Best listed "allergy" yet

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boone95 said:
"fat-free food"
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PMSL :laugh: i think we're all allergic to that.

these days i've found myself sniffing my food i guess when you have bad lagsana thats what happens...
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From a trauma patient with stab to the chest:

Knives.

When I asked if there was anything else, he said "guns". Thus proving that trauma is a recurrent disease...
 
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I'm friends with a lot of hippies (met my gf in a drum circle) and nothing gives me more of a headache than folk griping, with passion and pride, about their self-diagnosed gluten "allergy" They've all had push back from their PCP's and corner me in high hopes that they've finally found somebody who will believe/understand/congraduate them on their specialness.

-makes me gain weight
-gives siezures
-causes depression
-allergic to gluten if I don't drink enough water
-allergic to generic store-brand bread
-allergic to everything but homemade bread
-allergic to white bread but not whole wheat

I could go on . . .
 
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In that case I'm allergic to my mother... Chroic headaches come on for days but yet if I'm in hospital, another persons house or something I'm all good. I'll be all good when I have $3000 and can move out!!!
 
GeneralVeers said:
That's not an allergy. The reason this is important, is that often these meds are medically necessary and we seriously limit ourselves if we confuse the non-harmful "reaction" with a potentially serious allergy.
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Clearly, that's why I listed it in this thread (and by "my allergy" I meant the pt I posted about having an "epinephrine allergy").
 
Saw this one last night

"Cold Water"

When I asked the patient why she explained it was because her teeth hurt every time she drank it. Yikes.
 
UnderwaterDoc said:
"Cold Water"
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Half my family (and me) actually have this legit, cold-induced urticaria. When we get too cold too fast like with water everyone breaks out in full body hives for the next 30 min.
Benadryl keeps me skiing just fine.
Never been dumb enough to list it as an allergy.
 
xaelia said:
Listed in the EMR: "Sea Salt"

...how is sea salt significantly different from regular salt?

...and how is that even relevant to medical care?
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Just in case you were planning to give them a nautical saline bolus, I suppose. ;)
 
Redrox said:
I'm friends with a lot of hippies (met my gf in a drum circle) and nothing gives me more of a headache than folk griping, with passion and pride, about their self-diagnosed gluten "allergy" They've all had push back from their PCP's and corner me in high hopes that they've finally found somebody who will believe/understand/congraduate them on their specialness.

-makes me gain weight
-gives siezures
-causes depression
-allergic to gluten if I don't drink enough water
-allergic to generic store-brand bread
-allergic to everything but homemade bread
-allergic to white bread but not whole wheat

I could go on . . .
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I've encountered these folks, and I'm not even in medicine yet. They stand out to me as being particularly annoying, as I'm a celiac who actually requires this diet, deals with the inconveniences it can often present, and spent years of my life in pain before proper diagnosis. In Whole Foods selecting my gluten-free bread:

Person with gluten "allergy": "Oh, you have a gluten allergy too?"
Me: "It's not an allergen, and I hope that isn't the last of the Udi's gluten-free white bread in your cart." :mad:

Udi's makes the best GF bread...
 
Definitely a huge disconnect in our little slice of the medical world between us and our pts on this one.

I mean, as far as "allergies" go...if it is not anaphylactic...I'm really not worried. Patients do seem to freak out at rashes, flushed feelings, etc. and I can understand that...they didn't go to school to differentiate.

However, what is frustrating as >€£^%£ is that when I take the time (sometimes a lot of time) to try and educate and perhaps make their lives easier not having to worry, they blow me off as if I am some kind of voodoo master because a lot of times their schlock PCP is PROMOTING their rather benign "reaction" as a life threatening thing.
This is also mixed with the culture these days of patients thinking that because they can read and type in a search on google that they can discard out opinions.
Ask questions, YES, please do...I love to help and educate! But if what I say doesnt jive with what whatever WikiMD says...then "i'm wrong"???




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TrumpetDoc said:
Definitely a huge disconnect in our little slice of the medical world between us and our pts on this one.

I mean, as far as "allergies" go...if it is not anaphylactic...I'm really not worried. Patients do seem to freak out at rashes, flushed feelings, etc. and I can understand that...they didn't go to school to differentiate.

However, what is frustrating as >€£^%£ is that when I take the time (sometimes a lot of time) to try and educate and perhaps make their lives easier not having to worry, they blow me off as if I am some kind of voodoo master because a lot of times their schlock PCP is PROMOTING their rather benign "reaction" as a life threatening thing.
This is also mixed with the culture these days of patients thinking that because they can read and type in a search on google that they can discard out opinions.
Ask questions, YES, please do...I love to help and educate! But if what I say doesnt jive with what whatever WikiMD says...then "i'm wrong"???


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I usually take at least 5 minutes of every office visit to emphasize how important it is for patients with an ace cough to never let anyone give them lisinopril. That leaves me plenty of time to convince patients to take the medications I've actually prescribed. If I don't PROMOTE the life threatening diarrhea caused by erythromycin, my patients may end up seeing some schlock ER DOC.
 
I would think you would know I, nor anyone here, would be making light talking about REAL problems.
It's the benign things we are obviously talking about... Read the thread...
Offended by the PCP comment?
In the spirit of trying to clean things up I will take back... But not apologize as there are plenty of times this is apt... To ANY specialty.
And just bc you or I practice real medicine, there is no denying the preponderance of schlocky medicine out their.






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one of my peds patients was allergic to mercury, cinnamon, and any medication >500mg dosage (be it antibiotics, his seizure medication, etc). According to the mom, the allergy to high medication doses runs in the family.
 
Half my family (and me) actually have this legit, cold-induced urticaria. When we get too cold too fast like with water everyone breaks out in full body hives for the next 30 min.
Benadryl keeps me skiing just fine.
Never been dumb enough to list it as an allergy.
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Wow, I wonder what would happen if someone ever tried a hypothermia protocol on you.
 
dally1025 said:
one of my peds patients was allergic to mercury, cinnamon, and any medication >500mg dosage (be it antibiotics, his seizure medication, etc). According to the mom, the allergy to high medication doses runs in the family.
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Some of these are laughable (the high doses), but others are just head-scratchers. What made this Mom think her kid had a Mercury allergy? Did he crack open a thermometer and drink the contents? Since organic Mercury is highly toxic, and not included in any medications or foods, why is she concerned that we might inadvertently expose him to it in the hospital?
 
"Antifreeze, applesauce..."

Followed by a gigantic list of more allergies.
 
GeneralVeers said:
Some of these are laughable (the high doses), but others are just head-scratchers. What made this Mom think her kid had a Mercury allergy? Did he crack open a thermometer and drink the contents? Since organic Mercury is highly toxic, and not included in any medications or foods, why is she concerned that we might inadvertently expose him to it in the hospital?
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My guess would be she heard that there could be mercury in some vaccines, and since vaccines cause autism :rolleyes: she is trying to protect her kid from the temptation doctors may have to vaccinate the kid without consent. Anyone have a better theory? ;)
 
theseeker4 said:
My guess would be she heard that there could be mercury in some vaccines, and since vaccines cause autism :rolleyes: she is trying to protect her kid from the temptation doctors may have to vaccinate the kid without consent. Anyone have a better theory? ;)
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The mom was one of those homeopathic folks... She was treating her kids seizures with some sort of unknown sublingual drops that cannot be within 3ft of electrical outlets/cell phones or it will be deactivated. She kept it in 2 lunchboxes underneath the kid's bed in the middle of the room. She had no idea what she was giving her kid yet balked at the idea of us giving her Keppra for her kids seizures.
 
DrMom said:
Allergy to erythromycin
Reaction: it makes my eyes dilate
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:laugh:

No chance that her eyes were dilated during an eye exam after which she was given the erythromycin...
 
I had a patient last night with 74 listed medication allergies -- all with reactions from severe rash to anaphylaxis.
 
Allergic to Pro-Air but can use Ventolin. Guess which one wasn't covered by medicaid? They're both albuterol!!! There was no talking sense into this patient so told her to see her PCP for prior auth.
 
Cats

"Genetics" (98% sure they meant generics - although it's not like that makes it so much better)

Aspirin (First med on their home medications list? You guessed it, Aspirin)

Vanco - "What happens when you take Vanco?"
"How would I know, I don't take medications I am allergic to!"
"..."
 
My favorite was from a known drug seeker in an ER I was shadowing in:

"Dr. X, you KNOW I'm allergic to toradol. I normally get ten (of Demerol) and 25 (of phenergan), but last time you gave me that ketorolac and it worked wonders!"


We left the room shaking our heads.
 
TrumpetDoc said:
True to the above. Lots of potential real allergies to the adulterated or even simple preservatives etc in meds.

I never blow off allergies, but I do ten to u quite as to the the actual reaction.

Iodine! Is another.


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Oooh, I found out the hard way I was allergic to iodine lo these many years ago when I had a CT scan with iodine contrast.

Nothing like having anaphylaxis on the CT table, and being raced to the ED, and your mother can tell it's you because of the coughing, and freaks out when your throat closes up enough that you can't cough anymore.

That's one of those experiences that made the list of Top Ten Things That Have Happened To Me That Sucked Out Loud.
 
Katydid said:
Oooh, I found out the hard way I was allergic to iodine lo these many years ago when I had a CT scan with iodine contrast.

Nothing like having anaphylaxis on the CT table, and being raced to the ED, and your mother can tell it's you because of the coughing, and freaks out when your throat closes up enough that you can't cough anymore.

That's one of those experiences that made the list of Top Ten Things That Have Happened To Me That Sucked Out Loud.
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I'm sorry that happened to you, but please be aware that you cannot be allergic to iodine as it is too small to provoke an antigenic response. Such an allergy would not be compatible with life, since iodine is part of thyroid hormone. Finally, CT contrast reactions are anaphylactoid, not anaphylactic, and having had one before does not predict having one in the future.
 
pseudoknot said:
I'm sorry that happened to you, but please be aware that you cannot be allergic to iodine as it is too small to provoke an antigenic response. Such an allergy would not be compatible with life, since iodine is part of thyroid hormone. Finally, CT contrast reactions are anaphylactoid, not anaphylactic, and having had one before does not predict having one in the future.
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:thumbup:
 
"communion wafers"

if someone had a anaphylactic reaction from jesus christ, woud you even bother with acls meds?
 
Benadryl, sulfa, and NyQuil all cause me to experience something between hives and erythema multiforme, there is some debate between the doctors as to what my actual relation is. Thankfully, I've yet to have any airway involvement, unfortunately my "spots" are both quite itchy but really quite painful and last between 7-10 days.

I do feel like a complete ***** when I say NyQuil and benadryl for my allergies, and I know they think I am a ***** for saying it, but its the best I can figure. I asked the allergist if it was just the the dye, and he said he didn't know. Needless to say I avoid red 40 like the plague now.
 
Had more than a few patients who were apparently allergic to soap & water......
 
allergy: Codeine

"what happened when you took codeine?"

"EVERYTHING BUT DEATH!"

"so... you stopped breathing?"

"well, not quite. but I did have diarrhea and a rash."
 
my favourite...i was doing a mission run (aboriginal mission) checking the kids and elders when one of the teens asked me why his nose hurt so much and i asked if he huffed " nah man don't do that ****" so i checked his nose for signs of huffing and let him go.....caught him huffing behind the local store
 
I had a VA patient that had a documented allergy to obecalp. Yes, that's placebo spelled backwards.
 
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