Allergies

[Taboo]

Please tell me you always, always, ALWAYS carry your epipen/anapen whereever you go...?

I carry an EpiPen everywhere, as well as Benedryl - I try to keep those dissolvable strips they make for kids, since they get into your system much faster. I take Benedryl if I suspect that I may be having a reaction and sometimes it is enough - I will actually react to peanuts even if they are just in the air - and then I'll use the EpiPen when needed.

They're actually training dogs now to sniff out allergens! They're service dogs, sort of like the seizure alert dogs, and there's a group in Texas training them to sniff out peanuts. That way they can warn you if there's any peanut contamination in a room. They haven't been around for very long and so they haven't trained a ton of dogs yet, so they usually reserve them for kids who are likely to be exposed to it at school. If/when they start considering more adult applicants, I may look into it.

[draftermatt]

They're actually training dogs now to sniff out allergens! They're service dogs, sort of like the seizure alert dogs, and there's a group in Texas training them to sniff out peanuts. That way they can warn you if there's any peanut contamination in a room. They haven't been around for very long and so they haven't trained a ton of dogs yet, so they usually reserve them for kids who are likely to be exposed to it at school. If/when they start considering more adult applicants, I may look into it.

That's pretty cool.

Ah the EpiPen, I've been allergic to latex for 16 years now, and thankfully haven't had to use mine.

Sad thing is every so often I have to buy new ones as they expire.

I wish I could remember to carry one with me. I keep one in my desk at work, one in the car, and one at home, but I know I should keep one closer.

[AccountingDrone]

I've got a weird set of allergies.

I'm allergic to ragweed. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any in Utah while I was doing my undergrad, and there doesn't seem to be as much here in CT either as was at home growing up.



At the moment, there's some mystery plant in the area that seems to be triggering pollen allergies on occasion, though I haven't been able to identify what yet. Not fun with contact lenses.

Im also in CT. I am allergic to forsythia ... and there is a HUGE one outside the bedroom window, but it screens the bedroom from the road and the neighbor, so I suffer. Im also allergic to whatever kind of pine tree leaves the little pollen drifts on my car of fluffy yellow pollen.

Maybe pine and forsythia?

[Taboo]

Ah the EpiPen, I've been allergic to latex for 16 years now, and thankfully haven't had to use mine.

I wish I could remember to carry one with me.

One of my friends found out she was allergic to latex the hard way.

I keep an EpiPen in the medicine cabinet at home, and the other in my bag. I carry the same messenger bag with me to classes every day so it's always with me if I'm out. It's hard to start, but once you finally get into the habit it just stays with you.

[Kogarashi]

Im also in CT. I am allergic to forsythia ... and there is a HUGE one outside the bedroom window, but it screens the bedroom from the road and the neighbor, so I suffer. Im also allergic to whatever kind of pine tree leaves the little pollen drifts on my car of fluffy yellow pollen.

Maybe pine and forsythia?

Start cultivating lilacs or some other flowering shrub to replace the forsythia. It'll take a while, but probably be worth it (unless you're renting, like us).

I doubt it's the forsythia triggering mine, since I grew up with a boatload of forsythia in our yard. Our "forts" were often under the forsythia bushes, and we never reacted to them. The pine might be it, though, if it's one that wasn't on my parents' property. My money's on one of the fifty billion flowering trees around town, though.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that my sisters and I also showed an unusual reaction to the regular sumac on my parents' property. It wasn't poison sumac (we checked), but my sisters and I still reacted as though it were with the odd little boils you get with the poison variety. Dad eventually cleared out the small sumac grove to expand the backyard.

[freeatlast]

I am allergic to pollen and dust. I am also extremely allergic to our office cat, Mr Kitty. It really sucks because I love that cat and the feeling seems to be mutual. He sits on my desk while I work, and periodically reaches out and rubs his face all over mine. That starts my eyes itching and tearing. Then my contacts get very cloudy and feel gummy. So I use the lint rollers alot to get the cat hair off my clothes and clean my contacts several times a day. And take regular doses of Advil Allergy Sinus to try to offset the effects of Mr Kitty. I also have boxes and boxes of tissues everywhere I spend time.

[ArcticChicken]

They're service dogs, sort of like the seizure alert dogs, and there's a group in Texas training them to sniff out peanuts.

I saw part of a special on a lady with Celiac's Disease who's chihuahua could tell when she'd been exposed to gluten, so she had it trained as an aide dog so she could avoid dangerous activities when she'd been exposed. ETA: Does that sentence make sense? Something feels wrong about it, but I'm pretty tired, so I can't tell.

One of my friends found out she was allergic to latex the hard way.

I cannot think of a worse allergy to find out the hard way, at least, one that doesn't kill you.

It really sucks because I love that cat and the feeling seems to be mutual.

Of course! Cats always make a beeline for the person with the worst allergies.

[draftermatt]

One of my friends found out she was allergic to latex the hard way.

I found out when I was getting my braces put on. My lips started swelling (ended up being pretty bad), but I couldn't imagine finding out that way, eesh.

[crazylegs]

I carry an EpiPen everywhere,

I wish I could remember to carry one with me.

(Emphasis my own)

[Lecture]

Carry two.

Seriously.

An epi/anapen (depending on brand, they're both essentially the same) does not cure your reaction, all it does is buy you time. 5 minutes times to be a little more precise. Can you guarantee that an ambulance will be with you every time in 5 minutes? I can assure you that in the UK the Ambulance Service is only obligated to be with you in 8 minutes, which would be 3 minutes too late.

Carry. Two.

[/Lecture]