Anaphylaxis

[MrsMatt]

My 10 1/2 year old daughter experienced an anaphylactic reaction last Saturday, which ended in a call to 911 and an ambulance ride to the ER. This has never happened before, and while she does have an appointment to see her primary physician next Monday to determine a course of action, I'm just looking for support and guidance.

[electron_blue]

1. I'm so sorry to hear that. How is she doing now?

And how are *you* doing? My daughter had one 2 years ago to a type of nut and my life hasn't been the same since. Our primary physician was wonderful, and I hope yours is, too. I hope you follow up with an specialist in allergies, as this field has changed a great deal in the last 5 years.

[MrsMatt]

2. She's doing well

it was a scary reaction but she seems to have recovered.

I'm fine too - I feel very fortunate in that my husband had been in a situation where someone whom he was having dinner with had the same reaction, and immediately took a benadryl as a first course of action. We keep benadryl on hand because our daughter has some mild season allergies, and Matt remembered this incident, and gave her a dose right before calling 911. The paramedics told him it was the best thing he could have done.

She's scheduled to see her primary this afternoon (her doctor is GREAT) and we'll see what happens.

Thanks for your concern and support!

[qb]

3. My heart goes out to you. My son has a severe peanut allergy.

A year ago he nearly died after eating a toaster waffle with no peanuts in the ingredients, but that we later discovered was manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts. Fortunately my ex-wife overcame her fear and jabbed him in the leg with his epipen - that's what saved his life. He had difficulty breathing in the ambulance, but that cleared up by the time he got to the ER. A follow-up with Benadryl and steroids was required to take care of any lingering effects.

Do you know what caused the reaction? I assume your daughter will be referred to an allergist and will get her own epipen. If she doesn't, definitely ask "Why not?" I know you are looking for reassurance, but you should know that the next reaction could be worse. However, if you're careful there may never be another reaction.

We had to file a 504 (disability) plan with my son's school to make sure they took peanut butter off the school lunch menu and provided him with a peanut-safe table apart from anyone who might bring peanut butter from home. I always discuss his allergy with the kitchen staff when we eat out, and of course check ingredients when shopping.

Here's a good link: http://www.foodallergy.org/

Best of luck to you!

[MrsMatt]

5. How awful for your family!

Those allergic reactions are insanely scary. For everyone. I'm glad it turned out well for your son, and kudos to your ex for her bravery.

As far as what triggered it, we're thinking that it was the Brazil nut - she'd been eating the almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts without any problems, but once she put the brazil nut in her mouth, the reaction was immediate. I do know that reactions can be delayed, so we're not ruling out any of the tree nuts.

The doctor at the ER prescribed an epi-pen, she's been seen by her primary doctor (who gave me the contact information for a local support group of parents of children with food allergies, AND another epi-pen), and she has an appointment with the allergist on the 21st of January. Hopefully at that time, we'll be able to get a handle on what we're faced with.

I've been doing a lot of trolling on the internet, trying to find out information, but it sure doesn't beat a professional evaluation!

[qb]

6. Thank you. I am glad your daughter is getting good professional help.

I think you will feel reassured after you get the lab results from her allergy tests.

I had an anaphylactic reaction to Brazil nuts years ago and foolishly did nothing about it until my son's peanut allergy was discovered. I now carry an epipen too. I hope your daughter is only allergic to Brazil nuts. Unlike peanuts, they are quite easy to avoid.

Here's a link to an epipen carrier that works great for my son:

http://www.medipouch.com/

PM me if you would like me to send you the food allergy action plan that we give to his teachers and friends' parents.

[tigereye]

4. that's must have been so scary for you!

I am glad she is ok. It's so odd when kids have been exposed to so much already if they are older, and things seem to happen out of the blue.

:hug:

my son got hives from a cat one time, and I used to have to carry Benadryl around for quite a while.

[Caoimhe]

7. On July 3rd I had a massive anaphylactic episode and it scared the living &*@! out of me!

Doesn't help that we were on vacation and in Hollywood. I was alone in the motel room and felt my eyes begin swelling. By the time my husband arrived back at the motel, I was in full blown crisis mode. I should have called 9-11 when it first started, but I couldn't imagine that it would keep getting worse, I thought if I just laid down and calmed down and tried not to scratch my face or scalp, it would go away. Not so. I am lucky to be alive, and lucky to have been a few short blocks away from Cedars-Sinai hospital, where they took one look at me and started an IV within 30 seconds, filling me with epinephrine and prednisone. It still took nearly 3 days for my face to lose all the swelling. I used to think people with food allergies were just overly sensitive.. now I realize how life threatening and frightening the experience is. I have followed up with my regular MD and am scheduled to see an allergist to determine what could have triggered it (I still have no idea). I also have a scrip for an epipen waiting at the pharmacy, and a teacher husband who told me last night he is trained in how to use it (bonus!).

I feel for your daughter, what a scary thing to happen. Did her eyes swell completely shut?

Good luck finding out what the trigger was, and may this never happen to her again.