Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with reaction

Should I be taking vitamins to make up for my fruit allergies?

stleric — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:15:15 -0800

I'm allergic to most fruits. Should I be taking some sort of multivitamin? I am allergic to varying degrees to a variety of delicious and nutritious foodstuffs. I'm most allergic to bananas, kiwis, mangoes, and avocados (not to a hospitalization/EpiPen extent, but I usually would stop eating only a few bites into any of the above), and am somewhat more mildly allergic to apples, oranges, berries, grapes, as well as carrots and a few varieties of nuts. I can eat probably about half of an apple or orange before the throat swelling/tingling/itchiness really starts to get to me, but I usually just don't eat said fruits so that I can avoid the allergic reactions altogether.

I don't think that it's due to pesticides, since I usually wash fruits fairly thoroughly. It seems like cooked fruits either don't give me allergic reactions or diminish the reactions, but it's not always convenient for me to be cooking everything.

If eating raw fruit is usually out of the picture, is there some sort of vitamin or multi-vitamin that I should be taking to pick up the slack in getting the right vitamins and minerals in my diet? If so, is there anything in specific or any vitamins and minerals that I should be looking for to replace what I would have been getting from fruit (especially the bananas, mangoes, etc.)? Should I just be eating a lot of processed pre-cooked fruit products and crossing my fingers that I don't get a reaction?

Thanks, everyone!

Why do I feel so weird about owning this home?

gocubbies — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:03:25 -0800

Why do I feel so weird about owning this home? Here's the long story (as short as possible): My wife and I are both 24 and we recently bought our first house. We've been married for one year and lived together for one year before that. We've been very good savers (over 50% of each paycheck) and before purchasing the home we had very little debt (only about $8K for a car).

We did not receive any financial support from our parents (other than for undergrad tuition). What makes me feel very strange is that multiple people have commented on how large our house is and how good of a job I must have. I make a little more than $67k and my wife makes about $34k. We bought the house new and it is two stories with a finished basement and 5 bedrooms. We have no kids yet, but plan to live in this house for 30+ years and raise a family in it.

Here are a few remaining details. We paid $324k for the house with 10% down and we'll be receiving another $8k for being a first time homeowner.

Hearing people comment on the size of the house makes me feel awkward and undeserving. My take on this issue is that my wife and I saved well and didn't buy any "toys" when we finished school: no motorcycle, no flat screen TV, no boat, no nothing (with the exception of the car mentioned above). We never moved back home after school, but saved money by living in an inexpensive apartment for 2+ years. I finished college a semester early, too.

My job pays well, but not extremely well like some may think. I started working for the company when I was 20 and have had two promotions and two raises.

Am I right in justifying how we were able to afford this house or is there something I'm missing? Is it normal to feel like I don't deserve this?

The FluMist gave me the flu. But for how long?

Unicorn on the cob — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 22:33:50 -0800

I believe I am having an adverse reaction to the FluMist. How long can I expect to feel like complete crap? Okay, last week my doctor INSISTED that I get the FluMist. I tried to explain no, I had an unbelievably stressful week, had been eating and sleeping very little, and had dealt with a lot of personal issues, and the ONLY time I have ever gotten the flu was over 10 years ago when I'd gotten a flu vaccine. The nurse laughed at me and said "no way, this is safe, you'll be fine."

Well, that was last Thursday. Sunday night at 5 a.m. I woke up feeling like crap because the pain from swallowing felt like razor blades. I spent the next day in bed, trying to feel better, SURE that it was the damn FluMist. I went in AGAIN to the doctor and had a throat culture to make sure it wasn't strep (it wasn't) and AGAIN they insisted that "no way could that have made you sick, blah blah blah."

By yesterday I felt better... had two margaritas with girlfriends... AND WOKE UP TODAY AND FELT LIKE CRAP ALL OVER AGAIN. Achy, throat sore, tired, cranky, wheezing, etc.

OBVIOUSLY I AM HAVING A REACTION TO THE FLUMIST.

My question is this: For those of you that have had the nasal FluMist (NOT the shot with the dead stuff in it), and had a bad reaction to it, how long did it last? I've gone through a whole box of Theraflu and started on box two and don't want this to go on forever. I can't just stay home in bed for the rest of my life. Any tips on speeding up getting over it? I HATE that I can't go to the gym right now and I CANNOT drink orange juice thanks to IBS. Other suggestions? Timeframe?

Drunken reaction time?

coizero — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:12:05 -0800

When I'm sober and attempting to kill a fly, I can't hit it in time. When I'm tipsy, I swat it easily. In reading and conversation, I make connections sooner when drunk than when sober. I've always heard that alcoholism slows reaction time ... so what gives? NOTE: My drunken spelling and grammar errors definitely increase when drunk. Are various functions affected differently by alcohol?

Help me determine if lotion causes my newly-induced, chronic skin rash that doesn't fit description of other afflictions.

skyper — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:17:14 -0800

Can you get skin poisoning from a usually good lotion that's 'gone bad'? I've used St. Ives' for years. Mostly just on my arms that get more sun exposure than elsewhere. I find it a bit pricey for *my* budget so I rejoiced to find it marked down to $2.50 (the Collagen Elastin, same as I'd been using) at Big Lots to replace the near-empty jug at home.
I began developing itchy rashes on my forearms and blamed at first numerous other factors: a similarly timed swimming/sunbathing in the nearby James river (swimmer's rash? even though we only stayed 1 hour?) and, we also began sanding plaster from the ceiling same day from our living room, exposing me to fine powdery dust anytime I enter the room, as well as odors from super-chemical strippers like methylene chloride.
The bumps on my arms itch similarly to what I've experienced in the past with loooong sun exposure at the beach, but those usually died down in a few days. But THIS has a.) gone on for a week, b.) is primarily localized to my arms, thus not "diaper rash", c.) comes and goes rather randomly, like at night abruptly I begin itching, or entering a hot car sitting in the sun after leaving an airconditioned place.
THEN I checked the sale-priced lotion I'd bought. THere's no expiration date but the top of the pump is blue not white, and the label says "New!" above the CollagenElastin title, whereas my previously used-up bottle had no "New!" anywhere on it; it seemed that variety had been on the market for some time.
I'm aware Suntan Lotions should expire after a couple years; does anyone know if regular lotions can lead to some sort of reaction if they're allowed to sit on a store shelf then go on sale after a long time? I'm hoping someone w/ similar experience w/ lotion can verify that this was the cause (meanwhile I'm switching to a calamine today & see if it'll help); I've avoided the liv. rm. to reduce exposure to pathogens there but little difference resulted; same intermittent itchy breakouts.
Thanks!

Help me fix my face after a weird skin reaction!

tastybrains — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:35:35 -0800

I had a sleep study done, and my face has broken out horribly where the electrodes had been glued on. I have never had any sort of reaction on my skin quite like this, so ... what do I do? Background info:

Tuesday night & Wednesday day I had a sleep study with electrodes glued to my face/scalp/etc. When they removed the electrodes on Wednesday afternoon, it burned terribly and I was left with painful red welts where the electrodes had been. When I got home, I washed my face several times (to get all the glue off), slathered on some moisturizer (for sensitive skin), and went to bed. Over the next few days, the marks remained red, and lots of little pimples have been popping up in them...teeny tiny ones. In addition, the skin is red and peeling and feels like a healing and itchy sunburn.

Problem:

In the next 2 weeks, I have to attend several wedding-related events (2 weddings, 2 rehearsal dinners, etc)...one of which I am the maid of honor for. I really want this cleared up by then...at least to the point where makeup will actually hide the little fuckers. Right now makeup is pretty ineffective and I feel like it's probably not the best thing for my face either.

I am hesitant to put certain things on my face, such as neosporin, because it is very greasy and my skin is both very oily and very sensitive.

So... what do I do? What would you do?

I have tried, but not consistently, the following: thick moisturizer for sensitive skin (I hate this, it makes me feel greasy), neosporin (extremely greasy and disgusting), benzoyl peroxide cream (thought it might help the pimples, but am worried it will exacerbate the peeling/itching).

Past Movie Reviews/Reactions

hermitosis — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:00:10 -0800

Are there good online resources where you can go to find out how movies were received when they came out? Collections of criticism and/or public reaction?

Why did Hello Kitty become blue?

reenum — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 05:39:44 -0800

When I was a kid, I took a trip once. The whole time, a plush Hello Kitty doll was in the back of the car, bombarded by the sun. It changed color from pink to dark blue. Any explanation for this phenomenon? When I was a kid living in Saudi Arabia, our family went for a picnic to a southern city in the Kingdom. The whole time we were driving, I had my Hello Kitty plush toy in the back of the car, in that area behind the seats. The toy was being bombarded by sun all day.

As we drove, I noticed that the toy had changed colors from a light pink to a sky blue shade. It was this color for a few hours, and then changed back to normal. I tried to recreate this effect in later months, but to no avail.

Is there any explanation for this phenomenon?

The bag came with three servings. Why should I avoid the third?

crinklebat — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 07:16:58 -0800

What could be causing this weird reaction to frozen pasta? So, I hate to cook, and as such I eat a lot of premade food from Trader Joe's. Last night, for the second time, I had their red pesto farfalle. The last time I ate it (first time ever), a few hours later I got a headache in my right temple so severe it made me nauseated and weepy. I also had an elevated pulse all night (well, I had an elevated pulse before I went to sleep and had a dream where I was drinking caffeinated drink after caffeinated drink...you connect the dots) and felt weird and shaky the next day. I didn't associate it with the pasta.

However, last night I ate it and felt the beginnings of the same damn headache - same location, same general feeling. I took two tylenols and drank about half a liter of water and went to bed. This morning, I feel not as bad as I did last time, but still sort of bad and with the remnants of a headache.

My best guess is that this is a high sodium food (400 mg/serving) that just dehydrated the heck out of me, but I eat a lot of Trader Joe's products and many of them have more sodium. Here are the ingredients:

Parcooked pasta (water, durum wheat semolina, salt), tomato pulp, walnuts, pecorino romano cheese (pasteurized milk, salt, rennet), grana cheese (pasteurized milk, salt, rennet, lysozyme (enzyme from egg white)), basil, sunflower seed oil, garlic, tapioca starch, sugar, chili powder.

Doesn't look too sinister, right? I think I've had all these things before with the possible exception of grana cheese. Any thoughts?

Butternut squash making my hands weird

pyjammy — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 16:00:45 -0800

After cutting up some butternut squash for soup, I noticed that the skin on my left hand became dry and tight. What's going on? No matter how much I wash my hand, it doesn't seem to alleviate the problem, so I don't think it's a residue. Lotion doesn't seem to help, either. I've noticed it before when cutting up butternut squash, but never thought too much about it. (It's not on my right hand, but I assume that's because I was holding it with my left hand and cutting with my right hand, so there wasn't as much contact.)

I can't really tell if it's making my skin peel or if it is just a really stubborn residue. Google searches have shown that some people have the same reaction, but no good explanation why.

I'm pretty sure this won't kill me, but it is kind of puzzling...anyone know what's going on?

Even if it does kill me, though, the soup is so good it'll be worth it.

Why am I allergic to Tylenol?

birdlady — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:45:28 -0800

Why am I allergic to tylenol (all its forms: tylenol cold, tylenol allergy, regualr tylenol, etc.), but I am not allergic to other medicines including acetaminophen? I am ridiculously allergic to Tylenol. It makes my hands the the bottoms of my feet swell, itch and burn. I also get a hive-like rash on my arms, my tongue swells and itches and my lips swell and burn.

It took me a long time to discover the tylenol allergy because I always took tylenol for pain and never had any trouble. A few years ago, I started noticing the rash/swelling at what I thought was random times. I finally realized tylenol was causing it. It may or may not be relevant that at about this same time, I also became allergic to antibiotics I used to be able to take with no trouble).

I have no plans to take tylenol anymore, in fact every time I forget and take it, the reaction gets worse, so I am not looking for advice on minimizing the reaction. However, I am curious why I have this reaction to tylenol and no other otc pain medicine with the same active ingredient. Any ideas? Anyone else allergic to Tylenol?

Men's clothes in Toronto

alse — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:23:50 -0800

What are some good men's clothes stores in Toronto? I'm looking for some fairly formal clothes with a slimmer cut and patterns similar to Kenneth Cole's Reaction line. I'd like to spend around $40 for a shirt and maybe more for pants. The closer to downtown the better. Thanks!

Perhaps going naked might have been better...

lilithim — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 15:47:19 -0800

An new item of clothing broke me out in hives. A) Any ideas about how to get rid of these as fast as possible? B) Is this item of clothing forever dead to me now? C) It was pretty expensive, and from a large upscale corporation. What are my options with them? Yesterday, I happened to wear a denim skirt that I bought two months ago from a large, well-known company. In the time of about 5 minutes, I broke out in red nasty looking hives anywhere this skirt happened to touch my skin. Unfortunately, I was then stuck wearing the skirt all day, but I would say that the damage was more or less done at that point.
They don't itch, they don't hurt, they just look terrible. I've applied an antihistimine cream, so we'll see how well that works.
Any other ideas of meds to try? Preferably OTC, as it's the weekend.
To be honest, I have no idea whether or not the article of clothing was washed before first wear. If I wash it again, will this happen, or was the skirt treated with something?

I no longer have any receipts for this item, and while it was around $60-75, I don't have any ideas about what the customer service department at Large Well-Known-Professional Wear Company will say. If I was to call them. Should I even bother?

Fiancee's engagement ring causes rash/chemical burn type reaction on her finger. Please help.

donmayo — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 22:30:46 -0800

Just gave the fiancee her engagement ring. Problem is she has strange reaction. She gets a weird rash/chemical burn looking ring where the ring sits. The ring is 18karat white gold. Could it be an allergy to the gold? Could it be jewelry polish? What is a new (ignorant) fiancee to do to show her I can solve any problem?

Facial gone bad...

irishkitten — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 22:30:49 -0800

So I got my first facial on Friday, and it didn't quite have the result I had hoped for. Help! The facial consisted of a number of steps, including a mask that really burned while it was on. I was told this was normal. Extraction wasn't much better, and I was left with blotches and swelling at the end of it. The esthetician told me the swelling/redness would subside by Saturday... and to my dismay, I woke up this morning to find that I had the beginning of some cystic acne, as well as some severe facial burning. So far anything I have tried to use on my face to ease the discomfort has only irritated my skin. Can anyone offer some sort of home remedy to ease the burning sensation?

How do I perceive you?

The_Partridge_Family — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 17:18:38 -0800

In Eddie Izzard's Dressed to Kill, he says that how people respond to you is based 70% on how you look, 20% on how you sound, and 10% on what you say. What branch of psychology studies these reactions? And even though it's a rather broad and incomplete statement, is it roughly correct?

This is one case where dancing won't help.

Eideteker — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 16:20:43 -0800

ObscureMedicalFilter: Why do my feet itch when I do the dishes? Since I was a child, whenever I wash dishes, my feet start to itch something fierce. Not my hands, which are gloved in latex (no latex allergy, either) or my bare forearms. I don't think it's the liquid, though I usually use Dawn, because I have no reaction to the soap no matter where I apply it to my skin. It doesn't matter what I'm wearing on my feet, whether sandals, socks, or bare. It's not quite to the point of pain, but it's severe enough that I'm almost compelled to scratch (with my toenails). It's very distracting and I've dropped two dishes in just the past month. It's irritating enough that I almost don't want to do the dishes. What the heck is going on?

How do I get rid of the aftermath of a minor allergic reaction?

kirstin — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 06:21:42 -0800

What should I do to make swelling and bumps from an allergic reaction to makeup foundation go away? After being made up professionally for the first time all these tiny little bumps showed up on my face where the foundation was applied. Then my cheeks got really hot and started swelling. I have been feeling these symptoms for two days and the only reason why I am in a rush to make them go away is that I will be getting married in two weeks. I have been trying hydrocortizone. Any other recommendations? (This is a fairly minor interaction.. I just want some tips and tricks to make it go away. I will be getting allergy tested soon. I will not be applying the same makeup again!)

How to take care of cat chin acne?

de void — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 08:53:56 -0800

Recently adopted cat has had a dramatic out break of acne on her chin/mouth. I need an education on the best ways to: - Identify the cause? - Best method(s) to prevent outbreaks? - Best method(s) to treat outbreaks? 3 months ago we adopted a calico female cat, about 2 years old. Fairly small, could be mistaken for an adolescent cat. Came "fixed" from the animal shelter.

About month and a half ago I started noticing black flecks on a spot on her chin. At first I thought she might have fleas but closer examination (as could best be managed) showed she had blackheads on her skin underneath that area.

The affected area has gradually but steadily spread to her entire chin and is now encroaching on her upper lips underneath her whiskers.

Some initial research on the net revealed that plastic food/water dishes can be a cause of acne. We replaced the plastic dishes we had with stainless steel ones and wash them every other day. This was done about 2 weeks ago and seems to have had no effect.

The only other possible cause that springs to mind is that we have a carpeted cat tower with a top level that has low walls. She spends a lot of time sleeping in the top of the tower with her head/chin resting on the top of the wall, so I'm wondering if she might have an allergy to the carpet.

I've had several cats but this is the first time I've seen an acne outbreak spread so steadily and dramatically. Her previously white chin now looks a dirty grey and her hair is thinning in the affected area.

I'm taking her to the vet this afternoon. I'm dreading having to apply any cremes to her. She is very affectionate, loves attention and is not shy at all. However, the instant she realizes that you are "examining" her instead of petting, or if you restrain her even slightly, the claws and teeth come out in force.

What's the best thing your community has done to deal with hatred and violence?

stonerose — Fri, 26 Mar 2004 16:51:40 -0800

What's the best thing your community (interpret this as widely or narrowly as you like) has done to deal with hatred and violence? Over the last couple of months, Toronto has witnessed what seems like an exceptionally bad bout of internecine violence within "the black community" (problematic phrase, yada yada), a spate of vandalism and grave desecration directed at Jews, and a reaction against Arabs. I don't want to talk about specifics here (there's a certain notorious MeFi thread for that). I'm interested to know how other communities have dealt with this - whether it's jonmc burying the hatchet with skallas, or or the U.S. helping Europe via the Marshall plan.