Bright eyes and breathless; this is how love feels

[venta]

Well. That was unnecessarily exciting.

I, and a couple of colleagues, went shopping at lunchtime. And hjalfi bought some cobnuts, to find out what they were like.

So after my lunch, I ate a couple of cobnuts[*]. We hadn't realised that they were solid enough to require nutcrackers, so I cracked mine open with my teeth. And they're quite nice - interesting crunchy, juicy texture and a very mild flavour. I decided I quite liked them.

And then I noticed that the roof of my mouth was tingling. And the insides of my ears. And I thought, gosh. That's not ideal. I won't eat any more.

And a few minutes later I could feel a distinct lump-in-the-throat sensation that hadn't been there before. And was feeling a little breathless, and rather tight and wheezy about the lungs. And a bit dizzy.

Which wasn't great. I had told my colleagues this, so they'd have some idea what was going on if I toppled off my chair. As one of the work first aiders, I know perfectly well that allergic reactions weren't covered in our first aid course ;)

Anyway, about 90 minutes later and I'm back to normal (modulo a residual slightly sore throat, and the generally bizarre feelings you get from trying to over-analyse whether you feel ok or not). So, no harm done.

Using the absolutely-100%-reliable diagnosis-by-internet, I'm considering oral allergy syndrome and have filched an anti-histamine from a colleague. However, I suspect the best course of action from now on is "don't eat cobnuts".


[*] Which the internet tells me are the same as hazelnuts. Except these were the fresh kind, with green leaves still wrapping them.

Comments

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

I was going to say that perhaps you had a reaction to the shells and green bits rather than the nut (they're basically fresh hazelnuts) but then you say you get that weird mouth tingle with mixed nuts so maybe it is an aversion to hazelnuts.

I concur with the others, get a check up, and next time, send the cobnuts to me. I love them!

[venta.livejournal.com]

Nice icon :)

Having read up on oral allergy syndrome (short version: the allergy is basically to the pollen that remains on the food, common in hayfever sufferers) I did think perhaps it was the shell and green bits that made it into An Issue rather than a weird mouth tingle you'd forget about immediately. Particularly since I was using my teeth to crack them.

I am kind of disappointed because, although I don't like hazelnuts much, cobnuts did seem pretty nice :(

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Could try opening them by hand and then washing hands and nuts before eating? If residual pollen is the problem.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I could... but I think I'm more inclined just to avoid them, in case :) I've no real evidence that pollen is the problem, only that it sounded plausible.