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submitted 5 months ago by Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net to c/196@lemmy.blahaj.zone

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[-] nifty@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing. In case you’re talking Benadryl still, its use has been linked to increased chance of dementia. PSA for anyone reading this comment

[-] Monument@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Thank you. I appreciate the head’s up. And I appreciate that you’re out here spreading the word. We need folks looking out for others.

I am aware of the risks, but I have a use case, as much as I don’t like that I do. I have an unknown food allergy that crops up randomly. I’m not even sure if it’s a singular food allergy or if it’s an allergy that only occurs when certain foods are combined.
In the situation above, my face swelled similar to how Will Smith’s face swelled in the movie Hitch (except it was my forehead/scalp). I was 17 and did not know what an anaphylactic reaction was at the time, and we were all so poor that we just did not go to the hospital. Fortunately, the last time it occurred was 15ish years ago (and we got the reaction before any swelling occurred), but I do still keep some around, just in case. It’s definitely not something I use normally.
I hope that my daily allergy medication use (Allegra) will help stave off any future reactions.

[-] nifty@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

Food allergies suck! I am assuming you’ve worked with an allergy specialist to find a better alternative to dementia causing diphenhydramines. From what I understand some compounds are better than others

[-] Monument@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Honestly, no. I have mentioned it to my doctor, but for something that occurred once every 2-4 years from the ages of 9 to 22 (Oh, crap, I guess it’s been almost 20 years since the last flair up), they viewed it as a low priority when I got health insurance and got over my fear of asking for medical help in my early 30’s. (Cost reasons, not doctor phobia.)

Which I get - “Hey doc, I have an allergy to something - I don’t know what it is and it hasn’t occurred in 10 years. What do we do about it?” They gave me the advice I was already following - which, 10 years ago, was to take Benadryl and record the ingredients for everything I ate, so we could try to figure it out. I will slip a line into the document I keep for my yearlies to ask after what is an appropriate replacement for Benadryl, however.
Although, with my current knowledge and economic level, I’d probably just rush to the ER if anything above my chest swelled up. My insurance will blunt the cost just fine and I’ve got too much going on to choke to death.

[-] nifty@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

Not going to recommend a product because I don’t know your med history, but you can look up over the counter alternatives online, they’re fairly cheap