alert people bringing food what is forbidden. It’s just the smart thing to do, especially if alcohol is involved. People tend to get forgetful when they drink so you want to eliminate as much risk as possible.
With the amount of individuals that suffer from these kinds of reactions, it makes you wonder what we are being exposed, and what has cause such a recent influx of sufferers? The girl featured on the Today Show was able to make a full recovery, thankfully. For some reason I wanted to bring her story to your attention, and hopefully I have encouraged you to become more aware on the topic. Even if it doesn’t happen to you, chances are it will happen to someone you know at one point or another.
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