Food Allergy
Gambling on an Allergic Reaction in a Pandemic
What do allergy patients do when the ER is less safe?
A food allergy reaction sends a person to the emergency room every three minutes in the United States. At least, that was the statistic cited before the coronavirus pandemic.
As Emergency Departments across the country fill with COVID-19 patients, people experiencing other health emergencies are missing. Potential heart attack and stroke patients are avoiding the one place that can help them because, suddenly, it’s a dangerous place to be.
However, allergic reactions are unique emergencies because they strike on a gradient. An allergic reaction victim may quickly recover after self-administering oral antihistamines or die within minutes of allergen exposure. On one hand, allergy patients understand that their condition is so dangerous because an allergic reaction may fall anywhere on that scale. On the other hand, the uncertainty that a reaction will be severe allows these patients to gamble on their safety.
Earlier this year, in pre-pandemic times, I played the health slot machines myself.
I chose to ride out a life-threatening food allergy reaction on a bathroom floor after an encounter with a cross-contaminated sushi roll. I…
