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

[uitlander]

So no-one got to stab you with an epi-pen. You're no fun...

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd avoid them from now on.

Cobnuts are a type of hazelnut - they're what Americans sometimes call filberts.

Unfortunately once you've had an allergic reaction to one sort of nut, it's possible you can be allergic to other nuts too. I suggest carrying antihistamines with you to be on the safe side, and trying to avoid foods with nuts in where possible.

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

Glad you are a bit recovered, hope it continues.

Hmmm that sounds quite a lot like when I was getting occasional oral allergy syndrome (which is faffsome but often not too serious)

Worth checking with a medic though to make sure it won't go to full blown anaphylaxis?

(FWIW, when I was getting it frequently, I had an epinephrine inhaler to use under the tongue to help with* throat closing sensation. These are over the counter in the US and approximately hospital issue only in the uk, because its either antihistamine or epipen here. And if antihistamines work, and it doesnt look horribly serious then that's what they give you)

*I was never sure if it worked by stopping swelling or just made you so buzzed you didn't feel it any more :-)

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

When Cobnuts Attack! :-O

(Glad it wasn't any worse, at least. Allergies can get scary...)

[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!

[sammason.livejournal.com]

This sounds frightening. I'm glad you didn't go into full anaphylactic shock. Are you sure it's cobnuts in general? or perhaps you just got a bad one.

Now that the crisis is over, you might like a blog post of mine. The comments thread explains the difference between small British hazelnuts and large American cobnuts. http://argylesock.wordpress.com/2012/09/16/tree-of-the-month-hazel/

[sammason.livejournal.com]

Interesting ideas on this thread about throat-closing - that's what led me to get an inhaler recently and now I want to persuade my GP to put it on repeat prescription.

Interesting stuff about food allergy or intolerance too - btw allergy and intolerance aren't the same thing. There's a comm called we_got_guts which is mostly quiet but got chatting today.

[davefish.livejournal.com]

some cobnuts, to find out what they were like.

They sound like they should be a swear word. Which I think that your body agrees with me on.

[rapperaddict.livejournal.com]

So, not content with trying to injure your limbs, you've now decided to go for the 'not being able to breathe' option? THe things people do to avoid having to come to practice... We're going to have to wrap you in cotton wool and feed you on milk and rice.
Glad you're OK though

[fractalgeek.livejournal.com]

Cobnut season! There are orchards around Sevenoaks. They are varieties of hazelnut, but eaten green. I came across a supplier who did cobnut fudge, which was amazing.


Glad you are OK.