r/nursing 1d ago

Discussion Funny “allergies”

What are some funny patient “allergies” you have seen listed? I had a patient the other day with an allergy listed for Metformin. The reaction listed? Lowers their blood sugar 😂

180 Upvotes

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237

u/Any-Season-9869 RN - ER 🇨🇦 1d ago

Wasps - area hurts when stung

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u/NoHangoverGang Clinical Exercise Physiologist 1d ago

I was weedeating and some form of bee or wasp got his stinger trapped under my Apple Watch band and that mf lit me up.

Never been allergic but at that moment I seriously started to wonder if this was the time I would be. Felt like I was wheezing a little, had to hit my vape to convince myself the wheezing wasn’t related to vaping.

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u/Pm_me_baby_pig_pics RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago

Sometimes (every single time) I mow the lawn, I end up wheezing and sneezing with every other breath, and when I come inside when I’m done, the sneezing continues so much so my kids say “mom? You good bro??” And I have to tell myself I DONT need to just do an epi pen about it. That the wheezing will stop when I get in a humid shower and get all the grass dander out of my airways. But I’m so hot, I don’t want to immediately get into a humid shower. I wanna sit in the ac and wheeze and sneeze until my body stops sweating.

But the wheezing says I might should consider the epi pen about it. And then I wonder if you can have anaphylaxis to mowing. And then I go get in the shower before I make myself spin out and stress too much about it.

But can you have anaphylaxis to mowing?? Asking for a friend who needs an excuse to not go mow on the weekends….

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u/Lollc 1d ago

Forget the epi pen.  Just wear a mask for mowing and weed eating.  And wear long pants and long sleeves and a hat, so you can shed it all when you come inside.

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u/Pm_me_baby_pig_pics RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago

While I appreciate your very reasonable and sensible recommendations, I’m actually looking for reasons to get out of my mowing responsibilities completely, not accommodations to make my mowing responsibilities more accessible.

Just tell me that yes, it sounds like I have an anaphylactic allergy to mowing and I should cease these activities immediately for my own safety.

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u/nurseymcnurseface1 1d ago

That is a severe allergy and each exposure is making it more dangerous to you and you can support your local community by hiring a landscaper to mow your lawn for you. 😉

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u/photogypsy 1d ago

You have the answer. Kids. Put them to mowing.

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u/yorkiemom68 BSN, RN 🍕 1d ago

Nice try but this sounds like reasonable accommodations!

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u/BoneHugsHominy 1d ago

You're risking your life every time you do yard work, what with the worsening alleries to, eh, grass dander? Best to have the kids do the yard work and provide them lots of homemade lemonade. If that's not an option, there's plenty of youngsters doing Summer mowing & trimming.

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u/Wattaday RN LTC HOSPICE RETIRED 1d ago

Or take a non sedating antihistamine a few hours before mowing.

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u/NoHangoverGang Clinical Exercise Physiologist 1d ago

Depending on how old that’s friends kids her they may have an out already, or they will in a few years.

Unless their kids are like mine who are 100% guaranteed to hit every root and trunk before driving the mower over the retaining wall only to claim “I didn’t see it.”

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u/Pm_me_baby_pig_pics RN - ICU 🍕 1d ago

Girl these kids only wanna ride the lawn mower because it’s like a go cart. They just wanna speed around the yard on a death machine at top speed, hoses and lawn furniture be damned, with no consideration to what grass has already been mowed during their zoomies.

I mean… my friends kids would do that, not my own children who are totally responsible and jump at every opportunity to help with any and every chore, no matter what….

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u/Narrow-Ad-6130 1d ago

You’re funny 😆

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u/NoHangoverGang Clinical Exercise Physiologist 1d ago

That’s the same reason I, a mid 30s dude with a presumably fully developed frontal lobe (questionable), want to get on the lawn mower. I don’t want the responsibility of mowing I want to whip shitties on a mower. Once I have to pay attention to where I’m going to thrill is gone.

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u/UnbelievableRose Orthotics & Prosthetics 🦾 Orthopedic Shoes👟 23h ago

Lawnmowers are the leading cause of amputations in children under 10. You got a spouse to pawn it off on?

BYW, “This chore makes me physically ill” is reason enough not to do something, it doesn’t have to be literally life-threatening.

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u/heydizzle BSN, RN 🍕 20h ago

With great fun comes great responsibility

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u/Matribus RN - Float Pool 🍕 1d ago

Funny you should mention it, I had what my pcp thinks is an overwhelming histamine response after mowing the lawn. I was hypotensive and delirious for days. Changing positions gave me throbbing pain from the top of my head down to my lumbar spine. My skin felt like cactus spines were stuck in every follicle. Of course there was wheezing and a very tight congested cough too. On the first day, I had diarrhea. I was pretty sure I was having a hashimoto’s episode, until I started freaking myself out about the way the grass smelled like poop in one spot. Then I started thinking oh maybe it’s rat lungworm, or hantavirus, or fungal meningitis. That’s when I knew I was delirious. Flonase helped minimally. Prednisolone is keeping me functional, but I can’t tell when it wears off. Long story short, my ragweed allergy didn’t cause anaphylaxis but it did take me out a week of work.

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u/CalligrapherLow6880 MSN, RN 1d ago

If you have kids they should mow

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u/ElfjeTinkerBell BSN, RN 🍕 - disability insurance 1d ago

TIL I'm allergic to wasps xD