One other thing to note is that we view
any ER trip as a glorious opportunity to pick up any opportunistic infections, too.
DD
usually gets some kind of major illness within a week of anaphylaxis. My hypothesis about this is that it is probably the result of a catastrophic immune-system freak-out. We've seen it happen at least a dozen times over the past decade, though, and that's pretty convincing to me in a kid who has only
otherwise been that ill about four times in her life.
If you happened to get "lucky" enough, you might have picked up something gastrointestinal along the way.
I am also shellfish-allergic. While I am
not FISH allergic, there is no way that I will order any type of fish in any restaurant setting. IMMV, of course, and that's not to say that other people shouldn't do so... but my experience has been that in any restaurant which handles shellfish (shrimp in particular, in my own experience),
any food is possibly cross-contaminated, and in any restaurant, the fish is probably so, even without shellfish on the premises.
In the wake of anaphylaxis, it's
super important to be aware of a few things:
a) your body is primed for additional major reactions until it 'settles' (often weeks), during which time,
b) you may react to traces that wouldn't bother you ordinarily, and
c) you may even react to THINGS that wouldn't bother you ordinarily (like fish, not just shellfish?), and finally--
d) steroids can do SUPER-FUNKY things to different people (I develop a blistering rash on my hands and feet sometimes, my DD becomes frankly manic, and my DH becomes cranky-cranky-cranky and sick to his stomach unless he eats constantly).
When you were seen at the ER, did they keep you under observation for several hours? That's important because you sound like a pretty good candidate for what is known as
Biphasic anaphylaxis. That is when initial symptoms (often mild or moderate) resolve, only to
recur with a vengeance 2-12 hours later. Those secondary reactions are
really frightening, and can kill within minutes since they tend to be more severe than the initial reaction and involve respiratory and cardiovascular features that may/may not respond well to anything but herioc resuscitative measures. Clearly, it is best to be where they can be undertaken, if you see my point.
Many ER docs are
not educated very well about the risk for biphasic anaphylaxis, since it is a pretty small risk in most anaphylactic allergies. Food allergy is an exception, apparently.
And yes to what Ra3chel said. You need to begin speaking with HR about workplace accommodations, since informal objections based on safety have evidently not been enough to negotiate more appropriate risk for you.
Re: gloves. I have
not generally found that gloves are a good way to avoid my allergens or DD's. Unfortunately, she and I both have this kind of sensitivity and gloves aren't enough because of
aerosolized exposures in environments where the allergen is around. Besides, the way that she has
mostly been exposed is through this kind of contact-- we surmise that it is
probably not through skin contact, but hand-to-mucous-membrane (which gloves don't prevent other than by making one more aware of one's hands) or via inhalation of a fine aerosol (as from cooking or mechanical disturbance).
Topic: Two Severe reactions with a visit to the ER (Read 2226 times)
