This is a cautionary tale about allergies. First, the end: it was never life threatening and everything is fine now.
Once upon a time there was a woman who believed that a good response to usual and customary physical maladies was to “buck up and work through it.” Her long- suffering daughter could, and probably will, attest to this. For the last couple of years, said woman had periodic outbursts of facial skin rashes. They appeared to be unpredictable but most definitely an allergic reaction to something.
She thought she discovered recently that the culprit was SPF protection which is now added to lots and lots of cremes and other face goop. The dermatologist thought it was one of the ingredients in said goop and gave the woman a sample of an over the counter product that had “ultra-calming” as part of its name. The medical professional probably thought the woman had sense enough to do a test patch since the woman had obviously been on the planet a few years. She was wrong.
“So I get a little rash, so what?” thought the woman. On Wednesday, the woman applied the moisturizer and looked for signs of tingling or redness because she believed that the reaction would be swift. Nothing. . . until Wednesday evening. Thursday had a few more signs. Friday morning was scary. Ever see those hardened alcoholics on the street in Boston? Their poor faces are bloated and red with eyes swollen almost shut. That face stared back in her mirror.
It had already started to snow and several inches were forecast. It was also, of course, the beginning of the weekend. She decided maybe she could use some help in “bucking up and working through it” and called the doctor’s office. The Triage nurse (unfortunate term) arranged for a doctor visit and ended by saying, “If your breathing is effected, go straight to the ER.” Yikes.
Moral of the Tale or What She Learned
1. An allergic reaction often “blooms” in 48 to 72 hours. This makes it hard to determine the cause. A contact allergy is an auto-immune reaction (poison ivy, for instance.)
2. Benedryl is still the best relief from symptoms, but it makes you sleepy~use at night.
3. It took 3 days from the peak for the symptoms to recede substantially without the Prednisone which helps with the auto-immune reaction. She filled the prescription “in case” but didn’t take it because of the possible “psychotic” episode on the warning label. She needed to shovel the snow.
4. She will be wearing a hat in the sun. Experiments are over.
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