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<\/p>\nA WOMAN who is so allergic to the scent of Christmas that even \u201csmelling a mince pie could kill her\u201d almost died after a festive trip.<\/p>\n
Anne Murray, 61, was diagnosed with severe asthma as a baby and has been allergic to traditional festive staples such as citrus and cinnamon since she was a child.<\/p>\n
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According to the NHS, severe asthma means the condition is uncontrolled even when sufferers are taking their medication, and when they are exposed to an allergen that irritates the airways, it can trigger asthma symptoms.<\/p>\n
Anne, from Lanark, realised the seriousness of her condition at the age of 11 when her mum, Mary Murray, collapsed and died from an asthma attack at the age of 34.<\/p>\n
Seven years later, Anne\u2019s childhood best friend, Julia, also died from an asthma attack. <\/p>\n
Both deaths made her \u201clive life to the full\u201d and she has since done a bungee jump and travelled the globe.<\/p>\n
Anne had a near-death experience herself in November 2016 when she smelt \u201cpine cones impregnated with citrus\u201d in a garden centre. <\/p>\n
She was later rushed to hospital and given steroids to ease her condition, but was told it was a \u201cclose call\u201d.<\/p>\n
Since then, Anne finishes her Christmas shopping by September to avoid being near festive smells in shopping centres, and often turns down invites to Christmas parties which she finds \u201cquite isolating\u201d.<\/p>\n
Anne told PA Real Life: \u201cIt can be quite isolating \u2013 if friends want to go out around Christmas, I have to ask them to go to different places where I know are safe.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t eat or be anywhere near things that smell like Christmas, or eat anything Christmassy like mince pies and stollen cake \u2013 I don\u2019t touch them with a 10-foot barge pole.<\/p>\n \u201cJust smelling a mince pie could kill me.<\/p>\n \u201cSo many things have Christmassy spices that you wouldn\u2019t normally think of too.\u201d<\/p>\n Anne was diagnosed with severe asthma shortly after she was born and also has several allergies \u2013 including to citrus and cinnamon \u2013 which could trigger a fatal asthma attack.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a double whammy with my asthma and allergies \u2013 just smelling, tasting or touching things like oranges could kill me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She was 11 when her mum, Mary Murray, collapsed and died from an asthma attack in March 1974.<\/p>\n Anne said: \u201cI waved goodbye to Mum to go to school, and I never saw her again.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just shows you never know what is around the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n Seven years later, Anne\u2019s friend Julia died aged 18 from an asthma attack while she was babysitting.<\/p>\n While these deaths taught her to \u201clive life to the full\u201d, as Anne got older, it became clear that her asthma was going to force her to make some adjustments.<\/p>\n When travelling, she often has to call the airline in advance to request that passengers only eat or peel oranges once they get off the plane, and she has to inform all her colleagues not to wear festive perfume in the office.<\/p>\n Seven years ago, Anne suffered one of her most terrifying episodes to date.<\/p>\n On November 5 2016, then aged 54 and living in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, she was out having lunch with a friend and decided to pop into a garden centre.<\/p>\n As soon as she walked in she could smell citrus, which instantly made her panic.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had huge, big wooden barrels of pinecones impregnated with citrus to give that Christmassy smell and I had difficulty breathing,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cI grabbed my inhaler and ran quickly out of the garden centre because of being allergic to oranges and cinnamon.\u201d<\/p>\n On the drive home, her condition worsened. She explained: \u201cIt felt like someone was sitting on my chest.\u201d<\/p>\n Once home, she used her nebuliser \u2013 a device that enables her to breathe by giving her medicine as a mist \u2013 but could not get to sleep that night as she kept coughing, and whenever she laid down, it felt like she was \u201cchoking\u201d.<\/p>\n The following day, a Sunday, she used her nebuliser again, but her breathing did not get any easier.<\/p>\n On the Monday, she visited her GP first thing, barely being able to stand up, and they called an ambulance straight away.<\/p>\n Anne was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King\u2019s Lynn, where she was given oxygen and strong nebulisers, before returning home with seven days\u2019 worth of steroids.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cThey all told me it was a close call so it was lucky I had my nebuliser on me.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking back, Anne said: \u201cI wish shops would put up signs saying they have festive scents in store \u2013 it would be so helpful for me, and stop them getting complaints too.\u201d<\/p>\n Luckily, she has not had a similar attack since then but now avoids supermarkets, shopping and parties around the festive season.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cI get my Christmas shopping done by September, and if there is anything extra that I need, I buy it online.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t go anywhere near supermarkets and that sort of thing \u2013 it\u2019s not worth the risk.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can be embarrassing a lot of the time \u2013 if I go to a restaurant and tell them about my allergies, I get turned away and we have to find somewhere else to go.<\/p>\n \u201cOr, I get loads of staff around me and I just don\u2019t want the attention.\u201d<\/p>\n This year, Anne is looking forward to spending Christmas Day alone and visiting her dad, Archie Murray, and stepmum, Alice Murray, in Scotland.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cI still like Christmas, and I\u2019m excited to be on my own this year \u2013 I can put my feet up and watch the telly, and eat whatever I want.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/newspress-collage-js3cgf114-1700748162187.jpg\")
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