I am allergic to...

Nurses General Nursing

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We all know there are patients who claim to have some OUTRAGEOUS allergies. Some we have to hold our chuckles back... Post some of the best "allergies" you have ever heard...

1) I had a patient tell my PCA that she was allergic to cocaine when he was registering her. He couldn't bring himself to ask her what happened when she used it. So I go into the room and ask... turns out it gives her a bloody nose and heart palpitations.

2) I am allergic to Tylenol. Why? It doesn't work for me.

3) I am allergic to Benadryl. It makes me really tired.

4) I am allergic to Morphine and Dilaudid, but they gave me Fentanyl last time I was here.

I could keep going all day...

Specializes in LTC/Rehab, Med Surg, Home Care.
Formaldehyde, and no she did not work in a funeral home! She worked in some type of factory that used it in their manufacturing process.

I developed a respiratory sensitivity to formaldehyde in college from the chemistry labs. New buildings still make my chest hurt. There is a lot of residue that's off-gassed for several months in different building materials, carpet in particular. I did a round of steriods and used albuterol inhalers for a while, and it's gotten better over time.

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.

I've actually had nurses look at me funny when I've told them that I am allergic to shrimp. When I was recently hospitalized for elective surgery, one of the nurses made a comment that I don't have to worry about getting shrimp in any of the hospital food. True, but there are new dressings that control bleeding and they are made with---yup, you guessed it---shrimp and crab shells. (BTW, the offending ingredient in these dressings is chitosan.) I also avoid any OTC med made with chondroiton. I have had anaphylactic reactions from eating shrimp, including hives and throat swelling, so I prefer to avoid the stuff and be safe, even if someone thinks I am being silly.

Funny thing is---when I had my surgery, I saw that morphine was listed as an allergy. No, I am not allergic to morphine, but I got horribly nauseated when given morphine after a major surgery several years ago. When I pointed out to the nurse that this was an intolerance rather than an allergy, she begrudgingly changed the information.

I did discover, when I was hospitalized, that I am allergic to Percocet. Constant itching unrelieved by Benadryl and a lovely generalized red rash all over my body. Such fun. Not!

BTW, speaking of strange allergies, my son is allergic to one of our cats but not to the others. This cat has longer hair than the others but my son recently spent a weekend with friends who have long-haired cats and he had no problems. Weird.

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Specializes in CCU & CTICU.
I recently had a pt that had a allergy list of 137 meds.

Wow, that tops my pt with who had about 30 on her list! This poor thing was allergic to a bunch of meds and what seemed like every fruit in existence. And it was a really allergy - anaphylaxis with all of them. I never quite figured out why. Her little brother had a similar list.

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Specializes in medical-surgical.

I had a family member state that I couldn't give her mother meds with applesauce because was allergic to apples. Whatever....

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Specializes in Cath Lab, OR, CPHN/SN, ER.
I had a patient that reported to be allergic to potassium... and another patient who reported to be allergic to insulin. How do their bodies work?!?!? :)

We had a patient the other day who wore a medic alert bracelet that they were allergic to adrenaline (epinephrine) and we were wondering how this could be possible, I looked it up online and appearantly some people are allergic to the preservatives in the medication, not the actual medication itself.

Yep!

My fave has to be the allergy to oxygen. :lol2: Um- I don't think so. Reaction? It dried out their nose.

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Specializes in ortho, hospice volunteer, psych,.

i have had an intolerance to corn and corn products since i was two and was allergy tested for the first time. tiny amount = stuffiness. more = wheeziness and sometimes hives. i take keppra and neurontin for seizures. i've taken generic neurontin for quite a while with no problem and have just switched to generic keppra with no issues. recently, our pharmacy received it's neurontin from a different supplier and that neurontin -- you guessed it -- gave me hives. try explaining that one to a very unsympathetic insurance company! uh ... i've been taking generic neurontin for years and now i can't because it's a different brand with more corn starch in it and i'll need the name brand until they get the other kind in again. yeah. right.

kathy

shar pei mom:paw::paw:

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Specializes in ER.

I have a pt who is very OCD about her HTN. Every month or so, she goes on a BP-bender and takes her blood pressure obsessively. She'll end up either in the ER, at her doctor's office, or both several times a day for about a week. Her allergy list to BP meds is crazy- basically she is allergic to everything but IV labetalol. She'll have it in the ER, acheive an 'acceptable' BP, go home, recheck her BP about a hundred times, and then return w/ c/o 'the med didn't work'. (This is one of the many reasons I am really starting to hate labetalol! The BP rollar-coaster is a hell of a ride.)

The cycle usually ends when someone ticks her off by telling her IV labetalol is short acting and it is impossible for her to live in the ER to get an IV labetalol drip. We'll point out that she needs to come to terms with a BP med she can deal with- and off she goes in a huff.

Until the next month......

One doc was having good luck with ativan- and pt would go home and stay home, presumably unable to get in enough of a tizzy to elevate her BP again. This worked well for a couple of visits.... then she developed an allergy to ativan! :icon_roll

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I have a narcoleptic pt. with obsessive compusive personality disorder who takes dexadrine for the narcolepsy. She refuses the generic. So every three months we have to get a prior authorization for her...it's a total PITA, since she likes to MD shop as well. If the pills do not look the same, she refuses. We are now going through the same thing with her protonix vs. prilosec. She's sure she has some sort of an an allergy to generic medications!

I obviously don't know this person at all, but I do know of at least 2....hmmm maybe 3 folks who have really noticed a difference in the effectiveness of the generic Dexedrine vs the name brand (they take it for ADHD).

I've been told that while it's true that the drug itself is the same.....the fillers/binders aren't, and sometimes can effect how the drug is metabolized. I assume that it's possible to be allergic to one of those different fillers/binders as well.

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I once had a patient tell me they were allergic to male nurses.....he was a male! i am unsure if he was joking because he sounded dead serious and i just smiled and he said "No...really i am." He ended up being incredibly inappropriate to me and the other young nurses. I pretty much told him that will not tolerated here and i will not risk my career. I was afraid he would tell someone something that did not happen!!! i traded him with a male nurse and he did just fine.....he didnt get hives or stop breathing on us. :-)

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Specializes in LTC, Acute Care.
I obviously don't know this person at all, but I do know of at least 2....hmmm maybe 3 folks who have really noticed a difference in the effectiveness of the generic Dexedrine vs the name brand (they take it for ADHD).

I've been told that while it's true that the drug itself is the same.....the fillers/binders aren't, and sometimes can effect how the drug is metabolized. I assume that it's possible to be allergic to one of those different fillers/binders as well.

I've heard this with name-brand Ritalin and its generic. I personally have taken both Ritalin and its generic for ADHD and haven't noticed a difference, but this is apparently true for others.

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My mother in law is "allergic" to beef... but not veal. She thinks she's allergic to beef because she made something with ground beef that was really greasy and it made her feel queasy. Veal is still ok.

My mom, an RT, also got a patient who was allergic to oxygen. He was wearing a nonrebreather when he told her this. :icon_roll

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I've actually had nurses look at me funny when I've told them that I am allergic to shrimp. When I was recently hospitalized for elective surgery, one of the nurses made a comment that I don't have to worry about getting shrimp in any of the hospital food. True, but there are new dressings that control bleeding and they are made with---yup, you guessed it---shrimp and crab shells. (BTW, the offending ingredient in these dressings is chitosan.) I also avoid any OTC med made with chondroiton. I have had anaphylactic reactions from eating shrimp, including hives and throat swelling, so I prefer to avoid the stuff and be safe, even if someone thinks I am being silly.

moogie, thank you for posting that! it never crossed my mind (to consider how those incredients might cause a reaction in seafood/shrimp-allergic patients)! always learnin' here.

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