I have heard a lot of excuses for not working out, but this one takes the cake. A woman has found out that she is in fact, allergic to exercise. Although this may just sound like a way to get out of doing cardio, it's apparently a real thing.
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An allergic reaction is brought on by doing extended periods of exercise. This can be as short as 15 minutes, or as long as 45. Either way, the symptoms are dreadful, and can become severe if not treated. It is the same reaction to people who suffer from allergies to things like stings and shellfish.
Despite what you may think, Maggie Habashy, from Plymouth, Minnesota, is no layabout. She found out she was allergic to exercise while working out after giving birth to her daughter.
"I went out for my first run after I had her; it was a couple of months after, and I just felt really itchy," she tells Fox, looking back. "I realized my whole body was covered in hives, and so I was like, okay, this is kind of weird, maybe something environmental. I'm not really sure what. I didn't actually, like, think about it too much. And then it kept happening. But not only did it keep happening, it kept getting worse." Her allergic reaction to exercise was making itself know.
Exercise Allergic Reaction Could Be Fatal
As things began to get worse, Habashy decided to go to the doctor. This came after she realised her throat was becoming itchy, even after not eating for hours before a workout. The doctor rushed her to the emergency room, where her face started to swell up.
"Has this ever happened?" the doctor asked her husband. "He said she's gotten allergic reactions before from working out, but definitely nothing like this," she said. Her allergic reactions to exercise had taken a rather drastic turn for the worse.
The doctor told her just how drastic the reactions could be. If he hadn't managed to get to her, the results could have been fatal. She now has to carry around two doses of epinephrine in case her reaction becomes too drastic. She hasn't let it stop her staying fit, though.
This allergic reaction to exercise can come at any point. Sometimes she will be working out for only fifteen minutes before she starts to feel the effects and stops. Other times, it will take significantly longer.
