A woman in Minnesota has a rare allergy that makes exercise deadly.
Maggie Habashy can no longer go on a run or to a workout class, knowing if she does, she suffers a severe allergic reaction and potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis. Her torso and limbs become itchy until hives break out on her skin, and her eyes swell shut.
When she tells people about her rare allergy to exercise, ‘The usual response is, “Ha ha, me too! Right?”’
She told Fox: ‘People love to say that; it’s a joke, I’ve heard it a million times. But no, literally, it could kill me.’
The ordeal began about 10 years ago, soon after giving birth to her daughter. She was on her first run in months when she suddenly became increasingly itchy.
After a short while, she realized her entire body was covered in hives — angry red, itchy welts that appear when the body releases certain chemicals that launch an immune response against a perceived threat, like pollen or shellfish.
Anaphylaxis during a workout is typically triggered by specific foods to which a person may be sensitive or mildly allergic.
For example, a person with gluten sensitivity who eats a protein bar containing wheat a couple of hours before exercising may be more likely to experience symptoms similar to Ms Habashy’s.
Today, Ms Habashy cannot make it 20 minutes into an exercise class without experiencing swelling in her throat and itchy hives all over her body.
Maggie Habashy experiences swelling in her face and throat as well as itchy hives all over her body when she works out
It’s not clear how many people have exercise-induced anaphylaxis (EIA), but the current estimate is about 0.05 percent of people experience it at some point in their lives.
For 30 to 50 percent of these cases, EIA only happens when certain foods are eaten before exercise.
In addition to itchiness, hives, and throat swelling, other symptoms of EIA include swelling in the face, lips, hands, feet, and/or genitals, face reddening, shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, chest pain, fainting, profuse sweating, headache, and GI issues such as diarrhea and nausea.
After that first run, Ms Habashy said she assumed she was allergic to something in the air and didn’t give it much more thought.
‘And then it kept happening,’ she said.
‘But not only did it keep happening, it kept getting worse.’
The allergic reaction generally begins about 15 minutes into her workouts. She has been through a range of allergy tests to try to identify a specific food or allergen as the cause but doctors have found nothing
She suffered a severe reaction about 20 minutes into an exercise class. Her husband picked her up and they rushed to the hospital
Dr Micah Karasov, her allergy specialist, ran a battery of tests to identify substances, such as pollen, pet dander, and certain foods, that could be causing her reaction.
He said: ‘Most people, there is a food trigger that as long as they avoid the food, whether it’s wheat or soy or whatever, as long as they don’t eat that for, let’s say, two to four hours before exercise, they’re not going to react.
‘Maggie’s case is unique in that there was clearly not a food trigger because she was fasting during the time.’
Both were reasonably certain early on that food was not the cause, as she was in the midst of fasting for Ramadan when she experienced a similar reaction 20 minutes into a workout class.
Ms Habashy now carries an Epi pen wherever she goes in case she experiences anaphylaxis again
The itchiness was in her throat this time. She called her husband Ali in a panic, and they rushed to the hospital.
She said: ‘He could see my whole face was swollen up. I couldn’t talk, and the doctor, she asked him, “Has this ever happened?” He said she’s gotten allergic reactions before from working out, but definitely nothing like this.
‘He said the doctor looked really scared, and she said, “I don’t know what would have happened if she would have waited 10 minutes.”’
When Fox shadowed her at an exercise class, only 15 minutes had passed before the itchiness took over, and her mouth went numb.
She said: ‘Sometimes I make it 15 minutes, sometimes I make it 45. It just kind of depends on the day.
‘Some days are more emotional than others. I get frustrated that I can’t finish it, but I just do the best I can and move on.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
