Anaphylaxis - when an allergy can be really dangerous*

What is anaphylaxis?

Have you ever had an allergy (say al-er-gee) to something? Did your body show that you had come into contact with something that it didn't like?
Well, some people are so allergic to something that their bodies react so quickly and in several different ways that their lives can be in danger. Doctors call this severe allergic reaction 'anaphylaxis' (say anna-fill-ax-is)

What are the causes?

There are four main causes.



1. Allergy to food
The most common triggers of anaphylaxis are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, fish, shellfish and soy. However, rarely, other types of food can be a trigger to some people.

Even the tiniest amount of a trigger food can cause some people to be really sick. Even being anywhere near their trigger food can make a few people really sick, even if they do not put it into their mouths.
2. Allergy to insect bites and stings.


The most common insect causes of severe allergic reactions are bee stings, wasp stings and jumper ant stings. Sometimes ticks and fire ants can be a problem too.



3. Allergy to latex (say lay-tex), a kind of rubber which may be used for gloves, some types of first aid dressings or toys, etc.
4. Allergies to some medicines such as penicillin (say pen-i-sil-in) or aspirin.
Severe allergies to other things are pretty rare, and it can be very difficult to find out what caused the reaction.

What does it look like?

If someone is having an allergic reaction to something, they may have one or more of the following signs.

	A tingling feeling in and around the mouth.
	Hives or red blotches on the skin.
	The face, lips, eyes swell up and look puffy.
	Feeling sick or actually vomiting.

If someone is having a severe reaction or anaphylaxis, then the signs will be very easily seen.

	Breathing is hard because there is swelling in the throat or tubes leading to the lungs (trachea [say track-ee-a] and bronchi [say bron-key]),
		the person may have a croaky voice or not be able to talk at all.
		they may cough and wheeze.
	The person could go pale, floppy and collapse (faint).
	The person may have terribly itchy skin, where they are scratching and scratching to try to fix the itch.

What to do

If someone has anaphylaxis and they know that they have severe reactions to some things, they will probably have a special medicine called an EpiPen. This gives an injection of adrenaline.
Some older children are trained to give the injection themselves, but mostly an adult needs to give it.
If someone at school starts swelling up, wheezing and scratching tell a teacher straight away. The teacher will give the injection and call an ambulance.
If you are with your friend outside school and she or he is having difficulty breathing, then tell the nearest adult to call an ambulance on 000. The person answering the phone will be able to send an ambulance, and also be able to give you instructions on what to do.
Anaphylaxis is dangerous and your friend will need medical attention straight away.
Did you know that adrenaline is the chemical that your body produces when you are scared and need to fight or run away from danger? It makes your heart pump harder and faster and sends energy quickly round to your muscles so that they can be more powerful and get you out of danger.

Kids say

"I am allergic to bee stings so I had to have some medicine. I have some at school and some at home. My mum always has some when we go out just in case."
"I am allergic to peanuts so I can't have anything with peanuts in. Mum reads all the labels on food because sometimes there are peanuts in things and it makes me so sick that she has to use the EpiPen to make me better again and I have to go to hospital too."

Dr Kate says:

About 1 in every hundred kids have one or more episodes of anaphylaxis. Most only have this reaction once, but some have it many times. Most kids grow out of this reaction if it is caused by food, but if it is caused by something like a bee sting they may be really sensitive all their life.
Because the heart and lungs are affected anaphylaxis is very dangerous. If there is a kid in your class who has this problem your teacher will have told you what that kid is allergic to so that everyone can take care to protect their friend from being sick.
If you know that you have such a severe allergy then never share food and make sure that your friends all know so that you never get into contact with whatever you are allergic to.
It is a good idea to wear a special bracelet which has what you are allergic to written on it so that people know how to help you.
The site of Anaphylaxis Australia has a lot more information about anaphylaxis and the things that can help protect people from a severe allergic reaction
http://www.allergyfacts.org.au/index.html

*http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=285&id=2479