Woman allergic to exercise opens up about living with extremely rare condition
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Fox 9
A woman who is allergic to exercise has opened up about what it's like living with the extremely rare condition.
We've all heard of some of the common allergies, typically linked to food. But to be allergic to exercise, well that's a different story.
Maggie Habashy, from Plymouth, Minnesota, was diagnosed with exercise-induced anaphylaxis after noticing something wasn't quite right when she was working out.
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An allergic reaction can include a range of different symptoms including hives, vomiting and swelling up of the throat - while an individual can even die if the reaction is severe enough.
Speaking of how she first noticed something wasn't quite right when exercising, Habashy told Fox: "I went out for my first run after I had her; it was a couple of months after, and I just felt really itchy.
"I realized my whole body was covered in hives, and so I was like, okay, this is kind of weird, maybe something environmental. I’m not really sure what. I didn’t actually, like, think about it too much. And then it kept happening. But not only did it keep happening, it kept getting worse."
When Habashy would attempt a run or a partial workout class and her eyes would begin to swell up.
During Ramadan last year, where Habashy was not eating for hours before working out, she started to feel itchiness in her throat.
She rushed to the nearest emergency room, where a doctor was concerned over the Minnesota woman's welfare.
"He could see my whole face was swollen up. I couldn’t talk, and the doctor, she asked him [Maggie's husband], ‘Has this ever happened?’ He said she’s gotten allergic reactions before from working out, but definitely nothing like this," Habashy said.
"He said the doctor looked really scared, and she said, ‘I don’t know what would have happened if she would have waited ten minutes’."
Fox joined Habashy for a recent workout class, which saw her having to stop exercising just 15 minutes in.
"Sometimes I make it 15 minutes, sometimes I make it 45. It just kind of depends on the day," she added.
"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."
Habashy said: "I hope to connect with anyone else who is maybe struggling. That’s a big thing - you feel so isolated not being able to have control of how your body might react to something."