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The original was posted on /r/tifu by /u/Dragongal7 on 2025-10-07 17:37:20+00:00.

I (27F) get sick often, like getting pneumonia 4 times a year is normal for me. I also have asthma, lost my sense of smell when I was 12 (not Covid related- and it’s relevant), and have an annoying allergy to menthol- or mint and mint based products. I’ve grown up being unable to use cough drops, icy-hot, anything mint, spearmint, winter-fresh, or the classic cool mint flavouring. Even hunting for toothpaste is a challenge. Because I lost my sense of smell when I was young, often times I have to ask other people to make sure that whatever I’m using has no mint, or that nobody around me is chewing mint gum or has mint candles. This also means I can’t sniff things for any minty smell for ingredients.

I am also Canadian, but live in America. In Canada, we have a famous horrific abomination known as Buckley’s, which is a cough syrup so foul it is advertised with the brand slogan “It tastes awful. But it works.” This medication should be a criminal punishment, but somehow it fixes everything. As a kid, I would rather go to school coughing to the point of vomiting than be forced to take it.

Now grown up, I moved out a few years ago and haven’t had Buckley’s in years. Whenever I was sick, I’d have a flair in my asthma, congestion, the normal sort of sickness. Now, this is the problem- I am allergic to menthol, and Buckley’s contains menthol. I get allergic bronchospasms, which means my airway in my throat and lungs tighten, often triggering my asthma, and giving me a choking sensation, wheezing, and other unpleasant symptoms. It isn’t dangerous medically, but it is incredibly uncomfortable and is very alarming to anyone around me.

Cue yesterday. I have (once again) gotten pneumonia and am dog-sitting at my mother’s house while she is away. I’m coughing phlegm and look for something to help with my congestion- and I see it. The feared Buckley’s. A medicine so foul tasting it makes you shiver, flail, and whimper as your sinus’ are blown out by the nuclear bomb of capsicum, ammonia, and whatever other painful concoction. Filled with fake confidence, I don’t hesitate. I fill a tablespoon, hype myself up, and take it.

Instantly, my sinus is blasted out like someone shoved an air compressor in my throat. My limbs spasm and my entire back arches as I go through my Buckley possession. I do not believe in God, but I imagine the man who invented Buckley’s must have looked at holy water and thought “what if I could make the opposite?”

The muscle spasms end, my nose is clear- but then, it begins. Buckley’s is so foul you do not notice the menthol (or maybe I simply dont taste it due to my allergy). I notice what’s happening instantly. My throat gets tight, my chest constricts, and the wheezes begin. For the ladies, this feels like wearing a sports bra 2 sizes too small, or I suppose it feels like having a small person sleeping on your upper chest. My wheezing is a squeaky coo, and I’m grabbing my inhaler. My throat is already raw from coughing but if I try to talk it would sound like a strangled pigeon. So there I sit, clutching my chest where my pearls would be if I had them, wheezing out little noises like a broken squeaky toy. The dog is sniffing and flinching from the Buckley Breath, and I can’t even call my boyfriend because he is gaming and won’t see the call.

I don’t actually need any help, but I want someone to recognize my stupidity and bring me comfort as the devil has taken my body. I end up joining his gaming discord call (where he is talking and giving gaming strategy calls with 3 of his friends) on speaker as the dog is wildly barking at me because he cannot find the toy that is clearly crammed in my trachea. End of the night, my boyfriend is trying to shout combat strategy in a competitive shooter while the dog is providing loud commentary. I ended up being fine, but his gaming score didn’t make it. (They ended up laughing about it).

TLDR: I stupidly took Canadian cough syrup I’m allergic to, and while moping and unable to talk I joined my boyfriend and his friends while they were gaming and the dog’s barking ruined their coms.