Woman is allergic to electricity

[ghost]

This woman claims to be "allergic" to electricity.

I assume that not only does she not know how allergies work, she is also completely fucking crazy.

"Wifi makes me feel like I have a clamp at the back of my head which is squeezing the life out of me. It's completely draining and a home hub can totally immobilise me - I'm left unable to move my arms and legs."

“I used to go for long walks every day and while I was out of the house AND UNDER THE POWER LINES I would be okay. But when I came back I would start to feel unwell again very quickly and slowly I started to put two and two together.

  Bold added by me

[Nebu]

I've had patients tell me that they were allergic to

- MSG
- Sodium
- Aspartame
- sugar (sucrose)
- iodine
- bleach

The list goes on.

You're correct in saying that people have no idea what an allergy is.  About 95% of people claiming to be allergic to penicillins just have a GI disturbance and are cheating themselves out of an otherwise useful antibiotic.  Patients are their own worst enemy.   

[Ironwood]

Bleach.

 

[ghost]

I had a patient claim to be allergic to benadryl.  That was good for a laugh.

[01101010]

This woman claims to be "allergic" to electricity.

I assume that not only does she not know how allergies work, she is also completely fucking crazy.

"Wifi makes me feel like I have a clamp at the back of my head which is squeezing the life out of me. It's completely draining and a home hub can totally immobilise me - I'm left unable to move my arms and legs."

“I used to go for long walks every day and while I was out of the house AND UNDER THE POWER LINES I would be okay. But when I came back I would start to feel unwell again very quickly and slowly I started to put two and two together.

  Bold added by me

It will work!

[Samwise]

I've had patients tell me that they were allergic to...

Are these typically patients who are seeing a homeopath/naturopath/other quack on the side, or do they come up with that stuff all on their own?

[Furiously]

She should try moving to northern Canada.

[Morat20]

I don't claim to be allergic to any antibiotics, but I do make a point of noting which ones tend to give me GI issues. If it's a choice between some GI discomfort and getting past the infection, I'll handle the GI stuff. Most of the time, though, I can just get a different antibiotic.

I am allergic to codeine, which fucking sucks if I have a bad enough cough and sore throat. I haven't had it since I was a kid, and it was a mild enough reaction (hives, basically), but not something I want to test.

Although that makes me wonder -- how many people confuse "Side effect" with "allergy"? I have a rare side effect to corticosteroids*, for instance -- but it's not an allergy.

*I get the hiccups. I'm not kidding. I take pill, I hiccup for the next four goddamn hours. Thankfully as the dose tapers off, the length of time I get the hiccups drops, but it was the most godamn miserable week of my life. Do you know tiring that is? Hiccuping every 30 seconds for four hours? Twice a day? It took me two days to realize it was the damn pills doing it, and move dinner and the dose early enough that I wasn't laying in bed trying to sleep.

[Nebu]

Although that makes me wonder -- how many people confuse "Side effect" with "allergy"? I have a rare side effect to corticosteroids*, for instance -- but it's not an allergy.

Many.  I doubt that you're allergic to codeine, but rather have a negative reaction to it.  It's fairly common not unusual to see for opiates to cause hiccups, but usually it's with the stronger versions (hydro and Oxy).  Oddly, some people also find that opiates cure their hiccups.  Ah, anatomic diversity!

I feel your pain, literally.  I've broken many bones and only have ibuprofen and NSAIDs to rely on.  Opiates (and many opioids) give me severe gi problems accompanied by emesis.

Edit: mine

[Morat20]

You're probably right on coedine -- I say I'm allergic because that's how my mother has described it to doctor's my entire childhood (well, the part between "that time I broke my leg" and "when I could see the doctor on my own").

Thankfully, I have no problems with vicodin or opiates.

[proudft]

Neither my brother and I are allergic to anything we are aware of (other than the near-universal ones like mosquitoes and poison oak).  We always used to jokingly credit our slovenly upbringing, but there have been some studies recently that seem to show that this might not be such a joke after all.  One example: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1007302

So, people, stop cleaning yourselves.  

[Nebu]

Thankfully, I have no problems with vicodin or opiates.

I'm sure that you know this, but just in case: codeine is an opiate.

[Murgos]

According to most peoples definition of 'allergic' I'm allergic to greasy pizza and beer.

[Nebu]

According to most peoples definition of 'allergic' I'm allergic to greasy pizza and beer.

... and Jagermeister.

[Murgos]

According to most peoples definition of 'allergic' I'm allergic to greasy pizza and beer.

... and Jagermeister.

Well, in that case they're correct.  I don't know what else you call something that when imbibed causes black-out, tunnel vision, cold sweats, a rash, blinding headaches and a complete lack of fine motor skill for several days afterwards.   

[Yegolev]

Neither my brother and I are allergic to anything we are aware of (other than the near-universal ones like mosquitoes and poison oak).  We always used to jokingly credit our slovenly upbringing, but there have been some studies recently that seem to show that this might not be such a joke after all.  One example: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1007302

So, people, stop cleaning yourselves.  

I'm actually aware of this recent development and I've stopped telling the boy to keep his fingers out of his mouth.  It reminds me of the work to study beneficial parasites including worms, although I'm a bit more wary of doing that.

Related, I've started drinking kefir now that I have determined the blueberry version is actually tasty.  It might be working or I might be having a placebo effect, but in either case I'll take what I can get.  Only been a few days; will see what's going on about a month from now if I can keep it going.

[rattran]

I find the Strawberry/Banana to be the tastiest kefir these days.

And people understand 'allergy' If you tell them you have a negative reaction to aspartame (migraine, abdominal pain) they don't understand.

[Yegolev]

My dad went in for his bypass surgery and told everyone that he was allergic to latex.  I could see the pained expressions on everyone's faces whenever it came up.  I'm pretty sure he's not.

[K9]

All the current evidence points to electrosensitivity being utter bollocks.

It is sad to see this crap in the news.

[Morat20]

Thankfully, I have no problems with vicodin or opiates.

I'm sure that you know this, but just in case: codeine is an opiate.

Really? Weird. Well, only coedine causes the hives so I guess that is more of a side-effect. I'll have to check with my doctor next time I get a nasty cough. (Cough syrup without coedine is just a tease).

As for latex allergies -- my wife has a mild one. It's mild enough -- just red and irritated skin -- and that's if she's wearing gloves. Just being touched by them, the contact is simply too brief to matter. She uses disposable vinyl gloves for when she needs to wear them.

Frankly, the biggest problem to being allergic to latex is condoms. The non-latex ones that are actually protective cost a ton. Not really an issue to a married couple, but you know -- back in the day.

[ghost]

Really? Weird. Well, only coedine causes the hives so I guess that is more of a side-effect.

It could be something the medicine is compounded with.  You don't necessarily have to have an allergy to the actual active ingredient to have an allergic reaction to the medicine.  For example, some local anesthetics have a preservative that is based on sulfite (e.g., lidocaine with epinephrine) which many people are allergic to.  Some do not have this compound and are safe.

Edit:  And yeah, latex condoms are expensive.  My wife has a latex allergy and we found this out the hard way.  I actually have enough latex allergic folks in my practice that I just use nitrile gloves all the time.  That way there is no chance of a screw up.

[Simond]

I may or may not be allergic to aspirin. It's either a real allergy, or I had Reye's Syndrome. See, I was about...six? eight? and I was finally having a tonsillectomy. After the op, I was feeling somewhat crappy (as you would) so the nurse gave me some aspirin to dull the pain. (This was, obviously, before most people figured out that "aspirin + kids = POTENTIAL FOR BAD THINGS").

So when I woke up from the light coma I'd slipped into a day or so later, the doctor told my parents never to give me aspirin as I was "probably allergic". Medical tangent: About two or three years later, my brother got what was, at the time, a ridiculously obscure disease (he was something like the seventh or tenth diagnosed case in the UK ever) where one of the main treatments was "pump him full of aspirin". So yeah.

[Morat20]

lol. My dad had something similar -- I can't ever remember what the disease was, but it's was something like ten or twelve cases a year back when he got it, and required a viral or bacterial jump from rabbits.

Only kids who had or were around rabbits a LOT (so farms or pets) even had a chance, and it was slim even then. Didn't cause any damage (he just said he was sick as shit for awhile), but he had to keep informing doctors of it because it was rare enough no one knew if it had long-term effects and they all responded with "You couldn't have had that, no one ever gets that".

He also got the mumps as an adult -- right out of boot camp, I think. I was conceived a few years later. I'm rather grateful he won the lottery with that.

Reyes' syndrome is nasty enough that I didn't touch aspirin until I was 20. Just in case. :) I personally got tagged with an antibiotic they only gave to newborns for 18 months -- causes permanent staining of the teeth (a lovely yellow). Nothing else, just any infant giving the drug before they worked that out has a yellow tinge to their teeth. Bleaching doesn't do anything. Just looks like a regular coffee drinker, though.

[Yegolev]

I personally got tagged with an antibiotic they only gave to newborns for 18 months -- causes permanent staining of the teeth (a lovely yellow). Nothing else, just any infant giving the drug before they worked that out has a yellow tinge to their teeth. Bleaching doesn't do anything. Just looks like a regular coffee drinker, though.

Really.  I may want to not bother with bleaching then.  I'll have to google this.

[ghost]

Tetracycline class antibiotics can cause permanent discoloration of your teeth.  The antibiotic has be be given during critical times of tooth development.  It's well known and has been for years so it is doubtful that this is causing your discoloration, particularly if it has been something you noticed happening to yourself.  If you had it when you were 8, maybe.  If you've got it, the only thing to do is veneers or crowns or live with it. 

[Morat20]

Tetracycline class antibiotics can cause permanent discoloration of your teeth.  The antibiotic has be be given during critical times of tooth development.  It's well known and has been for years so it is doubtful that this is causing your discoloration, particularly if it has been something you noticed happening to yourself.  If you had it when you were 8, maybe.  If you've got it, the only thing to do is veneers or crowns or live with it. 

I'm 35. If he's roughly my age (give or take about a year) it's possible he was tagged with it. I think I had an infection when I was less than six months old.

I've had doctors glance at me and guess my age, the show-off's, because it was only a brief period before they worked that out.

[ghost]

It's entirely possible, and even if you were a kid in the 80s, depending on where you are from. 

[Engels]

I grew up in Spain and was 'victim' to huge amounts of tetracycline antibiotics. My teeth's coloration make Frankenstein's monster turn up his nose and fan himself in dismay. Jack squat I can do about it, really. Thankfully, Playgirl hasn't called me in for a photoshoot.

Another funny side effect is that my toenails are ridiculously tough. Like, twice as thick as others. I could grown them out, shave them to a point, and go all ninja on you.

[Nebu]

It's entirely possible, and even if you were a kid in the 80s, depending on where you are from. 

Vaneers?

[ghost]

Yeah, veneers is pretty much the only thing to do for serious tetracycline staining. 

[Merusk]

Well shit, that might explain my own problem then.  My teeth have always had this yellow off-color to them that I just attributed to growing up around a smoker.   It was probably the antibiotics I was given when a few days old because I was born with my left leg "backwards" as my mom puts it. Apparently they had to break and set it. 

[ghost]

It's possible.  People's teeth aren't really supposed to be chiclet white though.  A yellowish color, particularly on the canines is normal, and some other types of discoloration can be other things, like fluorosis.  

[Morat20]

Well shit, that might explain my own problem then.  My teeth have always had this yellow off-color to them that I just attributed to growing up around a smoker.   It was probably the antibiotics I was given when a few days old because I was born with my left leg "backwards" as my mom puts it. Apparently they had to break and set it. 

Your dentist should recognize it. It's pretty easy to tell the difference between a surface stain and this. Of course, your dentist will probably ALSO recommend bleaching anyways. Mine only refrains because I also have somewhat soft teeth (fuck if I know why -- it's unrelated to the antibiotics. Bleaching them is apparently just a PITA).

But that description sounds about right. It looks like you're a smoker or heavy coffee drinker even when you aren't. Lots of teeth whitening places will claim they can fix it (they sorta can -- they whiten your teeth as a whole, so it will look a bit better) but really veneers, caps, etc are all there is for it. Your tooth enamel is like that all the way through. You can't bleach or grind it off.

[ghost]

Tetracycline staining is actually usually a dark bluish-gray color, not yellowish, and has an abrupt line where the treatment with antibiotics occurred. 


So in this one the dark band with the yellow underneath would be indicative.  You can see the band there in both the lighter enamel and the yellowish area.  Teeth typically become more yellow as you get close to the gumline, although I believe this example to be a bit severe so it may have affected the enamel formation there as well. 

If you don't have an abrupt band like this on all the teeth it probably isn't tetracycline staining.  Yellow does not automatically mean tetracycline staining.

Here is a more typical example:
 

[WayAbvPar]

Goddamn mouths are disgusting.