We recently asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to show us their most ridiculous allergic reactions.
Folks, we’re definitely not making light of severe allergies here. Even if some of these people can look back and laugh now, there's no doubt they were in pain and probably panicking at the time — but we'll let their stories tell you more about all that.
FYI: An allergic reaction can be anything from sneezing or skin rashes to the most serious and fatal reaction, anaphylaxis. Many allergy sufferers rely on medications like the EpiPen to stop their reactions — which is especially important given the recent 500% price hike. So in addition to making you cringe or laugh, we hope this post serves as a reminder of why allergies should always be taken seriously.
1. This woman who got a little too close to dust mites:
2. This girl who is a PSA about the dangers of eyelash tinting:
3. This guy who just wants the ~kombucha trend~ to end:
4. This woman who got a balloon head from hair dye:
5. And this woman, who suffered a similar fate from hair dye:
6. And this woman, who is allergic to the acids in apples...which are also found in hair dye:
7. This girl who got hive-leggings from taking the wrong antibiotics:
8. This girl whose spider allergy turned her into Quasimodo, IRL:
9. This girl who still has no idea what turned her into a Donald Duck–Homer Simpson mashup:
10. This person who got scaly legs instead of smooth legs after shaving with a nickel razor:
11. The person who couldn't even see the cashews that did this to their face:
12. This girl whose nickel necklace left her in the ER with a big ol' rash necklace too:
13. This person whose arm looks like the aftermath of a mosquito convention:
14. This woman who shouldn't have cuddled with her dog:
15. This woman who touched the wrong leaves:
16. This girl who gets golf-ball-sized eyelids from dust:
17. This person who will never go around balloons again:
18. This girl who could barely even see what her bee allergy looked like:
19. This girl who was left with resting-seasonal-allergy-face:
20. This girl who quite literally blew up from an encounter with tree nuts:
21. This girl who didn't know you could be allergic to mosquitos:
22. This girl who is actually allergic to the sun and forgot her hat:
23. This lady whose tea tree oil facial went very, very wrong:
24. This girl who is maybe allergic to Cuba:
25. This girl who proves that in some cases, you really shouldn't pet that dog:
26. This woman whose reaction to shellfish looked like botched lip injections:
27. This girl who still doesn't know what gave her this ~naturally rosy~ glow:
28. This girl who literally needs her latte made with soy milk:
29. This student who thought their amoxicillin reaction was a stress rash from college classes:
30. This girl who should've gone on vacation in Seattle instead of Florida:
"My allergic reaction happened when I was on vacation in Florida. Apparently I had developed a severe allergy to the sun. My face slowly began to swell to the point where my eyes were swollen shut. The whole ordeal took about six or seven days to finally go away. The worst part was that we had to drive back from Florida to New York. Stopping at rest stops was NOT fun."
—Tracy McKay
31. And finally this person, who's literally allergic to life:
