"Anytime your breathing is compromised, or you feel like your face or tongue are starting to swell up, or you start to have stridor — that squeaky kind of breathing — you need to make sure you're calling 911 and getting to the nearest emergency room," she adds.
“When there is swelling around the lips or back of the throat, that's when we get concerned,” Dr. Larson says. “That could compromise someone's ability to breathe.” Throat swelling or closure is a sign of anaphylaxis, the most severe type of allergic reaction that, without treatment, can lead to death.
Sometimes the symptoms can come back even stronger after several hours. This is referred to as biphasic anaphylaxis. The ER medical personnel will monitor the patient and provide additional medications ensuring the allergic symptoms are under control. Many allergic reactions can be managed with the right medical care.
Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat. Shortness of breath, trouble breathing or wheezing (whistling sound during breathing) Dizziness and/or fainting. Stomach pain, bloating, vomiting, or diarrhea.
Epinephrine (adrenaline) to reduce the body's allergic response. Oxygen, to help you breathe. Intravenous (IV) antihistamines and cortisone to reduce inflammation of the air passages and improve breathing. A beta-agonist (such as albuterol) to relieve breathing symptoms.
itchy skin or a raised rash (hives) diarrhoea. feeling or being sick. swollen eyes, lips, mouth or throat.
Anaphylaxis symptoms occur suddenly and can progress quickly. The early symptoms may be mild, such as a runny nose, a skin rash or a “strange feeling.” These symptoms can quickly lead to more serious problems, including: Trouble breathing. Hives or swelling.
Your allergies will last as long as your allergen exposure. Once you're no longer around allergens, your symptoms should go away after a few hours. However, if you have inhalant allergies, your symptoms may last for several days or longer due to ongoing exposure to pets, dust mites and pollens.
For a severe attack of hives or angioedema, you may need a trip to the emergency room and an emergency injection of epinephrine — a type of adrenaline.
Key points to remember
Allergic reactions are common in children. Most reactions are mild. A severe allergic reaction (i.e. anaphylaxis) involves a person's breathing and/or circulation. Anaphylaxis is the most severe form of an allergic reaction and is life threatening.
Signs and symptoms include: Skin reactions, including hives and itching and flushed or pale skin. Low blood pressure (hypotension) Constriction of the airways and a swollen tongue or throat, which can cause wheezing and trouble breathing.
Anaphylaxis is a serious, rapid-onset, allergic reaction that may cause death. Severe anaphylaxis is characterized by life-threatening upper airway obstruction, bronchospasm and/or hypotension.
Mild to moderate allergic reaction
Swelling of lips, face & eyes. Hives or welts. Tingling mouth. Abdominal pain, vomiting (these are signs of anaphylaxis for insect allergy)
The Allergic Response
Allergic responses have two phases: the acute and the chronic, observed as Wheal and Flare. This generally occurs rapidly after allergen exposure (<1hour).
Some people may experience a mild anaphylactic reaction and not go into shock. For example, they may experience hives and difficulty breathing after accidentally eating a food allergen. They may not see a sudden drop in blood pressure that leads to anaphylactic shock.
Additional Indicators of an Allergic Reaction
Itching is also considered a mild symptom that can appear alongside both of these warning signs. In severe or anaphylactic reactions, patients may experience swelling that occurs in their face, tongue, or even their eyes.
Fatal outcomes due to anaphylaxis are rare,25, 26 and around 80% of reactions resolve without (or despite no treatment with) adrenaline. However, severe reactions cannot be predicted,1 thus all anaphylaxis reactions must be treated as potentially life-threatening.
Gan Su, DO, an emergency medicine physician at Medical City Arlington, says the main signs that should send you running to an emergency room with an allergic reaction include: Hives all over your body. Breathing problems.
If you have hives along with fever, nausea, stomach cramps, shortness of breath, and a drop in blood pressure after a bee sting, insect bite, or drug injection, that can be a sign of a life-threatening allergy.
Call 911 if: You have symptoms of a severe allergic reaction. These may include: Sudden raised, red areas (hives) all over your body.
The wheals generally appear in clusters, with one cluster getting worse as another gets better. Most wheals disappear without a trace within a few hours, only to be replaced by a new one elsewhere on the skin.