I'm hating every minute of this.
I used latex gloves last weekend and discovered I have a latex allergy. I've been suffering since then. Dealing with a latex allergy suck. I thought I'd share what I've felt the past several days.
Latex Gloves from a Resin Pigment Set
My Dad bought several art and craft supplies during the Amazon Prime sale a couple weeks ago. One of the items he gifted me was a 24 Colors Resin Pigment set that came with five pairs of gloves.
Last Sunday, I decided to test my new resin pigments. I setup my camera and started recording. I planned on uploading a review video and blog post of the new product.
When I pulled a pair of gloves from a clear package, I didn't give it any thought. I put the oversized gloves on and began my resin coaster craft. I probably wore the gloves for about forty minutes before taking them off.
I washed my hands immediately after taking the gloves off, as I always do when I wear any gloves while crafting.
Sunday Night
Maybe four hours after I removed the gloves, my neck and chest started feeling itchy. I saw small red spots on my neck but didn't think much of it.
Monday
My large dog, Shadow, woke me in the early morning hours. He wouldn't stop poking my face and staring at me. It didn't take long for me to realize I was swollen and very itchy. Hives and rashes developed all over my body. I couldn't close my hands to make a fist.
I took several cold showers during the day to relieve some the itching. It helped for about an hour before the itching returned.
I also draped a cold, wet washcloth over an area of my body that was most itchy at the time. This also helped relieve the itchiness for a while.
I avoided itching any part of my body and dealt with the discomfort of the swelling, hives, and rashes I had.
I couldn't sleep well that night.
Tuesday
Some of the swelling, hives, and rashes disappeared in the morning, but returned every few hours. The swelling of my face, neck, hands, and feet remained constant throughout the day.
In fact, my face, hands, and feet were more swollen than the day prior. My inner lips and tongue began to swell. Because my face, inner lips, and tongue were swollen, I could only eat soup during the day. Fortunately, I didn't lose my appetite. I also encountered no issues with drinking or breathing.
By late morning, my hands and feet started hurting. I couldn't bend my fingers or toes. Any time I tried to use my hands or walk on my feet, I only felt pain. When I didn't use or move my hands and feet, they would throb periodically.
I started taking antihistamine medication early afternoon. I also started having low-grade fevers with the highest temperature of the day reaching 100.4°F. The fevers came and went throughout the rest of this day.
It didn't take long for me to start feeling dehydrated. I drank frequently because I didn't want my experience to get worse.
I took several cold showers during the day prior to the evening hours to relieve some the itching. Again, it helped for about an hour before the itching returned.
I used a cold, wet washcloth for my hands. I felt the most pain in my hands on this day. The washcloth simply helped me tolerate the pain during the worst of times.
Unfortunately, things got worse later in the evening. Being hypoglycemic (not diabetic), my glucose level dropped significantly. I couldn't stop shaking. I didn't have chills, but I shook and trembled a lot through the remainder of the day.
I also started craving salty foods. I've been diagnosed with iron deficiency years ago, and I figured that was why I craved something salty.
I also couldn't stand upright for longer than a minute or two before I started feeling faint. Even when I sat still, I felt like I was falling over. I ended up staying on the couch over night because I didn't have the strength to walk the twenty feet to my bedroom.
Once again, I couldn't sleep well that night. When I did sleep, I had nightmares. Probably a side effect of the medication. Overnight, my hands and feet would go numb.
Wednesday
The swelling of my face, neck, inner lips, tongue, hands, and feet were still present through the morning. The pain and itchiness were constant in my hands, feet, and tongue. However, there was no sign of hives or rashes early in the day.
The low-grade fevers continued throughout the day with the highest temperature of the day reaching 100.8°F. I started having chills this day, but that ended later in the evening.
I was finally able to open my mouth wide enough to eat solid foods but doing so was uncomfortable because of the pain on the sides of my tongue. My throat also started to feel sore. I drank frequently throughout the day to keep from getting dehydrated and irritating my throat further.
I followed one of my parents' old 'treatment' of soaking my feet in warm, salty water with peroxide mixed in. At first, my feet burned when I placed it in the concoction. After a few minutes though, it felt refreshing. I soaked my feet for about a half hour. It seemed to help relieve the pain and itchiness I felt in my feet.
I tried the same 'treatment' for my hands, but it didn't work in the slightest. My hands were itchy and painful before I soaked them in the concoction. They burned while they soaked for about a half hour. They were again itchy and painful when I removed them.
Because the antihistamine medication made me drowsy, I fell in and out of sleep throughout the day. I don't normally get drowsy from medication, but I guess my body decided I needed to rest a lot during this time. Because I overslept, I started developing a minor headache.
My hands and feet numbed after a short while when I was immobile. Every hour or so I'd get up and walk around the house despite the pain in my feet. I also shook my hands often. Unfortunately, I still couldn't bend my fingers and I couldn't use my hands. I couldn't grip anything. Something as simple as drinking from a glass became a challenge that required much of my focus.
In the evening, the swelling of my inner lips, feet, and face were completely gone. I just had a couple puffy droops under my eyes. The pain in my feet were non-existent. Few hives and rashes developed on my neck, chest, stomach, and arms.
I went to bed after taking my last dose of medication for the day. I slept most of the night, but the nightmares continued.
Today
The swelling of my tongue was completely gone. I no longer had a sore throat, but I couldn't speak when I first woke. I lost my voice briefly this morning. After a couple hours, I was able to speak, but with a crackling voice. I took it as a sign to be a witch once again this Halloween.
On a more serious note, I felt significantly better. The puffy droops below my eyes, hives, and rashes are gone. The headache is also gone. They've yet to return currently (approximately 11:30 PM CST).
I still cannot close my hands completely, but I can at least now get a grip. I shook them periodically throughout the day when they became numb. Typing this blog post also kept my hands from numbing, so I'll probably spend tomorrow typing or playing video games to keep them active.
My hands and neck are the only swollen parts of my body left. Considering what I felt this past week, I'm hopeful the swelling will go away completely in another few days or so.
There were itchy spots that developed throughout the day, but they were minor and disappeared with time and patience. Currently, my lower back is itchy, but not enough to irritate me.
My body temperature hit a high of 99.3°F. Except for my periodically numbing hands and itchiness, I feel normal. Well, I was craving salty foods once again today.
I haven't taken my medication yet, but I'm hoping for a full night's rest. Hopefully, I don't have more nightmares.
My Suggestion and Thoughts
My suggestion for you: If you have a latex allergy, or are not sure if you have it, DO NOT wear gloves if you cannot determine if it contains latex!
If there's no indication of whether the gloves contain latex, your best bet is to throw it away. I'm not a doctor, but I'm learning from my own mistake, and I hope you learn from my mistake as well.
One more suggestion: DO NOT brush your tongue with an electric toothbrush if it's swollen and in pain!
This past week was challenging to deal with. It started with me being uncomfortable to feeling a great deal of pain. Fortunately, the antihistamine medication is working wonders for me.
I wish I had calamine or something like it to help relieve some of the itchiness. The itchiness was almost unbearable on Monday and Tuesday. The pain that developed on Tuesday and continued through Wednesday was enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Fortunately, "I'm not dead... I feel fine. I think I'll go for a walk." Actually I did go for a short walk this afternoon and felt happy.
What's Next?
I'm going to continue taking it easy for the next few days. Hopefully, things don't turn around and get worse for me.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
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