Kiwi Allergy

September 16, 2008 at 6:22 am · Filed under Life in general

I have many food allergies, most of which I either deal with the effects or I avoid the food. Bananas bother me at times but not often and I love avocados so much that I will put up with the itching to eat those. I avoid all melons, their taste doesn’t outweigh the allergic reaction.

I now have to add kiwi to the list. I went shopping this weekend and I thought the boys might like kiwi since it is so different and has such a sweet taste. I took one slice before giving it to them. The reaction happened so quickly it was overwhelming. No sooner had I swallowed the piece of kiwi then my throat started to itch all the way up into my ears. I felt a slight swelling and it was difficult and painful to swallow. I took children’s benadryl and a choltrimatron.

I made it through dinner and at 7:00 I was so sleepy Mark said to go lay down in bed. I woke up 11 hours later. Crazy! Needless to say, but I am not eating KIWI again! Or taking that much allergy medicine.

6 Comments

  1. Aunt Donna said,

    September 16, 2008 @ 5:17 pm

    Wow, with that kind of reaction, maybe you should keep an epi pen handy, Heather. Take care!

  2. Aunt Dianna said,

    September 16, 2008 @ 6:30 pm

    Ditto! You never know what else you might be allergic to that could end up being life threatening. Glad you’re okay.

  3. GG said,

    September 16, 2008 @ 8:08 pm

    I’m sorry! Can you forgive me? I know–I gave them all to you. Don’t forget bananas and pineapple.
    They now have over the counter antihistamines which are not aupposed to make you sleepy. Ask the pharmacist. I have no trouble with benadryl and Chlortrimeton, probably because I have been taking them for so long. Or, ask your doctor. Allergies are bad right now, after all the rain.
    I was good enough to pass things around. I gave you the food allergies, and Camden the asthma. I wouldn’t blame you if you never forgave me. I saved the migraines for Darin; two or three of your uncles and aunt have had migraines. I keep my fingers crossed. Enough is enough!

  4. Betty said,

    September 16, 2008 @ 10:40 pm

    Oh no! How scary for you. I know how bad allergies can be. I asked my allergist if I first took benadryl, could I then eat shellfish? He said the more you expose yourself to or eat an allergen, the worse your allergy will become. The sad thing is I’m allergic to most antibiotics, too. 🙁 So keep the liquid benadryl close by. The liquid goes to work faster.

  5. Heather said,

    September 17, 2008 @ 4:00 am

    GG- I had known about the other allergies, but not Kiwi. Does that bother you as well?

    Betty-I did take the children’s benadryl that was a liquid. Knocked me right out!

    Donna- We do have an epi pen in the house from Camden’s egg allergy, but it is a JR Epi. It would still buy me some time until the paramedics could arrive I am sure.

    I plan to just avoid it and all will be good!

  6. GG said,

    September 17, 2008 @ 9:18 am

    I see that you mentioned bananas, but I forgot walnuts. Pecans are OK, and the other nuts as far as I know. The Hawaiian fruits itch a little, but maybe we have them so seldom that we haven’t worked up those allergies. I think I can eat kiwis–they’re another of the rare ones. Are you allergic to penicillin and aspirin, too? When the aspirin allergy hits, it makes at least half of the medications a “no, no”. One doctor told me that Sure, I could take Motrin and all those other drugs like Ibuprophen. I may not spell it correctly, but I know it when I see it. One pill showed me that I knew more than he did. Aren’t we a mess?

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