It's important to recognize that anaphylaxis could happen to your child. People with asthma, including kids, are at high risk for anaphylaxis, which is a severe allergic attack that can be life-threatening. So, it's crucial that your child knows what to do to prevent such an attack and how to respond if it should occur.
Understanding Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis is also known as allergic shock or the most severe form of an allergy attack. Luckily, it is fairly rare. It's true that kids who have asthma, food allergies, or stinging insect allergies are more likely to develop anaphylaxis. But you need to know that anaphylaxis can strike at any time and without any warning. Even if your kid has never had a severe allergic reaction before, he is still just as much at risk.
Anaphylaxis symptoms sometimes start out a lot like those of an asthma attack, including wheezing and an uncontrollable cough. This similarity can delay recognition that fast, emergency care is needed. Because allergic shock seems like an asthma attack, people often try to "fix" it by taking some puffs of a quick-relief inhaler. But that doesn't work, and the condition quickly escalates into a life-threatening situation. Survival is often dependent on getting a shot of epinephrine – immediately.
Proactive Parents CAN Protect Their Kids From Harm
But it's not all doom and gloom. You CAN take steps to keep your child from suffering harm, even if an anaphylactic reaction should occur. With the right plan, there is no reason in the world why your child cannot live a healthy, active life.
There are 3 strategies for keeping anaphylaxis at school from becoming a problem for your child. They include education, prevention and protection, each of which we'll examine more closely in the following sections.
Step 1. Education: Knowing What Might Happen Gives You Power
First, start with learning all you can about anaphylaxis, what causes it, how to stop it, and what tools are needed to combat it. Once you've educated yourself, begin teaching your child and the staff at your school what you have learned, so that everyone will be on the same page and prepared to take the right actions. Be sure to include your kid's teacher, school nurse, and gym teacher, at least.
The Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA) offers a detailed booklet on anaphylaxis that you can download from their website. This booklet is an excellent starting point for your education project. Here are a couple things you should know:
Common anaphylaxis triggers. Food allergies are probably the most common cause of anaphylaxis in kids. Allergies to peanuts and tree nuts are common culprits. But other allergies can also lead to allergic shock, including those to stinging insects, such as wasps, hornets, and fire ants. Latex is another possibility. You may have heard that healthcare workers are sometimes allergic to disposable gloves, but latex is also used in balloons, so sensitive kids can go into allergic shock after playing with balloons, even if they've never been allergic to them before.
Common anaphylaxis symptoms. It's also important that you, your child, and your child's school staff know how to recognize an anaphylaxis episode when it does begin. Early detection is essential if serious complications are to be avoided. Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that affects 2 or more parts of your body at the same time, regardless of where the actual exposure was. For example, the allergic reaction might begin after a bee sting on the hand, but can go on to affect the whole body. This is called a systemic reaction.
Symptoms often begin with the skin, in the form of a rash or hives. Then, they may progress to throat swelling, wheezing, and other signs of distress. But symptoms don't always occur in this sequence. Sometimes, anaphylaxis starts with a bang with the most severe symptoms. It's impossible to predict which way it will go.
Here is a more complete list of possible anaphylaxis symptoms:
- Skin symptoms – Rash, hives, itching
- Airways – wheezing, shortness of breath, throat swelling & tightness, coughing, hoarseness, chest tightness, stuffy, runny nose, trouble swallowing; itchy mouth / throat
- Stomach – nausea, abdominal pain & cramps, vomiting, diarrhea
- Circulation – paleness or blue skin color, weak pulse, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, shock
- Other – having a feeling of "impending doom," red, itchy, watery eyes, headache
To extend your learning even further, you might explore the many resources at The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network website, in particular their anaphylaxis page.
