Shoot Me Up Doc!

Approximately 20 years ago, I had a severe anaphylactic reaction and had no idea what was going on.  I was sick, and had gone to the doctor earlier in the day.  He diagnosed me as having a bad case of bronchitis, and something else……it’s been so long ago, I just can’t remember, while telling this story.

In order to get better medically, the doctor prescribed penicillin.  I, being the impatient one, asked the doctor if I could have a shot instead of pills.  He agreed, gave me the shot and I waited around the office for 20 minutes to see if I would react to the shot.  No reaction!!!!

I returned home and ate a light lunch; some scrambled eggs, and laid down on the couch.  I fell asleep for a couple of hours, and woke to the sound of my front door opening.  It was my sister returning home from work.  I’m just waking up from the sound of the front door opening, my eye’s a tad blurry, and my chest hurt from the bronchitis (too much coughing).  

My sister took one look at me as she walked in the front door.  The first words out of her mouth were: “what the hell happened to you?”  I of course looked at her confused, because I was startled awake. My sister told me to go into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror. 

Half asleep, I walk into the bathroom. I felt dizzy, I was breathing funny, my chest hurt badly, I itched in my arm pits and groin area…………………and then when I looked up into the mirror…………….OMG, my face was so swollen.  It looked like someone kicked the crap out of me.  My eyes were swollen badly, my lips were huge………………you would have thought I was a boxer who had her butt kicked badly. 

Dummy me took a Benadryl and then contacted my doctor.  The doctor told me to go to the emergency room, by that time the Benadryl kicked in.  I told her what I took; the doctor stated if I got worse to go to the emergency room immediately.  My doctor told me I apparently had an Anaphylactic Reaction, and scheduled me to see an Allergist for allergy testing the next day. 

The allergy doctor listened to my story, and then proceeded to lecture me for 10 minutes about not going to the emergency room immediately.  He told me I’m lucky to be alive!!!!  Well, well…….his words got my attention.  The doctor gave me a prescription for an Epi-Pen. 

Then he proceeded to tell me, I had better go directly from the office to the pharmacy and get the prescription filled because the next time I have an anaphylactic reaction, I could end up dead.   The doctor took my blood to test for allergies.  He made sure to test for penicillin and egg reactions, since I had a shot, and ate eggs.

The blood test revealed, I’m highly allergic to penicillin, and anything made of eggs.  The test also revealed I’ve got intolerance to dairy products. 

In the end, I avoided eggs for 8 years.  Then I gradually added eggs to my diet with the help of a doctor.  Now I’m no longer allergic to eggs, and still use dairy products with a slight reaction of constantly clearing my throat. As for milk, I use Almond Milk as a substitute. As for the penicillin, I stay away from it totally.

In our medical supplies/first aid kits, and my personal fanny pack, we carry several Epi-Pens for emergencies.  These Epi-Pens are checked for expiration dates and replaced routinely.

I have a question for you; do you have an Epi-Pen in your emergency medical supplies/first aid kits?    If not, you should; because a shot of epinephrine will give you enough time to get to the emergency room when you’re having an Anaphylactic Reaction. 

*Allergic Reactions Chart by Adam

**I was not asked or paid to advertise for Mylan, regarding the EpiPen.

Green Beans & Burns (If faint of heart don't look at the 6th picture)

First I would like to start out by saying hello and welcome to those new followers to my blog.  

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We recently added a new garden box for green beans (Cantare, and Blue Lake Bush) in the garden.  Before laying down all the soil, Bulldog Man and I laid out about an inch of fresh soil, put the feedlot trellis back in the box, secured this trellis with a couple of cheap tent stakes, then finished adding soil, and topped the soil with peat moss. 

Staking down the trellis.

Trellis attached to the ground, added soil, and peat.

Planting seeds.

Green beans are a vegetable our family really enjoys as a side dish to a meal or as a complete meal.  We will have plenty of beans to put away in the pantry; a very nice stash for winter. 

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While the sprinkler was going in the garden, a little American Robin decided to take a shower.  Every time the sprinkler would rotate around some of my potatoes in tires, the bird would run toward the water.  This picture isn’t the greatest because I didn’t have my real camera with me; just a cell phone.   

You can see the Robin in the right corner of picture.

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A couple of nights ago, I made some chamomile orange tea for Bulldog Man.  I placed the hot tea cup on the wood arm (as we always do) of his recliner chair. 

Bulldog Man reached over and adjusted the hot cup; without realizing it, the cup was not sitting on the coaster properly. It was balancing on the edge for a second, and then it was off onto his leg, as he was sitting in the recliner chair.  Needless to say, the hot cup ended up falling onto his leg…..in and around his left knee.  Before he could get up out of his chair, and remove his pajama pants, the hot tea had already burnt his leg.  He now has 1^st and 2^nd degree burns on his leg.

I immediately had Bulldog Man rinse his leg in the bathtub with cool water.  To help stop the burning sensation and reduce the inflammation, I immediately placed Manuka Honey, an antibacterial medical grade honey, on my husband’s burns and wrapped the burns with sterilized gauze.  We again repeated this process the next day.

After 48 hours of Manuka Honey on the burn, it was time to thoroughly wash the burn with a gentle soap (we used a goats milk soap), cut off the dead skin from the second degree burns once the blisters popped open (only cut with sterile surgical scissors and only when the skin of the blister breaks open on its own….never break the blisters yourself), and then we placed antibiotics on his burns, and again bandaged it up with sterile gauze.

While Bulldog Man is home from work over the weekend, we removed the gauze to expose the burn to the air.  When he returns to work, I will place another bandage on his burn to prevent his pants from rubbing on the burn and irritating it further. 

  

Bulldog Man’s leg looks a lot better since using the Manuka Honey.  I keep a bottle of this medicinal honey in my large first aid bag for emergencies.  

Manuka honey is derived from nectar collected by honey bees from the Manuka bush, known as Leptospermum scoparium from New Zealand, and can be found in your local health food stores. 

Recently, CVS stocks sterile Adhesive Pads with Manuka Honey.  They’re great for abrasions and burns. 

I’m not a physician; please consult with your physician before using any product you’re not familiar with.

EMT Medic Gear Bag

Our EMT bag needed to be somewhat larger.  Bulldog Man and I have been keeping a look out for something larger, which didn’t cost an arm and leg.  We already had all of the medical supplies necessary. 

Bulldog Man found this bag on Amazon for $37.99 and the shipping was free.  It’s a large medic gear EMT bag, orange in color with the Star of Life on the cover.  The bag is a heavy nylon cordura construction with reinforced rubberized waterproof bottom panel with a padded liner, 8 adjustable and removable Velcro compartments and 2 windowed rip-free pouches.  

 

The bag loads up pretty good, with room to spare.  We’re happy, and I figured I would share this deal with you, just in case you’re looking for a similar type bag.