‘I thought I was going to die’: Perth mum’s near-fatal reaction sparks immune supplement warning
Kerry Smith thought she was doing the right thing when, feeling the early signs of a cold, she took a popular supplement she’d used before.
‘I thought I was going to die’: Perth mum’s near-fatal reaction sparks immune supplement warning
Perth mother Kerry Smith thought she was doing the right thing when, feeling the early signs of a cold, she took an immune supplement she’d used before.
Within minutes, the 51-year-old had collapsed on the floor of her Bull Creek home.
Kerry Smith had used the popular supplement in the past with no adverse affects.Credit: 9News Perth
“Within two or three minutes, I had excruciating stomach cramps, and then I couldn’t breathe,” Smith told 9News Perth.
An EpiPen was administered before Smith was rushed to Fiona Stanley Hospital.
“I definitely thought I was going to die,” she said.
Smith was hospitalised after falling ill.Credit: 9News Perth
Connie Katelaris, a professor of immunology and allergy at Western Sydney University and head of immunology and allergy at Campbelltown Hospital, said sudden allergic reactions to supplements like ArmaForce – which Smith took – could occur even after previous use.
The reactions are linked to andrographis paniculata, a herbal ingredient found in dozens of cold and flu supplements.
“Some people react the first time, others only after repeated use,” Katelaris said.
“Itching, redness, hives or urticaria, and then they can rapidly progress to having breathing problems or the feeling of constriction in the throat or tightness in the chest, people can suffer from lack of blood pressure ... the lips, the eyes may swell up, the tongue can swell, so people can have all or any combination of those symptoms.
“Some of these patients have been so severe they’ve presented to hospital and they’ve required adrenaline for resuscitation.
“Others should have gone to hospital but didn’t recognise what was happening to them, and basically sat it out at home and luckily survived.”
