Most of us have experienced allergic reactions. There are many types of allergies each with different causes and different treatments. Although we may think that allergies are common and harmless we need to watch out for anaphylaxis as it is a fatal allergic reaction. It can be life-threating and a severe kind of allergic reaction. Once a person gets exposed to the allergen (substance that can cause an allergy), anaphylactic reaction can happen within a matter of minutes and even seconds. In order to be prepared for emergencies like this, it would be helpful if we found out about the symptoms and how to manage it.
What is Anaphylaxis?
Anaphylaxis
is a severe form of allergic reaction. It happens because a flood of chemicals
is being released by the immune system and if not treated, it can lead to
anaphylactic shock. This is when a person’s blood pressure suddenly drops and
airways become narrow causing difficult breathing. A person who is undergoing
anaphylaxis happens to have a skin rash, weak and rapid pulse and nausea and
vomiting. The causes of anaphylaxis are certain foods, medication, insect venom
and other substances that you are allergic to. When a person experiences
anaphylaxis, immediate medical treatment is needed—the person needs to be
brought to the emergency department and be injected with epinephrine. If not
treated right away, it can lead to death.
Symptoms of Anaphylaxis
After
a person is exposed to the allergen, the symptoms of anaphylaxis can occur in a
few seconds or minutes but anaphylaxis can last for half an hour or longer. The
symptoms are as follows:
- Flushing or redness of skin or
pale skin
- Feeling of warmth and skin is
tender to touch
- Armpit and groin area or the
rest of the body feels itchy causing discomfort
- Person feels anxious or
sometimes loss of consciousness
- Sometimes swelling of the
tongue causing hoarse voice
- Difficulty in breathing and
swallowing
- Runny nose, sneezing and
wheezing
- Vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and
stomach cramps
- Danger signs: heart stops
beating
- Extremely low blood pressure and rapid pulse rate
When
a person experiences anaphylaxis or observe its signs and symptoms, you must
immediately seek emergency medical help. Try to check if the person has with
him/her an epinephrine injector which can come in the form of an EpiPen, EpiPen
Jr. or Twinject and give that person a shot immediately. Even if the person’s
condition improves after giving the injection, it is still a must to send
him/her to the emergency room just to make sure that his/her condition
improves. There are people who improves with just a shot of epinephrine but
there are also those who really needs to be hospitalized. Because there is a
possibility that the symptoms return after 4 to 12 hours, the person needs to
be under observation thus going the hospital is really important.
Most of the time, people who are admitted to the hospital because of anaphylaxis receive medical intervention which are administering intravenous fluids, application of topical creams to cure hives and itching and administering oxygen. If you are unsure if you are allergic to certain substances, may it be food, pollens or whatsoever, it would be best to avoid it to also avoid anaphylaxis. Ask your doctor to conduct tests to find out which substances you are allergic to.
Tags
- anaphylaxis
- anaphylaxis symptoms
- what is anaphylaxis
- anaphylaxis treatment
- anaphylaxis shock
- anaphylaxis signs and symptoms
- signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis
- anaphylaxis (disease or medical condition)
- anaphylaxis reaction
- symptoms of anaphylaxis
- signs of anaphylaxis
- anaphylaxis skin symptoms
- acute anaphylaxis symptoms
- anaphylaxis stomach symptoms
- anaphylaxis respiratory symptoms
- symptoms of ananphylaxis
- anaphylaxis cardiovascular symptoms
- allergies symptoms
- allergy symptoms
- anaphylactic
- anaphylactic reaction
- anaphylactic shock symptoms
- anaphylaxis treatment
- food allergies
- mild anaphylaxis symptoms
- nut allergy symptoms
- signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis
- skin allergy symptoms
- wheat allergy symptoms
