'Supernanny' star Jo Frost opens up about living with life-threatening anaphylaxis
"Supernanny" star Jo Frost is opening up about living with anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.
"I feel like I'm lucky I'm still here," Frost told "Good Morning America" of her lifelong struggle with the condition.
Before entering a new place, Frost says she usually does a visual scan of the area.
"It's natural for me to do that. It's like 'Terminator,' kind of just, like, scan every room I come into," Frost said, referencing the 1984 movie "The Terminator," in which the titular cyborg assassin scans his surroundings with his eyes. "It literally could threaten my life. It could kill me."
In Frost's case, if she comes into contact with nuts, shellfish, or horses, she could develop a dangerous allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Even the smallest particles floating in the air could make Frost ill.
"My ears start to itch, and at the same time, my eyes start to swell, and then I just get ... flooded with saliva. I cannot breathe," Frost explained. "I will become dizzy. I'm getting hot, just, you know, just thinking about that."
The "Supernanny" star said she hopes to raise awareness about anaphylaxis, a condition about 1 in 20 Americans experience, according to the Allergy & Asthma Network.
"It essentially can shut down your cardiovascular system. It can cause life-threatening drops in blood pressure. It can affect your breathing," said Dr. Stephanie Widmer, an ABC News medical contributor, board-certified emergency medicine physician and medical toxicologist.
The first course of treatment for anaphylaxis is epinephrine, which is typically administered with an auto-injector such as an EpiPen. Frost said she carries two EpiPens with her everywhere she goes.
Frost also said advocating for herself hasn't been easy because many people don't know the dangers people who can get anaphylaxis face.
"I mean, airlines. I mean, you know, when I was filming 48 weeks a year, you know, and that was a really tricky thing," said Frost. "People get territorial over their peanuts. I mean, it's insane."
Frost first opened up about her anaphylaxis on "Supernanny" five years ago.
"The children have anaphylaxis, which of course has created a lot of anxiety. As someone myself that lives with anaphylaxis I totally get it," Frost said at the time in one episode.
Frost is now calling for anaphylaxis instruction for people who work in restaurants and day cares.
"I want health and safety standards," Frost said. "I want families that drop their toddlers off to daycare to feel that their children are in the care of staff who actually are trained with anaphylaxis and allergies. Because if that's not, then you might as well put a loaded gun in my face, because that's the threat that you've just given me."
