Scary Allergy Incident

I had a weird allergic reaction yesterday.

I still don't know what caused it. The only new thing I had yesterday was maple pork sausage that me and my family ate for brunch. A couple of hours later, I had indigestion, probably just because it was greasy. Then in the afternoon, I started getting runny nose, coughing, and congestion. I thought I had just caught a cold, so I took some cold medicine and took a nap.

I woke up before 6pm and found out the area around my eyes was all swollen! I could barely open my eyes. It didn't hurt, just felt stiff, but it was freaky. My forehead and ears turned red and puffy. I looked like a Neanderthal (heavy brow and squinty eyes) or like I had been stung by a bee at the top half of my head. I thought it could be because I had went to the backyard and might have picked up some poison oak or something? I don't know. Anyway, I got all itchy with hives (I was kind of itchy earlier, but I thought it was just a bug bite on my arm and leg). Strangely, besides the swelling and hives, I felt fine. I didn't even feel like I had a cold anymore, and my breathing was fine. (I'm allergic to seafood, and I've had several food allergy reactions so I know what it feels like--mouth and throat puffy, itchy, or stinging--and this was totally different and new to me. Looking back, I was surprisingly calm about this...)

I took a bath and cooled down, but the reaction didn't go away, so we decided to go to a walk-in clinic. Unfortunately, they were all closed by then, so Mom took me to the ER (not as bad as it sounds; my airway was still clear.) They, a team of five nice staff members who came to me at different stages, got me in before 7pm, took vitals, asked questions, and concluded it was an allergic reaction. They said I'd need to go to an allergist to find out what I was reacting to, but they would treat it with an IV drip. I thought they would just give me a steroid shot or something, but they said because the reaction was on my face, there was concern that it could spread to my throat, so they recommended a more direct treatment. The EMT who inserted my IV into my right arm spilled some blood on my khakis, and she apologized and told us it'll come out with hydrogen peroxide, but I was just happy that she was a pro who found my vein on the first try even though she said "it seems to go sideways," and she had a steady hand and used the smallest possible needle, so it didn't really hurt. The nurse then gave me a regular saline drip with Benadryl, a steroid, and Zantac (I think?). After 45 minutes, the swelling and redness did improve, but not all the way. They looked me over, were satisfied, and sent me home around 8:45pm with a prescription for a steroid dose pack and extra-strength Benadryl.

Mom picked up the prescription, while I was knocked out from the double dose of direct Benadryl. When I got home I ate a bit of dinner. My face was almost back to normal by the time I went to bed. This morning, I woke up and felt fine. No more hives and swelling. Only my eyelids are just a bit stiff. Still not sure if it was some preservative in the sausage (even though that's never happened before) or exposure to a plant (if the allergen got stuck in my hair, that would explain why it was around the top of my head and only an external, not internal, reaction), but I'll be making an appointment with my allergist tomorrow. Bit of a scare, but I'm well now. :)