Bethenny Frankel is grateful to be alive after almost "dying" from an allergic reaction.
The reality star detailed the life-threatening incident on Twitter on Monday. According to Bethenny's tweet, she has a "rare fish allergy" and accidentally had soup that had fish in it on Sunday. Immediately after ingesting the soup she began to feel itchy and went "unconscious for 15 mins." Bethenny said she was taken to the "ER & ICU for 2 days w BP of 60/40."
During the past two days, she claims she couldn't talk or see, leading her to believe she "had a stroke & [was] dying."
Doctors later informed her that if she had arrived at the hospital "5 mins later I'd be dead."
She added, "911 & EPI saved me."
After this frightening experience, Bethenny learned a very valuable life lesson: "I'll never not carry an #epipen."
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Now that Bethenny is feeling better thanks to the doctors at Newton-Wellesley hospital in Newton, Massachusetts, she is pledging to "get them new mattresses from @Casper bc they have no budget for TVs or comfortable beds," she tweeted.
This isn't the first time the "Real Housewives New York" star has unknowingly eaten fish. In one episode of the Bravo series, the businesswoman ate yet another soup that had fish in it during a girls trip to Cartagena, Columbia. She eventually left the lunch to go to her room, but got sick and broke out in a rash.
She later explained what it's like to have an allergic reaction. "It's the worst feeling, your throat gets itchy, you feel like you're going to throw up. It's like a poison inside you," she explained in a confessional.
According to Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), a non-profit advocacy group, people with "finned" fish allergies usually experience their first allergic reaction as adults. The group said while salmon, tuna and halibut are the most common types of fish people are allergic to, experts recommend avoiding all species of fish because people who are allergic to one type of fish are usually also allergic to other fish. Frankel did not say whether she is allergic to all fish or a specific specie.
FARE also warned that being anywhere fish is being cooked can put someone at risk, as fish protein could be in the steam. Finned fish and shellfish allergies are not related and being allergic to one does not mean you have to avoid both, the group added.
