I was having a coffee on my way to do some work on the weekend. I hadn't eaten anything yet that day and as I finished my coffee, the thought entered my head that I was having an allergic reaction. At this point, I put down my newspaper and realized that I was hot and tingling in my extremities (head, arms, legs). I put down my coffee and went into the bathroom to look in the mirror. Much to my shock, my entire face was swollen and bright red. My lips were especially swollen and I could feel my tongue starting to swell. I decided to go to work anyway, but fortunately, I had to pass the hospital about 5 minutes away. I was feeling much worse at this point and went into emergency. As soon as the Triage nurse saw me, I was marched into acute care and given an injection of epinephrine and some other drugs. I have had two bouts of cancer in my life, and have had minor incidents of hives that went away quickly, but this is a major escalation. I have no idea what I have developed a sensitivity to, but it is very serious. Do not make the mistake I made and please go to the hospital the minute something like this starts; I could have experienced serious consequences if I had followed my first instinct and gone to work.

Melbourne, Australia: At the end of a 10K run, I was attacked by a swarm of bees. The individual stings did not hurt too much, but after the attack, I walked about 200 meters, then I collapsed. I was nauseated and dizzy, and I also had low blood pressure. The ambulance was called, and I spent the night in the hospital. After the fact, we counted 45 stings, some of which developed into huge welts! Now I've got an Epipen because a single sting might trigger anaphylaxis in the future. This was not a fun Saturday.

I am 57 and have never been allergic to anything in my life. I have asthma and take Advair twice a day. Other than that, I am in perfect health. Last September my husband fixed me breakfast in bed, eggs, toast and hot tea. About an hour after I finished eating I became nauseated and got this strange tingling feeling and felt a bit warm. I asked my husband if I had a fever and he said no. I started feeling really, really hot, started coughing and was having a bit of a problem breathing so I called my husband back into the bedroom and to ask him again if I had a fever. As soon as he walked back into the room he noticed that I had turned blood red and my eyes were starting to swell and have bumps on and under them. By the time I got to the closest place, an ER clinic, I was blood red, looked like 2nd degree burns, my eyes were swollen shut and my throat was almost closed down. They took me back ASAP, gave me a shot of steroids, Benadryl by mouth and many breathing treatments. They transferred me to the hospital ER where I was watched for several hours because they were afraid of another occurrence. I went home and was fine.

Over the past 2 months I have had anaphylactic shock from taking penicillin. Very scary. Within 20 minutes of taking the drug, I would begin itching everywhere, then my breathing would become erratic. Within 5 minutes of the reaction, my blood pressure would drop and I would barely be able to keep my head up. Very scary! The first time I waited it out, but after my research, I will never do that again. If it ever happens to you a first time, call 911 and get to the ER. Obviously, the professionals can tell you what means to follow in the future. Don't play with fate!

My left hand begins to swell, then my top lip on one side begins to swell. It moves to the other side of my lip. This has happen twice in a month. My left ear was swollen this time too. I haven't done anything different. I haven't eaten anything different.

Since having my 2nd child in September 09 I have devolved several allergies to many different things, it all started when she was 2 weeks old I ate a new recipe of which in 10mins I had a severe reaction, it started with sneezing, then itching. I rang the pharmacist and they said if lips swell ring the an ambulance, 2 minutes after putting the phone down I was blue, my husband rushed me to the hospital and I can't really remember the rest although I was pumped with adrenalin and steroids. I have since had allergy testing, and have recently had another bad reaction again being admitted to hospital. My only advice is watch what u eat, always carry medication and an epi pen and don't panic.

Over the past couple of years, once in a while I will wake with a scratchy throat. Next thing I know my sinus is completely blocked and my eyes are red and puffy. Sometimes I will have diarrhea with these symptoms. This only happens at night when I am asleep. I have no idea what could be causing this.