Anaphylaxis

What Makes Anaphylaxis Dangerous And How To Avoid The Death Risk?

Anaphylaxis is the most severe allergy reaction, that involves many different parts of human body systems including skin, airways, digestion system, and cardiovascular system. The most dangerous of anaphylaxis reaction is death!

Anaphylaxis Symptoms

Anaphylaxis reaction will appear when a patient has got a sensitization from certain allergen exposure. This exposure will wake up some reaction from patient’s entire body. In a simple way, your body has an immune system whose job is to produce antibody to fight any ‘invader’ who attacks immune system. The antibody is called IgE (immunoglobulin). IgE can attach itself onto mast cells and basophil (white blood cells).

After sensitization process, your immune system will keep a memory about the invader. Next time, when the same invader revisit your body, IgE will identifies it, and then releases chemical substances such as histamine and leucotriene from white blood cells, which can cause vein leakage in your entire body. The leakage will cause swollen to your body parts, and will drop down your blood pressure.

What you can actually see on a patient who has anaphylaxis is the following (in the actual order) :

Itchy on the entire body (skin, nose, throat and even eyes)
Redness on the skin
Urticaria (nettle-rash) in skin, and angio-oedema (swollen on face or tongue)
Hoarse voice, and difficult swallowing (caused by swollen throat)
Difficult breathing (caused by swollen and narrower airways)
Dropping blood pressure, and signs of fainting (quickening pulse)
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
Fainting, and death

What Cause Anaphylaxis ?

Food allergy. Peanut is the most common cause, but fish allergy and egg allergy can also cause anaphylaxis.
Insect stings (especially a big bee).
Drugs / vaccine (antibiotics).
In few cases, excess exercise and extreme temperature can also cause anaphylaxis.

Anaphylaxis Treatment

Prevention

People with asthma and/or allergy have the risk of anaphylaxis, especially those with un-controlled asthma and/or severe allergy risk. These people should consult to an allergy specialist. When the anaphylaxis trigger has been identified by allergy testing, you must avoid the allergen very carefully.

Anti-histamine

If you have anaphylaxis history or risk, immediately take antihistamine when you get allergy symptoms. This medicine can fight the effect of histamine and prevent the development of anaphylaxis.

Epinephrine

However, when you/your families already got anaphylaxis, immediately give the patient epinephrine using self-injectable pen called EpiPen. Epinephrine, which is replacement of adrenaline, can work effectively to fight the chemical effect from anaphylaxis reaction, by narrowing the vein, increase the blood level, stimulate cardiovascular, and increase blood pressure. If you are an asthma or allergy patient with anaphylaxis risk, ALWAYS bring an EpiPen wherever you are, 2-3 dose. In an emergency case of anaphylaxis attack, you might need the second or even third shot of epinephrine before you get emergency medical help. Epinephrine can be given together with anti-histamine without problem.

Action Plan

A patient with high risk of anaphylaxis should always bring an action plan wherever he/she go. Put your complete name, address, and phone number of closest person should be contacted when you got attack. Write also your allergy/asthma history and any other serious health problems. Mention there that whoever helps you, must immediately call an ambulance. Give copies of the action plan to whomever you think is important, your colleagues or school personnel of your children.

How To Use EpiPen

When you have anaphylaxis, you must know how to use EpiPen. Teach also your family, close friends, or colleagues how and when to give an epinephrine injection. If it is your children who has the risk, ask their teacher or school personnel and their nanny to give the injection.

This is a simple instruction of injecting EpiPen :

Pull the seal cover.
Put the black tip on your upper thigh (no need to undress the patient, unless the fabrics is too thick).
Strongly press the EpiPen into your thigh until you feel the injection done.
Hold the EpiPen for 10 seconds.
Release the EpiPen while slowly massage the injected area.
Call for medical help/ambulance.
If the symptoms have not reduced after 30 minutes while you are waiting for medical help, give the second injection.

You can watch the live training video of How To Use EpiPen :

More about EpiPen :

Keep EpiPen in room temperature.
Do not keep it in the refrigerator, as it might not function when you keep it to long.
When the due date comes, replace the old EpiPen with the new one.
EpiPen cannot be exposed to either or hot temperature (like in car baggage), or direct sun ray, as it will decrease the epinephrine quality when the color changed to brown.
Frequently check the epinephrine liquid from the glass tube, if the color change, throw it immediately.
Keep the EpiPen always in a safety tube designed for EpiPen.
When you feel like having anaphylaxis, use EpiPen right away, don’t wait until you feel sure. Epinephrine has no side effect, in case your feeling is false and you did not get the attack. Just use epinephrine whenever you feel unsure, don’t wait until it’s too late!
After using epinephrine, immediately call for ambulance (always bring and activate your cellular phone).
You must get emergency help within 4 hours from the first anaphylaxis attack, to ensure that the reaction does not worsen.
Do not forget to replace your EpiPen spares after you use the old ones.

Find out everything you want to know about allergy and anaphylaxis in my online 1st Asthma Store!

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