Recently, I had my third near-death experience.
Anaphylaxis
I’ve been hearing the term “anaphylaxis” a lot lately, but I never thought it would happen to me.
After doing some research, I found that many sources warned that it can be life-threatening, so I wanted to share my experience as a warning.
Hives
That evening, it was dinnertime, and I wasn’t very hungry, so I ate shredded cabbage and cucumber, capelin (a type of fish with roe), white rice, and blanched okra.
About 20 minutes later, hives appeared on my legs, face, and arms. Thinking, “Hives will go away soon,” I went back to my room on the second floor and checked messages and new information on my smartphone.
After doing that for about 10 minutes, the hives subsided, and I thought, “See, it’s gone!” But that feeling was short-lived. I suddenly felt a wave of dizziness throughout my body, accompanied by abdominal pain, diarrhea, and nausea.
I managed to get downstairs from my room and went to the toilet. After experiencing diarrhea and vomiting twice, I came out of the toilet and felt a numbness throughout my body. I couldn’t stand anymore and collapsed onto the tatami mat.
The fear of possibly dying
Based on my past experiences, I thought to myself, “This could be fatal.”
Fortunately, my family was home that day, so realizing the danger, I asked them to call an ambulance. I waited for the ambulance while lying on the ground.
I briefly lost consciousness (for a short time in my mind), but as the ambulance siren approached, my consciousness gradually cleared, and I felt a little better. However, I was still groggy and could only manage to answer the paramedics’ questions with the bare minimum.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the doctor asked me what I had eaten for dinner. After receiving oral medication and an IV drip, and sleeping for about two hours, I was almost back to normal and received an explanation from the doctor.
According to the doctor, the symptoms were almost certainly anaphylaxis caused by histamine in the shishamo fish with roe, and I was advised to undergo testing later to understand my allergies.
Please call an ambulance without hesitation.
Normally, I never thought about allergies or experienced any noticeable symptoms, and I lived a normal life, so I never imagined anaphylaxis would occur.
Recently, there has been much discussion about whether or not to call an ambulance, but this incident made me realize once again that if you feel you’re in serious trouble, you should call an ambulance without hesitation, as hesitating could be life-threatening.