As I was writing my last post I was overcome with a fit of itchiness. Suddenly my neck, scalp, back and the sides of my face were itching like crazy.
Trying as hard as I could not to scratch I finally gave in and started scratching in madness. My hair is likely now standing up on end due to all the crazy scratching. After about five minutes of itchy madness Chris who was watching me with concern as I scratched and tried to rub my back on the couch (and ask the dog to scratch me) suggested I take a Benadryl (allergy medication).
I told him to follow me into the kitchen where the light is brighter so he could check me for hives. At that time I only had one or two hives on my back and neck, but by the time I took two Benadryl and walked back to the living room (10 minutes or so after the itching had started) my face, neck, upper arms and back were covered in hives.
This evening, after we came home in a snow storm from shopping I decided to prepare skinless boneless chicken breasts and mixed veggies for dinner. Then I decided that since I’d had a craving for shrimp for a while, why not saute a few shrimp to go with our meal? Yeah … why not. LOL
I’m actually supposed to be allergic to shrimp, but I rarely seem to react to them. Oh I’ve had some mild itching occasionally after eating shrimp but only every 4th or 5th time. Well not this time! This time I’m sure my hives and mad itching are a result of the shrimp I ate. I guess their off the menu from now on.
I’m trying my best not to scratch. If I don’t scratch for a while the itching dies down a bit but there’s still that burning strange feeling. When I do scratch the itching gets worse and more hives appear. Every time I have a new itchy area and start scratching it hives show up a few minutes later. At this rate … If I keep scratching I’ll be covered in hives from my head to my feet!
I hope the allergy meds kick in soon. Of course I’ll then become super sleepy, but they work!
So … did reading this make any of you itchy too?
Ah! I just went upstairs to use the washroom and wash my face and I’ve got hives on my hives on my hives!
My face is a lumpy mess. Some hives are two inches or more in length (on cheeks) and they have a few hives on top of them. Then there’s the area near my right eye, it has about four hives all on top of each other in a lump that’s raised about 1/4 inch on the side of my face.
I look like I belong in a horror show!
Yucky! I’m sure I’ll still have some lumps when I get up! Oh and I think when the allergy meds wear off (took at 10:30) the itching will start again.
I also feel like my right lymph node in my neck is swollen. It hurts when I swallow. I have a feeling it’s part of the allergic reaction. Plus my voice is kind of horse too.
If I didn’t have some Benadryl in the house I think this allergy could have gotten a lot worse … Well at least thanks to my allergy to bee stings we do have some injectable adrenalin in the house!
The reaction started almost an hour after we finished eating our meal. We had a late dinner because we’d been out shopping in the late afternoon and it took forever to get home in the snow storm. We finished at 9:30 and the reaction started at about 10:30 and that’s when I first took the allergy meds. I wonder how many more pills I’ll have to take before the reaction stops?
I wonder if it is worse for you if the prawns (shrimp) are ones imported from Vietnam and Thailand – they are full of some preservative and a lot of people have bad reactions to it. Worth checking into?