Dairy & Nut Allergy Profile, 11 in 1 – Home Kit

Shared Story from a Sufferer

When can a nut be lethal?

Nut allergies can come out of the blue and send the affected person to the emergency room.

Testimony from a sufferer.

I still remember that day very well; it was May 2013, when I risked my life for the first time because of a walnut.

“I knew that nut allergies can even be life-threatening;

However, since I had been accustomed to eating large quantities of nuts, it hadn’t even occurred that they could also represent a danger to me. That day, the situation suddenly changed.”

I had an appointment with a friend to go to dinner together; I ordered pasta with walnut pesto.

And so far, everything has gone smoothly. After dinner, we went to a bar to have a drink with some fresh strawberries. And there the first symptoms appeared:

• My scalp and hands started to itch, and my eyelids swelled; his face turned red and became full of spots.
• Shortly afterwards, he felt unbearable itching all over his body. I left the drink and immediately rushed home. Luckily, I lived nearby at the time.

Blurred vision

As soon as I arrived home, I took a cold shower to relieve the itching, but it did not help.

My heart was beating wildly, and suddenly, I saw everything black. From one second to the next, I no longer saw anything but was conscious.

I screamed in the direction of the living room, where my boyfriend at the time was: “Help me, I can’t see anything anymore!”. He replied: «But if your eyes are open!». Understanding the seriousness of the situation, he called Triemli, and the hospital workers told him that we had to go to the emergency room immediately.

Diagnosis: second-degree anaphylactic shock

When I arrived at the emergency room, everything went very quickly: I stopped filling out the admission form when I told them about the walnut pesto and the fresh strawberries.

Everyone around me started to be strangely agitated: doctors were called, I immediately received an antihistamine and some cortisone, I measured my blood pressure, and I remained with the impression that everyone was worried, looking at me. And in those moments, I still had no idea what was happening to me.

After an evening which wasn’t peaceful at all, during which someone kept coming to take my blood pressure every five minutes, the doctors confirmed the diagnosis, which was anaphylactic shock.

This is the most serious form of allergic reaction and has four different stages of severity.

Mine was second-degree. This means that my immune system had reacted very violently to the allergen. In my case, it was walnuts, but strawberries probably also played an important role. In addition to foods, insect bites and medications can cause anaphylactic shock, which can be fatal.

Treatment

While I was in the hospital, I was informed that the treatment wouldn’t be that easy. I had no idea that a food allergy could appear out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly – I was 33 years old. But the test result showed me the truth.

To protect yourself, you must avoid the allergen. For easy symptoms, I received a first aid test from the hospital with cortisone tablets and antihistamines, and for more severe reactions, an EpiPen. Thankfully, I never had to use them.

However, I have already used the first aid set two or three times. I always carry it with me, and it can be purchased at all pharmacies.

One option to relieve nut allergy is acupuncture. In 2014, I’ve done an acupuncture treatment for three months. I did it every two weeks but can’t say if this helped. I could find out by eating some nuts, but that moment had me traumatised, so I didn’t even want to try it.

Keep your eyes open when you go shopping.

Graubünden walnut cake was my favourite dessert until now, as I cannot eat it anymore. When I go grocery shopping, I am now careful and read the list of ingredients, as I don’t want to get through that trauma again, and it’s been quite a shock to find out how many foods contain nuts. To my surprise, hazelnuts and pistachios are highly used. Even when I go out to eat at a restaurant or to my friends and family, it is a bit of a headache as I have to remind everyone that I am allergic.

There are Walnuts and walnuts.

For a while, I completely avoided eating any nuts because I was afraid I’d have another reaction. Then, I did some research on nut allergies and tried to find out what would happen if I ate a few times.

I tolerate peanuts and almonds well, which can cause strong reactions in some people. Furthermore, I am not allergic to traces of nuts. Every allergic person is different.

What do you do if you have a positive exam?

When you don’t know that you’re allergic, that’s when it is the most dangerous. You also don’t have any medicine on hand to take control in case of a reaction. However, you could carry some with you if you need them.

Important: call an emergency doctor or go to the emergency room if you experience any symptoms. Every second counts in this situation and can make a difference between life and death.