Admitted to A&E for the first time??

Hello!!! I know it's been ages since I'm here but it's a story for another day. For now... let's get on with the title.

Basically, I was admitted to A&E on 2nd Feb. Whaaaat happened??

I was at my best friend's house, for a primary school CNY gathering because it's the festive season for gatherings!! At that time the alert was still yellow but anyways..

I woke up pretty fine that morning, actually slept quite late the night before as I do on most nights. Went around some errands and stuff because had to prepare for the potluck happening at her place. Every one is sick of steamboats hahaha so this was a great idea. I only ate some dumplings before I headed out.

Okay so I arrived at her place late because my potluck dish (dumplings) didn't turn out well so I bought some extra sushi to make up for it. Apparently everyone thought it was fine though hahaha.
So we started eating and all...

About 3pm?? We finished eating and were starting to pack up. A little discomfort started. I had a feeling like my throat was kinda ticklish and I needed to cough, so I did, a few times. But the itchy feeling didn't go away. It felt like there was something stuck at the back of my throat. I felt like I needed to clear my throat and my eyes were getting watery and my nose was starting to drip. I excused myself to the toilet.

I proceeded to cough quite a few times and kept trying to clear my nose because for some reason it started like a tap. I thought maybe I got contact with some dust?? Because I'm quite sensitive to dust that my nose would start running for the whole day if the environment around me is dusty. Or am I going to fall sick now? Were my thoughts.

Nope, it did not get better after about 10-15mins in the toilet. In fact, I noticed that my eyes started to swell up. But I wasn't having a fever nor a headache. (Normally my eyes would swell a little if I'm running a fever.) I was puzzled okay. I exited the toilet feeling worse.

I went to my friend's room to hide a while because enough said. I couldn't face the rest with my face like that right. My nose was still running and I was constantly using tissues. tadadadada... my friend's mother was alerted of my situation and she prepared some warm water and towel for my to put on my eyes. I tried to rest on my friend's bed.

Subsequently I couldn't even breathe properly through my nose. Like my whole nasal passage was blocked. Not even blowing my mucus out helped. Also, I couldn't even swallow my saliva properly. I tried but, it like, just doesn't get through my throat. Of course I started to panic.

I tried to put ice cubes in a towel and put it over my eyes because de-swell right. All the while I was feeling extremely uncomfortable and panicking inside but still trying to calm down since I could only breathe from my mouth. I considered if I should go to a GP? But it was a Sunday, so a little hard. So my next best option was A&E.

My friends came in to check on me and I told them how I was feeling. Obviously I needed to see a doctor but question was where. They tried to google for me but no nearby clinic was open. *cries* So A&E it was. I lierally just waited for them to get ready and call a grab because I felt like I couldn't function anymore with my swollen eyes, runny nose and breathing problem. My eyes also dropped tears uncontrollably because of how watery it was.

How I looked like at my worst. Any more and I can't take it myself.

 

Fast forward to A&E.. It was already about 4pm plus. All the nurses and doctors who saw me immediately said 'allergic reaction', because my puffy eyes said it all. Thankfully I was led to a triage bed real quick. By the time I was on the bed I could already breathe better. I was prescribed a promethazine injection I believe because I asked the nurse hahaha. But it was a butt injection :( Wah I swear it was the most painful injection in my entire life. Maybe because they inject it in one of the bigger muscle for it to react faster. And also 6 tablets of prednisolone. Then I waited.

After about maybe 20-30mins a junior doctor came by and asked if he could set a IV plug on my dorsum. In case my condition worsens or whatever they may need to transfuse my drug so yea I agreed.

Okay now I know how patients with IV plugs on feel. (Ignoring the fact that he tried about 3-4 times before he could get my vein. After the 3rd time I told him that was too deep and he finally got it n maybe the 4th try.) 'Have IV plug not pain one what, a kind of flexible needle which is not sharp mah', was what I used to think. But no, for the whole maybe 4 hours I was there, I could feel it move in my vein with every hand movement I make. I can tolerate pain quite okay but the discomfort was... Now I know why patients say they feel like their hand is handicapped with IV plug. Because with every little movement you feel discomfort and slight pain that you subsequently don't want to move it anymore.

During my stay, I was transferred to a room with one other lady because I still needed further observation. The swelling on my eyes had reduced but it was still present. I was on the bed for so long I felt like sleeping. Maybe due to the meds too. Then the senor doctor came to check on me again and asked if I wanted to stay overnight so they can observe me until my allergic reaction goes down. I refused for many reasons and I did feel significantly better except that my eyes were still swelled up. So I signed AOR and all. The doctor also did refer me for a dermatology appt (tyvm). And... was discharged with compulsory meds for 4 days and 1 week MC.

So that was my A&E experience. Over the next 4 days I took the meds and now I'm obviously not a tomato anymore hahaah. Oh yes, also took the week off from work.

So yes, I do not know the actual allergen that caused my reaction although the doctors seem to think it was seafood. I have always been eating everything and not picky about food so I really don't know. Guess I have to wait until my dermatology appointment.

I am extremely grateful to those bunch of friends for stopping their CNY celebrations to accompany me to the hospital, all wearing masks hahaha. But really, I am grateful hehe. Especially to my bff who accompanied me to A&E registration and waited until I could see a doctor. I think my friends only left after my father arrived. SO really really thank you!!

The purpose of this post is so I have something to help me remember what I ate and all to help me know and figure out what caused my reaction and what food I need to take note of. I think it's highly likely due to food because it happened after I ate. Also the symptoms that I experienced so I can be better prepared and recognize it sooner. (I hope there's no next time!!) I was honestly shocked and a mess. Don't think it was make up too because I didn;t put any on.

For those of you who didn't know the whole story and are still curious, I hope the above answers it for you. I did cut out some parts otherwise it's too lengthy. But thank you for everyone's concern!! And see a doctor immediately if you experience symptoms like me. Stay safe! xx

HHN #8

Hellos everyone! As you all know, it's the Halloween month and this year, I finally went to USS Halloween Horror Nights. It's the eighth edition this year. So glad I could make it for this with the best fun-filled group of friends from sec sch.

I was honestly really tired 'cos it was post-shift, didn't even have time for a nap. -cries- But my energy picked up later on as I thought it would.

There were 5 haunted houses in total:
Killuminati: vampires
Pagoda of Peril: chinese spirit folklore
Pontianak: malay village spirit horror
The Haunting of Oiwa: japanese horror
And last but not least, the most anticipated house of the year thanks to netflix,
Stranger Things : need I explain?

We went on the first weekend of October, and well, of course there were queues. I don't know how the previous years were like, but damn the queues were long. I didn't really catch the waiting time for all the houses, but the stranger things house had us queuing for 100mins (: Thankfully, I didn't feel that the waiting time was as long as I expected it to be. Probably due to talking and joking with friends, which made passing time faster and more enjoyable.

Loads of time to selfie/wefie while queuing kay.

Tips:
-Dress in light and airy clothes because human heat is no joke. 
-Go in big groups of friends, time will pass more enjoyably
-Definitely have even numbers!!

Last tip is because there are so many people and the space in some areas of the house is only enough to fit 2 at once. I have tried going in a trio and it was not good kay. I was at the side and I just kept getting off-balance 'cos I was pushed to the wall by my friend. Well, what are friends for.

There are also scare zones in designated areas. Where you, erm, get scared by them, what else. They'll literally run up to you and scare you in your face hahaha. Most of the time I was just laughing at my friends getting scared and screaming because I'm not the type to scream a lot.

After going through all the houses, we had time to play the mummy and transformers rides!! Also managed to catch one of their horror theatre special called Dead Talks.

I think our time and money there was pretty well spent because we did a lot. We literally went in from the time they opened to their closing time.

!!SPOILER ALERT!!

Skip this if you want the element of surprise when you go

Overall, I find Stranger Things to be the most fascinating house and also the one I felt I spent the most time inside probably because there were so many things to see. I could feel the effort they put into this. I kind of wanted to see more haha. The Haunting of Oiwa has got to be the scariest house for me because it also plays on real-life fears. I can deal with fake ghosts but I can't deal with fake snakes or cockroaches okay. Especially if the lighting is so dark and it keeps moving towards me I can't differentiate real from fake. Oh also I probably replayed too much jap horror shows in my head before entering. The Pontianak house wasn't too bad either. They really set it in a malay village setting and wow I could even appreciate how much effort was put into their makeup. There was this guy sitting half-dead on the floor with his guts spilling out. Other 2 houses didn't leave much impression on me.

My first experience was a good one and I would go back again with enough company but maybe not next year, see how it goes. And that's all for now! See y'all!

VanRanSolo #2: Artsy Fartsy

Hey y'all! Back with day 2 finallyyy. Sorry this is taking so long. But I'll complete this!! Okay getting to it..

Day 2 was mainly cultural like visiting some musuems!! I really love visiting musuems because you learn something and at the same time you get pretty photos amiright?? Hehe. So I went to 2 museums. Read on to find out!! Also it's going to be a super long post because it was a full day out. 

On my way againn~

Breakfast place

    Apparently Curry mee was one of Penang's well-known food and it's a must try. I headed down to the Campbell Street Market just again, quite near my hostel. 

Curry mee

There are prawns, mint leaves(?), cockles, and the squarish things are actually pig's blood made into cubes hahaha. Don't worry though, it's actually quite tasteless and the texture is like tofu. The noodles weren't spicy but you could ask the owner to add more chilli. Overall, it was okay I guess, just wished it had stronger flavours.

Wonderfood Musuem

I went in quite early, so there were only 2 other people in the musuem with me, and I could pretty much spend my time in peace haha.

Damn that laksa

Was pretty shocked to find out how much some of my favourite snacks contain..

What I liked about the musuem is that they have very friendly staff who are stationed at each exhibit to help you take photos; perfect for a solo traveler like me. I didn't have to ask, they just offered. In fact they'll just ask you to pose and you can give them yr phone or whatever to take the shots. But also because they wanted you to buy photos that they took with their own camera lah haha.

It's a great place to learn about Penang's food culture as well as some health education ahaha. It would be more fun to go there with company though.

Oh also, definitely remember to bring yr student pass if you have one!! It's okay if it's not malaysian. I didn't bring mine and had to pay the adult price hais. #protip

Random shots

 

 Pinang Peranakan Mansion

2nd stop!

  

I was in awe the moment I stepped in.. You can oretty much see why,

 

Dining

 

 

 

Ancestral shrine

toilet aesthetic also sia

Loads of mirrors and all of 'em are huge

 

 Wedding room

 Details

 Leaving shots~

Definitely a place worth visiting!! I would return if I ever go back to georgetown. In prettier clothes HAHA. 

There are free tours organized daily in the morning and afternoon. I went for the 11am one I think, although when I researched online it told me it was at 10.30am. You could choose not to go for the tour, but it's called a mansion for a reason, it's huge. Plus, it's free, why not?
You get to learn some interesting peranakan history too, like why they hide chickens on the wedding night HAHA. The entrance fee is only RM20, cheaper than the wonderfood musuem. For this price you get to tour the entire house which is sososo beautiful. You are also contributing to maintenence of the place, which is where the musuem fees go to. Trust me, go for it. Enough said.

Armenian Street

 

Weather was freaking hot, worse than SG, so I decided to try out this popular drink which was advertised online, and quite famous. My colleague at work told me about it, and since I knew the location, I gave it a try. 

Verdict:Overrated.

First of all, I queued close to an hour for this under the scorching heat, cos there were wayyy too many people and only 2 staff preparing everything. And the price is RM7.90 like whatttt. I had expectations, but the taste was mehhh. Although you could try their soft serve ice cream, loads of ppl seemed to enjoyed it. The portion is small though, and it costs RM12.90 if I remember correctly. I just feel that you're paying for the aesthetics??

So I wasn't satisfied with the drink and went on to find better food to coll me down. 

I walked alllll the way to Penang Road and bought myself chendol. OH. MY. GOD. Best food choice ever.

RM 2.90/bowl. BEST. DESSERT. EVA.

I could feel myself getting cooled from the heat after 1 bowl. There's always a queue for the stall, but it moves pretty fast thanks to fast workers. I'm amazed at their preparation speed. I'm not a fan of chendol, but this man, was different. MUST-TRY.

 

There are other food stalls too, like char kway teow, laksa, oyster omelette. So you can pretty much get your whole meal settled in one place. With chendol right after? PERFECT.

Char kway teow

Assam laksa

 

It has onions, chilli, pineapple, what I remember was inside. Idk why there's pineapple in a laksa but okay. Maybe you can feel healthier while eating because there's a fruit haha. The whole dish is more on the sour side rather than spicy, in fact I don't find it spicy at all. It's worth a try nonetheless, you have to experience their food right? But I prefer SG's laksa haha. Oh FYI, I ate a 2nd bowl of chendol after all that(:

Ask me how? Actually the food portions are quite small.

Found more interesting street art while walking around!!

Back to the jetties to catch sunset; one of my bucket lists for this trip.

 

It's a different sight to see by day and by night.

Oh aren't they pretty??

Love this shot.

 

Night scenes are so pretty too. Except for the jetty smell haahah.

Carrot cake to end off my day

Got this at one of the jetty roadside stalls, like literally roadside with vehicles zooming past so close.
It was an eventful 2nd day!! See y'all in the next one!