Scary -

[mspete]

Two weeks ago at about 8:00 pm I was eating a tangerine and noticed that my tongue felt like it had a sore place on it. I thought perhaps I had hurt it on my denture. I removed the denture and that did not help. I continued to be very aware that my tongue felt "strange". Yes, I know, it is my tongue that gets me into a lot of trouble! About ten o'clock my tongue was so swollen I could barely speak - no other symptoms. I called the emergency nurse line for help. She told me to go to the emergency room "NOW"! This was about 11:00 pm. I called our son who lives closeby and he drove us to the emergency room. After reviewing my medications I was diagnosed as having an alergic reaction to lisinopril - a blood pressure medicine I have been taking for 5+ years! I was given benadryl and steroids (I don't know what else" at the hospital, kept until 3:00 am and sent home with instructions to discontinue lisinopril, take benedryl and steroids for the next five day and see my primary doctor within five days. By the next morning 95% of the swelling was gone. I called my primary doctor and my diabetes doctor and was told to discontinue the lisinopril and not take the steroids (these make my glucose levels to soar). I saw my primary doctor yesterday and he told me that it probably was a reaction to the lisinopril! I could not believe that after five years I would have an alergic reaction, but I have to trust my doctor. For now I am not taking any blood pressure meds and will monitor my bp for a month before I see the doctor again.

This was very scary for me because I had never been to the emergency room in my life and have only been in the hospital once and that was when our son was born. Not a bad record for a lady of 70+ years!

As our son drove us home at 3:00 am I teased him that the last time I had been in the hospital I came home with a beautiful and eagerly awaited baby boy.

I knew that alergic reaction are scary and can be fatal, but now I am a true believer!

[Trudy in Illinois]

That is interesting.

[MadClikr]

Allergies are no fun - I'm allergic to so many things, and simple things like eating dinner at a restaurant or the in-laws can be scary if you don't know exactly what is in the food (artificial ingredients), how it was grown (pesticides), what they used to wash the produce (soaps), what they use to clean the counters and dishes (detergents), any fragrances or candle smoke which might be in the air, pets, and whether or not the soap in the bathroom (or even the hand towel for that matter) is safe to use!

I'm really glad you were able to get help before things got too bad. It's wonderful that your son was able to take you to the hospital, and that everything got checked out. Sometimes reactions can happen suddenly, or can continually get worse over time - definitely something to be aware of, and follow a trusted doctor's advice!

[Trudy in Illinois]

Linda,
In stead of being allergic to Lisinopril, could it have been an allergy to what was sprayed on the tangerine or new denture cleaner reacting with the acid in citrus? Tangerines are sprayed with a wax which will get on your hands as you peel them. If you didn't wash your hands very well and/or some of it leached into the tangerine through the peel, that could, also, be the reason. It seems like after 5 years, this was most unusual. I have taken Lisinopril and developed a cough which is one of the side effects to some people. I now take DIOVAN. With some blood pressure medications, eating grapefruit or drinking that juice will cause a reaction and/or decrease the effectiveness of the medication. If you have eaten tangerines in the past and had no reaction, I would investigate this mystery further.

Trudy

[MadClikr]

A lot of fruits and vegetables are sprayed with wax, as well as liquids designed to keep them from molding. These sprays can sometimes leech into the fruit, even through the peel. I know that if I eat citrus which isn't organic, even if it's carefully peeled, I can have reactions similar to what you described.

[mspete]

I had been eating tangerines daily for several days with no problem. I had not changed any thing else in my routine or my diet. Doctors at hospital and my personal doctor said this is really not unusual! I usually have a "cast iron stomach" and can eat almost anything, anytime and combination! I will follow the doctors direction to not take any blood pressure medicine for a while and monitor my blood pressure. I will see him again in a month for a follow.