Marsha: Hi! I'm Marsha from McMurray, Pennsylvania. I would like to know exactly, what are the symptoms of someone having an anaphylactic reaction.
Stacy Higgins: Well Marsha, that's really important because watching someone have an allergic or an anaphylactic reaction can be pretty scary. An anaphylactic reaction is defined as a severe allergic reaction that can cause a respiratory arrest or for the person to stop breathing as well as a very low blood pressure and collapse and if left untreated, could potentially cause death.
Some of the most common causes of an anaphylactic reaction are exposure to a food that the person has an allergy to. They may receive a medication that they're allergic to. It could be from an insect bite; particularly a bee sting or latex is more commonly seen as an allergy.
Some of the symptoms that you may see; the person may start to complain of closing of their throat or swelling in their throat or on their tongue. They may start to feel nauseous, begin to vomit, have diarrhea. They may be very flushed or they could be very pale. They may also report that their heart is beating very fast or that they have a very fast pulse rate that can be weak. And then finally, as their blood pressure starts to fall, they may begin to feel dizzy and if it falls low enough they may actually collapse.
Most importantly, if you witness someone having an allergic or anaphylactic reaction, you need to call 911.
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