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| Thread ID: 92120 | 2008-07-29 22:36:00 | do i have an allergy? whats happening to me? | mOOseCaNNoN (13319) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 693476 | 2008-07-31 01:23:00 | So did the doc know what it was in the end Moosie? | wratterus (105) | ||
| 693477 | 2008-07-31 01:27:00 | We call it anaphylatic shock. I know this is long (over 30 words) but the possibility of loss of life is not something to take lightly. Anaphylaxis may begin with severe itching or swelling of the digital extremities (toes & fingers) eyes, eyelids, or lips and/or face, followed by these symptoms, usually within minutes of exposure to the allergen. Death can result if the throat or windpipe is involved and cuts off air from swelling of the interstitial tissues. Some cases are so severe that a tracheotomy is needed quickly. What Are the Symptoms? * Swelling of the throat, lips and tongue. * Difficulty breathing, caused by swelling of the throat and usually followed by constricting of the airways. * Tingling of the fingers/toes and possible itching. * Difficulty swallowing. * Hives. * Generalized flushing (redness and warmth) of the skin. * Abdominal cramps and nausea. * Increased heart rate. * Sudden weakness. * Drop in blood pressure. * Vomiting or diarrhea. * Swelling throughout the body. * Shock. * Unconsciousness. These symptoms in a child are very life-threatening. Do not delay in calling for immediate medical intervention. While waiting for the arrival of emergency personnel, administer diphenhydramine hydrochloride (Benadryl©) which should be kept in a cool, dark cabinet for such emergencies. Do not act too slowly - if in doubt, take or administer the Benedryl© anyway - it won't cause any untoward reactions. I wonder about the efficacy of a "chemist" as you call them in NOT knowing about this situation. Any medical or medically trained person would recognize the symptoms instantly. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are all taught to recognize and treat these same symptoms...it ain't brain surgery and anyone who is "medically-oriented" is terribly ignorant of the simplest conditions and is VERY SUSPECT for general medical knowledge. The following is a cut-n-paste from medical professionals. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Anaphylaxis is a severe, whole-body allergic reaction. After an initial exposure to a substance like bee sting toxin, the person's immune system becomes sensitized to that allergen. On a subsequent exposure, an allergic reaction occurs. This reaction is sudden, severe, and involves the whole body. Tissues in different parts of the body release histamine and other substances. This causes constriction of the airways, resulting in wheezing , difficulty breathing , and gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. Histamine causes the blood vessels to dilate (which lowers blood pressure) and fluid to leak from the bloodstream (edema) into the tissues (which lowers the blood volume). These effects result in shock . Fluid can leak into the alveoli (air sacs) of the lungs, causing pulmonary edema . Hives and angioedema (hives on the lips, eyelids, throat, and/or tongue) often occur. Angioedema may be severe enough to block the airway. Prolonged anaphylaxis can cause heart arrhythmias . Some drugs (polymyxin, morphine, x-ray dye, and others) may cause an anaphylactoid reaction (anaphylactic-like reaction) on the first exposure. This is usually due to a toxic reaction, rather than the immune system mechanism that occurs with "true" anaphylaxis. The symptoms, risk for complications without treatment, and treatment are the same, however, for both types of reactions. Anaphylaxis can occur in response to any allergen. Common causes include insect bites/stings, horse serum (used in some vaccines), food allergies , and drug allergies. Pollens and other inhaled allergens rarely cause anaphylaxis. Some people have an anaphylactic reaction with no identifiable cause. Anaphylaxis occurs infrequently. However, it is life-threatening and can occur at any time. Risks include prior history of any type of allergic reaction. |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 693478 | 2008-08-01 10:24:00 | I think describing some localised itching/swelling as anaphylactic shock is a little melodramatic. Shock by definition implies inadaquate tissue perfusion...ie very low blood pressure which the OP didn't have. And anaphylaxis is a generalised allergic reaction involving more than just the skin/tissues of the feet and hands. He/she as most likely had a non specific allergic reaction to something. Most commonly it will be food or contact related. It may or maynot happen again. You could try skin asking for skin testing through a gp refereal but would probably be a significant wait...up to you. But if it happened again and you felt unwell with the swelling especially if the rash was morew wide spread ask for medical help/call ambulance. ie short of breath, wheezy, itchy/swelling lips, light headed. A. |
afe66 (13778) | ||
| 693479 | 2008-08-01 10:52:00 | It can be food allergy, it can be other stuff like wool etc.. irritation, weather, etc. There are some tests that can be carried out for free if you get a script by the doctor. There may be medications that you can use but that may have effects long term. There is also things with specialists who can proceed with other solutions, alternative treatments. Some part of allergy is that it might be some putting up with. There are some poeple who are allergic to heat or even to water or their own sweat. For myself I have recently stopped taking milk or cream in my drinks, and sauces. Thou baking is looks fine. However I still get reactions and for me is really just putting up with it, I have some creams, some are non prescription that the Dr written for me, I also have corticosteroid creams but they have lost the effect but they can subdue the effect which fortunately I don't get blow ups (serious ones). With these creams the unfortunate thing is that it thins the skin. There are also antihistamnine tablets, which again for me which I had this allergy for sometime, that has lost effect. They used to work v well but over time not anymore ..... The question pops up, if you take these every day what effects are there .. Re: skin test there is a test called RAST thou my Dr says it can provide mix reactions because what the test says may not be always right to what you experience practially and its also not a silver bullet. Skin allergy is IMO one of the more difficult to diagnose because it may not be related to just one thing. Skin allergy can be said about crossing a 20 point threshold. That is you may be allergic to many things, not just one. Its v difficult to ascertain what it is. Eg., if you have a little it may not provoke a reaction but over time it may, and that food can stay in your system for a few days and combine with other stuff to cross that threshold then it causes a reaction. Eg., if you had some weetbix with your milk and a glass of orange juice, yesterday you may had some bananas and say tomorrow you may of had some strawberries .. that may cause a reaction.... |
Nomad (952) | ||
| 693480 | 2008-08-01 11:01:00 | In today's food its even more difficult to ascertain because if you buy a bottle of orange juice from the supermarket you have no idea where that is from, you don't know what type of oranges it is, and what are the other stuff that was used to make the juice and what preservatives are. If you had beef for dinner, do you not know how the cow was feed, fresh grass or hay grass or other foods. Same for the milk etc. So every little thing combines and when that threshold is over it reacts. |
Nomad (952) | ||
| 693481 | 2008-08-01 14:34:00 | I would chose to over-react, rather then dismiss ANY untoward rashes, swelling or itching as melodramatic and trivial . Since some chemicals are cumulative in the body and can reach a fatal threshold many months after the first bad reaction, they should never be disregarded as non-sinister or inconsequential . They are an indication of something wrong and needy of professional intervention . In children this is triply so . Biology and medicine are NOT sciences in the "hard science" definition like math and physics . . they instead are associative with observations and are considered a PRACTICE, rife with old wives' tales, social morès and outright voodoo . Humans (the life form in which we are most concerned here) have varied and seemingly dis-associative responses to mixed inputs and diverse pollution . No one person has the same results as another in many cases . What kills one person makes another strong . F'er instance: "lead ingestion" in the form of a bullet may or may not kill or mortally wound a person as angles, speed, trajectory, caliber ALL make huge differences . Add in fat deposits in the person and BMI and physical laws of energy can allow too many variables to chart well, if at all . If you're a Kennedy, a single bullet can enter you multiple times: I rest my point! Add in the very rare Situs Inversus ( . wikipedia . org/wiki/Situs_inversus" target="_blank">en . wikipedia . org) and things get interesting, but are YOU the 1 in 10,000? . OK . . a stretch and somewhat illogical, I'll agree . T . S . S . and A . S . S . are not something(s) to disregard though or dismiss lightly . |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 693482 | 2008-08-02 01:44:00 | This is New Zealand . She'll be right . Don't worry about it unless it happens again . Or mention it in passing to your neighbour next time you're having a chat over the back fence . |
rumpty (2863) | ||
| 693483 | 2008-08-02 05:00:00 | Mossie still hasn't said what the result was - he is keeping us in suspense. Maybe they are doing tests | smithie 38 (6684) | ||
| 693484 | 2008-08-02 05:03:00 | Hope he is still with us? Ken |
kenj (9738) | ||
| 693485 | 2008-08-02 05:29:00 | Now there's a somber thought. I can see the headlines now... | pine-o-cleen (2955) | ||
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