While taking medical advice from the internet isn’t always the best idea, there are some instances where medical knowledge shared on social media might be a good thing to tuck into your back pocket and use down the line.
For example, Cody Jacob on TikTok shared a valuable piece of information on how to differentiate eczema from anaphylaxis, based on his own, unfortunate, real-life events.
Cody had been having a rough winter when it came to his skin. A couple of times a week what he thought was his eczema would flare up, giving him a rash and hives and making his body temperature heat up.
He decided to change his skincare routine in hopes of rectifying his “eczema” flare-ups, which worked for a while until those flare-ups started all over again multiple times a week. Sick of dealing with it, he finally went to his doctor, who panicked upon hearing his symptoms and sent him straight to an allergist. The allergist, who also panicked, told him that no, eczema does not usually feel this way, and he had actually been experiencing symptoms of anaphylactic shock.
Cody and his audience were each able to see the humor in an otherwise very terrifying situation. Some people even said they’d had similar experiences of their own. One commenter found out they were allergic to the cortisol boost humans get from waking up in the morning, and another thought the same symptoms were just Bell’s palsy and acne flare-ups. Most people were just impressed by Cody’s composure after casually going into anaphylactic shock three times a week.
Despite Cody’s light demeanor and optimistic attitude, anaphylaxis is a very serious medical condition and you should go to the hospital immediately if you experience any of its symptoms. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms include hives, itching, low blood pressure, constriction of airways, vomiting, or fainting. Anaphylaxis is a severe reaction to allergens, and though most allergy symptoms aren’t life-threatening, anaphylaxis releases chemicals that send the body into shock and requires treatment with epinephrine or an Epi-pen.
Cody has yet to share what exactly was causing his thrice-weekly anaphylaxis but said that he’s already had some testing done and would hopefully be on medication soon to stop it from happening again, or at least not as frequently.
Let him be an example to anyone who may get randomly hot, itchy, and unable to breathe that now is the time to take your medical advice from the internet for once and head straight for the hospital.