Talking Allergies

Greetings all!

I'm a 19-year-old college student with a latex allergy of questioning severity (upcoming appointment with an allergist), increasingly severe latex fruit syndrome, and several very mild skin allergies. I recently had my first experience with anaphylaxis and decided to join this forum to gain information, learn what I should be concerned about, discover tricks, etc.

Nice to meet you :]

Welcome, I think you win for the coolest forum name.
Glad you found us. It is always nice to have input from people of all ages who are living with allergies. I look forward to your perspective as a young adult (not meaning you are young but rather that I am old ).
You said your allergist appt. is upcoming, I don't know if you already have one but be sure to carry an auto injector with you now that you have experienced anaphylactic symptoms.
Good luck with the appt.

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

Sorry to hear you've had an anaphylaxis reaction but glad you've found us!

If you click on the home button, you'll be yaken to Allergic Living's home page and can navigate to many topics that way as well.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

Thanks for the hellos! I'm looking forward to what I can learn from this community.

Welcome! I hope you find lots of useful information and support here, glad you found us.

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DSs 7,7,9 all PA

Welcome many_epi_returns! I'm sure you will find lots of support with this forum - it's a great group! I'm sorry to hear you've experienced anaphylaxis. Were you prescribed any Epipen? It is important to always have one (or two) available in case you need it. We've needed to administer the Epipen to our son, and it is very easy to use and completely relieved his symptoms within about 5 minutes (however, it is very important to still go to the hospital for monitoring). I would not hesitate to use the Epipen if you need it - it really isn't that scary at all, and you will feel much better very quickly - and of course, it can save a life. After administering it, we tell our son that we need to go "hang out" at the hospital for a few hours (We use the term "hang out" with our son so he doesn't get too stressed about the idea of needing to go to the hospital). An individual that is having an anaphylactic reaction needs to go to the hospital, even if you have administered the Epipen. When you arrive at the hospital, you would be observed for about 4-5 hours and likely hooked up to a heart monitor & oxygen monitor. It is not a place our son wants to be (and I'm sure everyone feels the same way), but if we've needed to go, we just tell our son that there is no place more important for him to be if he's had an anaphylactic reaction. It's just something that needs to be done - administer the Epipen, then hang out at the hospital.

I hope you receive all the information you need from your allergist. If you don't yet have a prescription for an Epipen, your family doctor can write one out for you. In some places, an Epipen can be purchased from the pharmacy without a prescription for about $90 - $100.

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14 yr old daughter: no health issues
11 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, sesame, sunflower, mustard, poppy seeds, green peas, some fruits, instructed to avoid all other legumes (except soy & green beans), pollen, cats, horses

I do have an Epipen prescription from my doctor. Thanks for your concern and hopeful thoughts!