anaphylaxis without any previous allergies

[HazleNutt]

I'm not really sure what my question is, but hopefully someone can offer some useful advice.

I have never had any allergies, not even a hint. But ended up in A&E with anaphylactic shock this Monday after dinner. Had both shrimp and nuts, so not sure what caused the reaction. Was terrifying though. Will be having tests soon, but at the moment I'm afraid to eat anything - whenever I take a bite, I imagine my lips swelling up and throat itching.

So..now what? Does anybody have similar experiences, when first time allergy was already very serious? What about the next time? Is it likely that I will now get a reaction from just a trace? Likely that I'm suddenly allergic to lot of other things?

Do those epi-pens really work?

Sorry for not a very coherent post, any replies greatly appreciated.

Avoid all traces of may contain nuts, peanuts or shellfish. Have you been referred to an allergy clinic?

Do you have epi pens?

Not referred yet, am abroad and they said just talk to GP in a few weeks, as apparently they can't test yet. Referral should not be a problem though. Yes, I have epi pens.

where abroad are u? are you able to check labels etc for nuts or nut traces in ingredients?

France, so everything is clearly labelled. I'm worried though that if I developed this severe allergic reaction for one thing totally out of blue, I could also be allergic to something else I don't even know to look out for. How to people manage not to panic?

My dd developed her peanut allergy at 4.

I've read about a newsreader (or similar) who had an anaphylactic reaction as an adult. She was at ascot or something anditbwas to shellfish.

here

I have heard of a few cases recently of adults reacting to nuts or peanuts out of the blue, with no allergic history. A friend developed anaphylaxis to peanuts at the age of 22 after living on peanut butter sandwiches as a child. She is now in her 40s but hasn't developed any other allergies apart from brazil nuts so it doesn't necessarily mean you will have reactions to other foods at all.
Once you have some tests it will make it easier as at least you will know what to avoid, but I know it is scary. My son developed peanut allergy at the age of 11 and I do worry that he will start reacting to other things.
Epipens are usually very effective if given quickly. If you did think you were having a reaction, or even suspected it, use the epipen straight away and dial for ambulance. We have been told that it is far safer to use it when it isn't needed than delaying its use. I used to think it was a last resort and to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary but now I've learnt that, once it becomes clear that a reaction is involving the whole body (rather than say just itchy eyes or something very localised) use it straight away.
There is no way of knowing if you would react to traces of nuts or fish or whatever you are allergic to but it would definitely be a good idea to avoid traces until you have seen an allergy specialist. How much longer are you on holiday?

thank you - I'm not on holiday, live in France but my French is not good enough to search for local forums. My GP here actually sent me to the blood test, hopefully will get results soon.

Has your son had anaphylaxis as well? If someone has it once, does it mean then will have a severe reaction every time?

My son had an anaphylactic reaction to a trace of a peanut but had never reacted to peanut before, although he hadn't eaten it that many times. He had previously had a reaction to kiwi fruit (6 years earlier) when his face and eyes had swollen up but there had been no breathing difficulties. Apart from that he hadn't reacted to anything.

This time his face didn't swell so badly but it was a much worse reaction as it affected his breathing, he was sick etc etc

When I asked the consultant about further reactions she said that they do tend to get worse each time but, having said that, the severity can be affected by circumstances. Apparently exercise, alcohol, poorly controlled asthma, illness can all make reactions much more severe. This fitted with my son as he had just come home from football practice and had been running around for an hour just before eating his tea.
Obviously, she wasn't saying don't exercise, just to be aware that if he started to react just after or during exercise to be really vigilant as it would probably increase the severity of a reaction.

I think once you have had an anaphylactic reaction they always assume that the next one will be at least as bad so that people are on their guard and act immediately, rather than waiting to see. Because my son has only had one anaphylactic reaction, I don't know if you can have a milder reaction to the same allergen after having a severe reaction. I've always assumed not but it would be interesting to know of anyone knows otherwise?

thank you - it's difficult not to panic, mostly because I don't really know what caused the reaction. So whenever I eat something, I immediately start imagining all kinds of symptoms. Hopefully will get the test results back soon.