A new short film inspired by the terrifying experience of a young woman who almost died as a result of a teenage kiss has been released.
Phoebe Campbell-Harris, now 28, had just turned 18 when she traveled to Paris to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
While in the French capital, the two visited a bar, where they began talking to two men, before the quartet headed to a nightclub.
It was at the end of the evening when disaster struck: Phoebe and the young man kissed. Moments later, he realized he was suffering from anaphylatic shock, a severe allergic reaction that can be fatal.
she said the times: ‘My throat felt like sandpaper. Everything had become rough. That’s the first sign, then it becomes harder and harder to swallow and that’s when you know your throat is closing.’
Looking at her face and neck in the nightclub bathroom mirror, she noticed that she had a rash on her face and neck, as well as her stomach.
As Phoebe’s panic increased, she described all of her senses as having “heightened”: the world felt like it was getting closer. Now, in a state of “pure panic”, he was trying to calm his breathing.
He used his EpiPen, a device used to dispense a dose of adrenaline when someone has an allergic reaction, before calling an ambulance and going to the hospital.
Phoebe Campbell-Harris (pictured), now 28, had just turned 18 when she traveled to Paris to celebrate a friend’s birthday and ended up hospitalized with a severe allergic reaction after a kiss.
With her mind racing, she couldn’t think of anything she could have done to cause anaphylaxis, although she knew she hadn’t eaten anything she was allergic to.
However, he later realized what must have led to the event.
According to Phoebe, the man she went to the club with likely consumed something containing nuts, which caused the allergic reaction when they kissed.
Phoebe, now a filmmaker, who has had to go to hospital six times due to severe allergic reactions, has collaborated on a short film to try to spread the message of how dangerous allergies can be and how those who suffer from them should always try to avoid them. stay alert.
Called A Matter of Minutes, the film, which is loosely based on her experience in Paris, shows a young woman kissing someone at a party before suffering complete anaphylaxis.
According to Phoebe, she hopes the film will help illustrate to people what it feels like to suddenly go into anaphylactic shock, and she told the Times that if you haven’t experienced it yourself, it feels like a “strange idea.”
After her own experiences (she suffered her first serious allergic reaction at age three), Phoebe says she has to live in a constant state of “hypervigilance,” being very careful about what she consumes and even trying to assess whether someone she can kissing has eaten an allergen.
Additionally, every time she buys a snack or food in a store, she will eat it carefully, taking small bites until she is sure that it is not contaminated with nuts. You’ve taken long-haul flights and simply haven’t eaten for 10 hours.
A clip from the short film A Matter of Minutes, showing how terrifying it is to experience a severe allergic reaction.
The film (pictured) was inspired by Phoebe’s experience and shows a young woman who experiences an allergic reaction after a kiss.
However, despite taking these precautions, Phoebe says her allergy is just part of her life and she tries not to think about it too much or let it limit her too much.
The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation (Narf) is a charity that raises medical funds and offers support to people with allergies.
It was founded in memory of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died after an allergic reaction to a Pret A Manger baguette.
Natasha’s parents campaigned for a new food safety law to be created, known as ‘Natasha’s Law’, which means that all pre-packaged foods for direct sale require full ingredient and allergen labeling.
Phoebe, who describes Narf’s work as “amazing,” says Natasha’ Law helps take some of the responsibility off of people with allergies, who already have “a lot of responsibility on them.”
While remaining alert, Phoebe points out that there are “a million different things that could kill you” when a person leaves your house, and that focusing on this is “not comfortable,” so she tries not to focus on the potential risk of having a severe allergic reaction, adding that he would “encourage other allergic people to find that resistance.
Speaking about the short film, A Matter of Minutes, Narf founder Tanya Ednan-Laperouse and Natasha’s mother said she wants everyone to watch it to educate themselves on “how quickly a food allergy can escalate and how important it is to know.” what to do in case of a medical emergency.
A Matter of Minutes was directed by Hannah Beach, written and produced by Phoebe Campbell-Harris and produced by Sophie Stacey. Executive produced by Oscar-winning production company Slick Films. For more updates on the film’s journey, follow: @amatterof Minutesfilm.