I had no intention of writing about this but I think it is so important that I need to share this post from Scary Mommy. I had always assumed that if you used the EpiPen then went to the hospital and got the steroids and the drugs and everything was OK after several hours you were released and that was that episode.
Apparently it only works that way MOST of the time. Sometimes the reaction comes back.
Allergies are painfully personal to me. Many years ago I had allergies so severe that I carried the precursor to an EpiPen everywhere I went. Everywhere. I was the girl at a frat party with a good sized purse that I never ever locked up anywhere. It held keys, money, two inhalers, and a big red box containing an adrenaline shot. Allergies like mine, allergies so severe that they might cause me to stop breathing were so unusual that the only kit they made was a prefilled hypodermic which came, hilariously, with an alcohol pad as if while I was unable to breathe and attempting to get the air out of the needle without losing the medicine I might be inclined to clean the area first. Um, no.
I no longer have such scary allergies. I have not even used a rescue inhaler for years, but I remember. I remember what it is like to be unable to breathe. We do not have nut allergies, but we also do not eat nuts in carpeted rooms for fear of killing a friend. I just remember it all too well.
Anyway, its a big warning for anyone who might need to use an EpiPen. Take your time at the hospital, don’t be in a hurry to leave, and always have two EpiPens nearby.
You can find the original article from Scary Mommy here
