Allergic to para-phenylenediamine (PPD)

This incident happened about three months ago...

 (Thursday)
 I looked into the mirror and realized that i had lots of white hair. I knew it was time to dye my hair as the last time i dyed it was before Chinese New Year. So, without much hesitation, i went to the salon to dye it. 
I hate sitting in the salon because i feel isolated. After choosing my colour, the process started. My scalp started burning but that was normal for me. I dyed my hair all the time and i knew that it had to burn a little. It wasn't a big deal at all. I walked out of the salon with a new hair colour and i felt great. That night, i learnt that beauty has its price to pay. 
My scalp was still burning and itching at the same time. I decided to sleep it off thinking that it was nothing. 

(Friday)
 I woke up the next morning and had trouble brushing my knotted hair. I felt bumps on my scalp and the sensation that i felt the night before was getting worse. The last time i felt that way was so many years ago when i dyed my hair at home.I washed my hair hoping that the water would soothe my scalp, but i was wrong. I rubbed my scalp every once in a while and became really irritated with everyone around me. When i started sweating it became worse. I had another early night. 

 (Saturday)
 Nothing changed the next day and the situation became worse. I didn't want to go to the doctor because I was embarrass. After my shower, i had breakfast. All that i can feel was thousands of ants trying to pick out my scalp. I rubbed my scalp again but this time, i realized a numb sensation on my face specifically, my forehead. I panicked and my brother called my father. We went to the Emergency Room to get the treatment.The doctor didn't seem helpful as he looked like he was in a hurry to get back to his laptop. He prescribed medication and an injection. I wasn't afraid of needles, so it wasn't a big deal. The nurse told me i would be drowsy. We went and have lunch but there was no effect from the injection. I wasn't even drowsy! When i went home, nothing much changed. 

(Sunday)
I woke up to find out that i was still feeling the same. The medication and injection didn't work at all. My dad took me back to the hospital, but the same doctor was on duty. So, we decided to go back in the evening. By then, my head felt really heavy, numb and the pain was just unbearable. I started coughing and having headache too. We went back to the hospital and luckily there were different doctors. I had a fever and my blood pressure was spiking due to the pain i was feeling. The other doctor observed my scalp and sure enough i had an allergic reaction to the hair dye. I was given two injections through the vein in my hand. One was steroid and the other was to help me sleep. No fever by the time i reached home.

(Monday)
The pain and burning sensation was mild. My forehead was still a little swollen.

It took about another three days for everything to get back to normal. That hair dye experience was a bad one and costs a lot. I was never allergic to hair dye and this came to me as a surprise. This taught me a lesson to do a test behind my ear or inner arm for skin sensitivity in the future. But, i don't think I'll go back to the salon to dye my hair anytime soon. I'll just have to accept my ever-growing whites! 

*I'm writing this to share my experience and to educate everyone about allergic reaction to hair dye. If you are like me, it means that you are allergic to para-phenylenediamine or PPD which is in the hair dyes. Do go to the hospital as soon as possible if you have the allergic reaction after dyeing your hair. This is serious because this allergy has claimed a few lives.