Old cheese left me coughing – now what?
August 23, 2015 7:57 AM Subscribe
There was an old-ish block of cheese in the fridge kept in a zip-top bag, and I gave it the sniff test. It did not pass – I'm not here to ask if food that smells like Cthulhu's sneakers is okay to eat. A few seconds after tossing it in the trash, my nose started running, my eyes started to water, and my lungs filled up like I had bronchitis. I coughed deeply and uncontrollably for about 10 minutes. The coughing has mostly passed, but I still feel congested and runny and rather queasy and my eyes are still burning a little. The gym sock smell of the cheese has turned into a flavor that I can't wash out of my mouth. I feel absolutely horrid. What can I do to feel better? Do I need a doctor?
Mold allergy would be my guess. Do as ssg suggests.
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 8:14 AM on August 23, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 8:14 AM on August 23, 2015 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Brush your teeth, wash your face, and take an antihistamine if you have one.
You might have some kind of mold allergy.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mold-allergy/basics/definition/con-20025806
You can get an allergen skin test from your Dr to confirm.
posted by Elysum at 8:14 AM on August 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
You might have some kind of mold allergy.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mold-allergy/basics/definition/con-20025806
You can get an allergen skin test from your Dr to confirm.
posted by Elysum at 8:14 AM on August 23, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Could also just be a huge whiff of Ammonia.
posted by JPD at 8:49 AM on August 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by JPD at 8:49 AM on August 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
Also, make sure the cheese is in a sealed container in the trash so neither you nor anyone else has to suffer from it again!
posted by ropeladder at 9:20 AM on August 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ropeladder at 9:20 AM on August 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks, all. I for sure zipped that bag up tight before tossing it!
Ammonia seems like a better fit given the suddenness and severity of the onset, I think. There was also a fair bit of burning in my nose in the seconds before my lungs started reacting. Does that make sense? Does mold even produce ammonia? I had no idea. The cheese was sharp cheddar, if that matters.
I've never had a serious mold allergy before, but the apartment we've been living in for a year has some serious ventilation and moisture problems, so it's possible I've developed one. I'm definitely getting myself to an allergist to find out for sure, because I really don't want to ever go through this again if I can help it.
I washed my face and brushed my teeth as suggested, and spent about an hour in the bathroom with the shower turned all the way to hot, sipping a steaming cup of tea, coughing and blowing my nose like crazy. I'm not sure if it was the steam or the time or both, but I'm feeling mostly better now. Well, everything is super raw and sore, but I'm no longer an out-of-control mucous factory. The whole world still smells vaguely atrocious.
I did eventually get back to cooking, using the new cheese. I made omelettes, but I found it difficult to enjoy. It may be a while before I like cheese again.
posted by WCWedin at 9:47 AM on August 23, 2015
Ammonia seems like a better fit given the suddenness and severity of the onset, I think. There was also a fair bit of burning in my nose in the seconds before my lungs started reacting. Does that make sense? Does mold even produce ammonia? I had no idea. The cheese was sharp cheddar, if that matters.
I've never had a serious mold allergy before, but the apartment we've been living in for a year has some serious ventilation and moisture problems, so it's possible I've developed one. I'm definitely getting myself to an allergist to find out for sure, because I really don't want to ever go through this again if I can help it.
I washed my face and brushed my teeth as suggested, and spent about an hour in the bathroom with the shower turned all the way to hot, sipping a steaming cup of tea, coughing and blowing my nose like crazy. I'm not sure if it was the steam or the time or both, but I'm feeling mostly better now. Well, everything is super raw and sore, but I'm no longer an out-of-control mucous factory. The whole world still smells vaguely atrocious.
I did eventually get back to cooking, using the new cheese. I made omelettes, but I found it difficult to enjoy. It may be a while before I like cheese again.
posted by WCWedin at 9:47 AM on August 23, 2015
Best answer: I am on team "big lungful of fumes", similar to taking a big huff of acetone, formaldehyde, gasoline, ammonia, smoke, bad burning things. The primary treatment is fresh air, and if you are a healthy person with no lung damage or asthma that is probably the end of it, though you may feel sub-optimal for a few hours while your mucous membranes forgive you and recover and stand down from the alert state they're now in. But this is what they're supposed to do when you get fumed.
Ideally you've got someone else around to keep an eye on you and make sure your lips and fingernails (under the nail) aren't getting too pale, but I don't think cheese alone is really much of a threat.
If you've got some saline spray or a neti pot that might calm your nose and sinuses some.
Antihistamine, brush teeth, shower can't hurt. You might swish with warm salt water too, to calm the mucous membranes in your mouth that seem to be especially offended. (If that doesn't work, you can try swishing with a shot of oil, olive or vegetable or coconut, as some compounds are oil-soluble rather than water. To complete the trifecta, swish with vodka or mouthwash.)
posted by Lyn Never at 9:51 AM on August 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
Ideally you've got someone else around to keep an eye on you and make sure your lips and fingernails (under the nail) aren't getting too pale, but I don't think cheese alone is really much of a threat.
If you've got some saline spray or a neti pot that might calm your nose and sinuses some.
Antihistamine, brush teeth, shower can't hurt. You might swish with warm salt water too, to calm the mucous membranes in your mouth that seem to be especially offended. (If that doesn't work, you can try swishing with a shot of oil, olive or vegetable or coconut, as some compounds are oil-soluble rather than water. To complete the trifecta, swish with vodka or mouthwash.)
posted by Lyn Never at 9:51 AM on August 23, 2015 [3 favorites]
Out of curiosity — you all recommended a hot shower, but for me if I've gotten allergic (or even just a skin/throat irritation) heat can make my histamines go into overdrive, and I tend to go with ice or (if needed) a cold shower to calm the situation down. Was the heat in the hopes of killing any potential germs?
posted by rafaella gabriela sarsaparilla at 10:20 AM on August 23, 2015
posted by rafaella gabriela sarsaparilla at 10:20 AM on August 23, 2015
For the humidity. I don't think anyone was suggesting the OP boil themself.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:18 AM on August 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Lyn Never at 11:18 AM on August 23, 2015 [2 favorites]
No, heat loosens the mucus, which makes it easier to cough up and/or blow out your nose. It also can help relax throat muscles if you've been coughing until the muscles ache. If you naturally have thinner mucus, cold is probably more helpful as it reduces the tissue swelling.
The mucus bothers me more than the swollen membranes when I'm having allergies, so I'm always after heat to thin the mucus. But my toddler who has my same hayfever, being tiny, is very bothered by the swelling because his airways are proportionately tiny. So for him, cold drinks and cold air and antihistamines. For me, hot showers and hot tea and mucinex.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:20 AM on August 23, 2015
The mucus bothers me more than the swollen membranes when I'm having allergies, so I'm always after heat to thin the mucus. But my toddler who has my same hayfever, being tiny, is very bothered by the swelling because his airways are proportionately tiny. So for him, cold drinks and cold air and antihistamines. For me, hot showers and hot tea and mucinex.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 11:20 AM on August 23, 2015
Duh thank you Eyebrows McGee. That makes sense. If you so much as brought a hot cup of tea in my vicinity when I'm in a state like the OP's, my throat would probably swell closed, so it didn't make sense to me, but sometimes I forget how weird I am : /
posted by rafaella gabriela sarsaparilla at 5:29 AM on August 24, 2015
posted by rafaella gabriela sarsaparilla at 5:29 AM on August 24, 2015
By the way, not saying you DO have an allergy, but 'suddenness' and 'severity of the onset' don't mean it's not!
If I get a big inhale of airborne allergens, that's it, my eyes and nose start prickling, eyes watering and my nose starts running.
Basically, irritative rhinitis (if it was ammonia) and allergic rhinitis can look very similar.
posted by Elysum at 11:05 AM on August 24, 2015
If I get a big inhale of airborne allergens, that's it, my eyes and nose start prickling, eyes watering and my nose starts running.
Basically, irritative rhinitis (if it was ammonia) and allergic rhinitis can look very similar.
posted by Elysum at 11:05 AM on August 24, 2015
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posted by ssg at 8:13 AM on August 23, 2015 [5 favorites]