sudden onset sunburn? what just happened to me?
May 18, 2013 2:56 PM Subscribe
All of a sudden, within a couple of minutes, my skin on my arms/chest/face turned beet red and was hot to the touch, like I had a bad sunburn. In addition was a headache(similar headache that I get when I've been in the sun for too long) and I could feel my heart beating faster and was a little lightheaded. I wasn't itchy at all. This lasted for about 30 minutes and my skin is still sort of splotchy and warm but is going back to normal.
YANMD. I'm not looking for medical advice. I don't have any known food allergies and didn't eat anything weird today or do anything out of the ordinary, and the weather has been overcast.
I ate a can of sardines and a bowl of popcorn right before/while this started to happen, but I eat both of those pretty much everyday. I also had a small glass of red wine but I drink that all the time as well. Earlier today I had a couple of eggs and some toast and coffee. That is all I've eaten today.
Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and my roommate was concerned as well, so I called 911 and 311 but neither could give me any useful advice and I don't have insurance so I didn't want to have an ambulance come out because it seemed like it was probably an allergic reaction and didn't seem life threatening but I had no idea. 311 transferred me to the local hospital but the person I spoke to didn't want to diagnose me over the phone(understandable) so couldn't tell me anything either.
I do have anxiety issues but nothing happened today to exacerbate that even though my anxiety has been high lately in general. Could this have been some sort of a panic attack?
Has this ever happened to anyone else or does anyone have any idea what happened to me?
YANMD. I'm not looking for medical advice. I don't have any known food allergies and didn't eat anything weird today or do anything out of the ordinary, and the weather has been overcast.
I ate a can of sardines and a bowl of popcorn right before/while this started to happen, but I eat both of those pretty much everyday. I also had a small glass of red wine but I drink that all the time as well. Earlier today I had a couple of eggs and some toast and coffee. That is all I've eaten today.
Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and my roommate was concerned as well, so I called 911 and 311 but neither could give me any useful advice and I don't have insurance so I didn't want to have an ambulance come out because it seemed like it was probably an allergic reaction and didn't seem life threatening but I had no idea. 311 transferred me to the local hospital but the person I spoke to didn't want to diagnose me over the phone(understandable) so couldn't tell me anything either.
I do have anxiety issues but nothing happened today to exacerbate that even though my anxiety has been high lately in general. Could this have been some sort of a panic attack?
Has this ever happened to anyone else or does anyone have any idea what happened to me?
Response by poster: I should have added that I'm not on any meds.
posted by fromageball at 3:03 PM on May 18, 2013
posted by fromageball at 3:03 PM on May 18, 2013
I once had a reaction like that, around age 12 after taking a niacin supplement a friend's mom gave me. I felt like I was burning from the inside, then it went away.
posted by Nelson at 3:08 PM on May 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 3:08 PM on May 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
Yes, it could have been a panic attack/anxiety attack. WebMD has a tool that helps you find possible problems based on symptoms.
posted by Houstonian at 3:09 PM on May 18, 2013
posted by Houstonian at 3:09 PM on May 18, 2013
Did you take any vitamins? I had a similar reaction a couple of times when I took a multivitamin along with an extra fish oil capsule and experienced "niacin flush."
Just saw that this was mentioned above. Apparently the threshold is usually around 50mcg.
posted by rpfields at 3:12 PM on May 18, 2013
Just saw that this was mentioned above. Apparently the threshold is usually around 50mcg.
posted by rpfields at 3:12 PM on May 18, 2013
Response by poster: I take B complex vitamins but I took it this morning and this happened ~6 hours later.
posted by fromageball at 3:26 PM on May 18, 2013
posted by fromageball at 3:26 PM on May 18, 2013
Best answer: Scombroid food poisoning from the sardines?
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 3:47 PM on May 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 3:47 PM on May 18, 2013 [3 favorites]
Red wine is notorious for causing flushing in some people (Asian background especially), and sardines have high histamines. Maybe cut back on one or both?
Also, keep some liquid benadryl on hand just in case. I had a friend who had weird reactions to certain types of fish, and while she would ask about it in a restaurant, the servers didn't always know. One day she ate something bad and we had to get in the car and drive to the store to get her some Benadryl. She was wheezing in the checkout line and I had to tell her to open it and chug it, we were going to pay for it.
If it were bad fish, I'd assume you would have to run to the washroom to get rid of it from either end.
Did you switch wine brands lately or maybe the one you buy changed their formula?
Menopause can cause rapid flushing, and anxiety can, but not to that extent, in my experience, more heart pounding and faint feeling. How long was it after you drank the wine?
If you ever get any wheezing, please call 911 and keep the Benadryl on hand.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 3:59 PM on May 18, 2013
Also, keep some liquid benadryl on hand just in case. I had a friend who had weird reactions to certain types of fish, and while she would ask about it in a restaurant, the servers didn't always know. One day she ate something bad and we had to get in the car and drive to the store to get her some Benadryl. She was wheezing in the checkout line and I had to tell her to open it and chug it, we were going to pay for it.
If it were bad fish, I'd assume you would have to run to the washroom to get rid of it from either end.
Did you switch wine brands lately or maybe the one you buy changed their formula?
Menopause can cause rapid flushing, and anxiety can, but not to that extent, in my experience, more heart pounding and faint feeling. How long was it after you drank the wine?
If you ever get any wheezing, please call 911 and keep the Benadryl on hand.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 3:59 PM on May 18, 2013
Response by poster: Scombroid food poisoning sounds exactly like what I experienced. Thanks!
posted by fromageball at 4:33 PM on May 18, 2013
posted by fromageball at 4:33 PM on May 18, 2013
Talk to the manufacturer about this. Keep the can. It could be really dangerous in another situation. Glad you're ok.
posted by taff at 5:46 PM on May 18, 2013
posted by taff at 5:46 PM on May 18, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Are you on an SSRI? Maybe it was a touch of serotonin syndrome.
posted by gjc at 3:02 PM on May 18, 2013