how do you even develop an allergy ??
when i went to japan in feb this year, it was such a good trip. but halfway through my trip, i got an unexpected allergic reaction.
i was about day 4 of snowboarding and at that point, i don't think i was getting any better at snowboarding. was just me consistently falling over. like they were bad falls, me falling on my head or my ass like just everywhere.
i had such bad head pains i couldn't even do certain movements without my head throbbing. was lowkey worried i had a concussion but same time i was like nah i don't.
so that night, i took 1 panamax tablet (which is basically the same as panadol) to see if it would help with my headaches.
something about me also is, i do not like taking medicine. i cant explain it, i just never take medicine when i am sick or have a headache, just feels like it doesn't work.
anyways, i took the panamax and was getting ready for bed and i think like 30 minutes later, my eyes were kinda puffy. i didn't make any correlation that it was bc of the panamax, i just thought it might of been a long day so i should get some rest.
the next morning, my eyes were fine but my headache was still somewhat there. so i took 2 more tablets of panamax. these tablets were from my friend and he got them from australia so there was nothing sus or foreign about them. i took the tablets and went back into my room to hang out with harry.
i knew something wasn't right though. i looked at harry and was like are my eyes okay, i can feel my eyes tingling. harry said my eyes were swelling up but was quite calm about it (i knew he was trying to keep me calm). i was freaking out as i could feel my face heating up. harry was telling me it was okay and left the room. i was in the room looking at my face through my phone. my face was so swollen and i could barely see, it was clear i was having an allergic reaction.
harry came back into the room saying he had to give me his epipen as he has his own allergic reactions and knew what to do in these situations. but i refused the epipen as i was very scared and hysterical. he said the epipen would make it better as i was struggling to breathe and i was getting hives on my legs. i was absolutely frightened.
my other friends came in and discussed what to do while i was trying to make sure harry didn't trick me into getting the epipen (i know he was just trying to help me). he said if i don't take the epipen, they would have to call an ambulance but i also refused. i didn't want to go to the hospital. i tried to negotiate saying if i take the epipen, don't call the ambulance but it was too late they called the ambulance. so, i didn't take the epipen.
the ambulance soon came and did their inspection where i was lying. they soon took me on a stretcher and put in the ambulance, taking me to the hospital. harry came along as well ofc. the ambulance paramedics didn't have very good english, just the bare minimum. they asked me questions about what happened and we told them. we got into the hospital and the doctor asked the same questions. basically, telling me that i am allergic to panamax.
i was given a drip for an hour and then could go home. we got prescribed some medication and paid the required cost. it was surprisingly really cheap and also the ambulance is free in japan! leaving the hospital was quite difficult as we couldn't speak japanese, so we used the international phone and someone told us to wait outside so we just waited. the taxi driver was very nice and we got back safely! also, when leaving for the ambulance, well i was on the stretcher and harry had to get all our relevant belongings like our passports, shoes and jackets but he forgot long pants. so, we walked around the hospital and waited in the snow in shorts. we definitely got a lot of long stares.
i guess that is my recap of my first allergic reaction. since ive gotten back to australia, i have been too busy to get an allergy test so i am still unsure what i am specifically allergic to. i used to take panamax all the time when i was little and my family only has panamax in the household. panamax's active ingredient is paracetamol which is also the active ingredient in panadol... so am i also allergic to panadol? i guess i should get an allergy test soon!
but who knew you could develop an allergy?