I (F20) don't have any known allergies except to some makeup products that I know to avoid.
On Sunday night I was wearing makeup to a dinner (which I had booked off work to attend) and I felt my face get hot and start burning.
When I got home I took my makeup off and went to sleep without any issues. The next morning I woke up looking like Sloth from the Goonies. My eyelids were so fucking swollen, my entire face was itchy.
I've never such a bad reaction so I tried waiting it out. I didn't want to call in because the manager working would have tried to write me up, I had already booked off the day before. I started going out the door to drive to work and my entire face was hot, my tongue started to tingle.
I was so lightheaded when I was driving, my chest was really tight and my tongue was still tingling.
I parked in the work parking lot and tried to call my mom to drive me to the hospital. I was shaking like a leaf, I called my supervisor and he came out to drive me to the hospital.
He told me not to worry about getting written up by that manager, because I've been at the company for long enough that it wouldn't do anything to me. Plus, he told me I needed to be more selfish.
At the hospital I needed a whole cup of antihistamines to bring the swelling down. They said it wasn't a full blown anaphylactic reaction, but since we don't know what I'm allergic too I have to carry an epipen. I also have a staph infection on my arm that I most likely picked up from work.
This whole thing just makes me think, how is it that work can have such a big monopoly over our lives and health? Work, and work related stress contribute to an array of physical and mental health problems— and yet so many of us live in fear of having to book days off to deal with those issues.
[P.S: Please do not encourage me to quit my job. I love my clients and the work I do, and this is the only place that accommodates my school schedule. I'm going to find a new job when I graduate next fall]