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A woman has said she was minutes away from dying after she suffered a severe allergic reaction to medication.
Madison Lewis, 23, from Los Angeles went into anaphylactic shock after she was diagnosed with Lyme disease back in 2016. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection often spread through ticks.
You can see a video of Madison discussing what happened below:
"I had to retire from my athletic career and pursue full time Lyme disease treatment," she told NeedToKnow.Online.
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"It's very scary and very serious. It affects all aspect of your body in different ways and some of the worst symptoms include constant fatigue, brain fog, cognitive decline, sensitivity to light and extreme anxiety.
"I also suffer with muscle weakness, nausea and temperature irregulation."
When Madison started on the medication to treat the disease, she says her whole body felt like it was 'on fire' and her lips started to turn blue.
"I was minutes away from having to be intubated to ensure I would still have an airway to breathe," she said.
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"My lips turned blue and all the blood in my body was rising to the top of my skin, instead of properly circulating to my organs.
"All of my major organs were deprived of blood flow temporarily, until the Epipen and steroids were able to calm things down."
She continued: "At first, I thought it was a random allergic reaction and I wasn't too concerned because I've had times in the past where I have broken out in hives.
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"I was uncomfortably itchy and within minutes, my hands were bright red and felt like they were on fire.
"The rest of my body began to itch excessively and it felt like my whole body was swelling up.
"I started to worry once I realised how fast it was spreading and how weird I felt.
"I knew something was really wrong when every minute that went by I could feel myself getting worse.
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"I was focused on getting to the emergency room as soon as possible and my boyfriend rushed me to hospital."
Anaphylaxis is a medical emergency and can be fatal if not treated quickly. The NHS advises using an adrenaline auto-injector if the person has one and calling an ambulance immediately.
Madison wants to raise awareness over what happened, explaining it's crucial to be educated.
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"Awareness for anaphylactic shock is crucial and healing from an illness or not, your body can become allergic to anything," she added.
"As for Lyme disease, people need to be aware of the detrimental effects this has on someone's life. It's often known as the 'invisible illness' and people don't look sick on the outside, but are really suffering internally.
"It's a growing problem each year and it's a debilitating disease that will change your life forever if you don't get treatment immediately upon infection.
"I love to document everything about my health journey so people know they aren't alone if they're going through something similar."
Featured Image Credit: Jam PressTopics: Health