Anaphylaxis
If you have a serious allergy or have experienced anaphylaxis, it's important to try to prevent future episodes.
The main things you can do to reduce your risk are outlined below.
Finding out if you're allergic to anything that could trigger anaphylaxis can help you avoid these triggers in the future.
If you've had anaphylaxis andhaven't already been diagnosed with an Indoor allergy , you shouldbe referred toan allergy clinic for tests to identify any triggers.
The most commonly used tests are:
See below for advice about avoiding some specific triggers.
You can reduce the chances of being exposed to a food allergen by:
Read about living with a food allergy for more information.
You can reduce your risk of being stung by an insect by taking basic precautions, such as:
Some specialist allergy centres can also offer special treatment to help desensitise you to insect stings (immunotherapy).
For example, if you're allergic to:
Always tell any healthcare professional about medicine allergies you have, as they may not be aware of them.
You may be prescribed an adrenaline auto-injector if there's an ongoing risk you could develop anaphylaxis.
There are three types of auto-injector EpiPen , Jext and Emerade that are each slightly different.Click on the links for advice about how to use these injectors.
It's important to remember the following:
If your child has an auto-injector, they will need to change over to an adult dose once they reach 30kg (approximately4.5 stone).
Find out about the symptoms of anaphylaxis, how to treat it, why it happens and how to prevent it.
The symptoms include: feeling lightheadedness, breathing difficulties such as fast, shallow breathing, wheezing, a fast heartbeat, clammy skin, confusion and anxiety, collapsing or losing consciousness.
Find out what to do if you think you or someone else is experiencing anaphylaxis.
Find out what you can do to reduce your risk of experiencing anaphylaxis, including avoiding triggers and carrying an adrenaline auto-injector at all times.