The Setup
A weekend out in the woods.
This was a special Saturday morning. I had escaped the city and was out in the piney woods of Southeast Texas.
A True Story of Pancake Syndrome
This is my story about how breakfast just about killed me. I had no idea how much danger could lurk in a stack of waffles. I share this so that this mite not happen to you.
The Setup
This was a special Saturday morning. I had escaped the city and was out in the piney woods of Southeast Texas.
The Threat
Something was waiting for me, hidden in the very breakfast I was about to enjoy. I had no warning or indication that my life was in danger.
Starting the Day Right
It was a great start to a Saturday morning. I had a fantastic, very civilized breakfast of eggs and sausage. I don't usually eat waffles, but this morning I planned to indulge.
The Mix
Pancake mix. The easy stuff. Just add water. It was an open box, maybe a month or two old. It looked a little weird, kinda clumpy, with some weird brown bits in it. I figured it was dry mix so it was ok. Maybe those brown bits were part of this kind of mix.
Utterly Clueless
Breakfast was made, and I sat down to enjoy not just one, or two, but three of these AMAZING waffles.
The Awful Waffle
About ten minutes after the last bite, it hit me like a freight train. I've had seasonal allergies my whole life and this felt like a really bad allergy attack -- coming out of nowhere.
Mite be Bad
My eyes started swelling. I tried washing my face. That didn't help. I took a hot shower, but things kept getting worse. My tongue was swelling and it was getting harder to swallow.
Racing
I grabbed a bottle of benadryl and had a family member drive me to the hospital. The swelling wasn't slowing, so I popped even more benadryl. We were more than 15 minutes from the closest town. It didn't make sense to call 911. There is no full-time EMS where we were.
Close Call
It took us over 20 minutes to get to the emergency room. By the time we arrived, I could barely open my eyes. My tongue had swollen so much I could barely talk.
Diagnosis: Anaphylaxis
I spent the morning in the ER. Epinephrine. Antihistimines. Steroids. The doctor asked questions about my history, symptoms, and the moments leading to my attack, but there was no apparent cause. I had never had a reaction like this, and there was no new allergen exposure -- that I knew of.
Allergist Visit
I went to an allergist for a follow-up appointment. This guy was AWESOME. He was like the Sherlock Holmes of doctors.
"Had the pancake mix been open for a while?" he asked.
The Hypothesis
"Yes. It had," I answered. The doctors walked me through his theory. This was rare, but for people who are allergic to dust mites -- like I am -- the scenario fit.
The Test
To test the theory, the doctor ran a skin prick test. A grid of tiny pokes down my back, each one a different allergen. Then we waited.
Confirmation
One spot lit up like a stop sign. Dust mites. The theory held: those little guys in the pancake mix were the culprits.
The Opened Box
Dust mites are microscopic arachnids that live in household dust. They are everywhere. You mite have one on you right now.
Evidently pancake mix, even in an airconditioned environment, is a potential breeding ground for these little guys.
An open box of pancake mix or flour in a humid envrionment is an invitation for a mite fiesta.
The Party Starts
The colony started months ago, the last time I made pancakes. There were only a few of them, but that is all that it takes.
The Mite-y Fiesta
Months and months went on and they kept partying and the colony kept growing. They were eating all the mix. They were in the mix.
They were the mix
I don't know how many of them were in the mix. But the brown stuff I saw. It wasn't cinnamon, or flavor.. IT WAS DUSTMITES!!!.
Oral Mite Anaphylaxis
This condition sounds impossible — but it's documented, it's real, and people are surviving it.