A bit of a scare

[cheshirenoir]

Yesterday I had an "allergic reaction" (inverted commas because It's only a suspicion at this point) to something.

On my way home on the train, my hands started acheing. They were... itchy! So I rubbed them a bit, unconciously. They got worse. Then my wrists started itching. I scratched a little bit. There were raised patches! I thought initially they were blisters but it became obvious they were hives.

By the time I got home, I was covered in huge raised welts. White with red angry skin surrounding. callistra thought it looked like an allergy. I downed a clarantyne to conteract the itching.

We arranged for someone to look after the kids and got me to the late night GP. He confirmed that it looked like an allergy. He gave me an injection and two steroidal tablets and sent me home. The clarantyne was apparently a good choice. The itching had certainly subsided and I was covered in "merely" red welts by the time I got to the GP.

So much for gaming...

Comments

[buoy-wonder.livejournal.com]

!

Good thing you didn't end up coming to gaming.

Frank lived, he did nearly drown but that was all.

I'll email you a proper run down later.

[leecetheartist.livejournal.com]

Poor Chesh! *sympathy vibes*

[babalon-93.livejournal.com]

Youch! Glad you got it sorted--does sound like an allergic reaction, any suspicions as to what caused it? Better keep a stash of antihistamines around from now on just in case!

[cheshirenoir.livejournal.com]

No idea at all! I hadn't eaten or taken anything new in the 12 hours leading up. Only thing I can think of is that I touched something or was bitten by something outside of my usual exposure.

Allergies are tricksy.

[http://users.livejournal.com/doctor_k_/]

Urticaria: usually a delayed allergic reaction, could be something from weeks ago. Often a reaction to a cold virus, oddly enough.

Contrary to popular belief, most of the serious allergic reactions (rash, facial swelling, anaphylaxis etc but not contact dermatitis) is triggered by re-exposure to an allergen. It's never caused by something new.
Dermatitis and eczema can be aggravated by new things however.

Urticaria is down in the less-serious part of the allergic reactions spectrum - benign, but irritating and dramatic. Anti-histamines and calamine lotion can help reduce the itch while you wait for it to go.

Re: Allergies are tricksy.

[cheshirenoir.livejournal.com]

Cool! It's always nice to get the background on these things. It certainly was harmless enough. As of this morning all that I had were some roughened skin from where I had been scratching and a sore spot from the injection.

Re: Allergies are tricksy.

[callistra.livejournal.com]

Wow! That's ... kinda scary...
:-)