Was this mild anaphylaxis?

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DD age 15 has no known allergies however had a very scary reaction after eating foods she normally has no problem with.

Symptoms all came on very suddenly: extreme tummy pain, nausea, diarrhea, flushing, clammy skin, very itchy palms + soles of feet (sign of histamine release), racing heartbeat, went completely grey and fainted.

Have spoken to GP who don’t want to prescribe epipen unless we know what she is actually allergic to or has a worse reaction. No idea what to test for either as she had such a wide variety of foods which we are now avoiding.

GPs don't usually prescribe epipens without the advice of an Allergist - not sure what those services are like at the moment. Good luck

My DS has allergies and carries an epipen. He sometimes gets tummy pain and vomits when has too much wheat in his diet. Your DD has had a mild reaction and doesn't need an epipen. Some of your list of symptoms doesn't bare any resemblance to those on our allergy anaphylaxis care plan for example itchy palms and feet . My son has suffered since a baby and never had those ever. We got our epipen because my son was seen by the allergy team and was high risk of anaphylaxis with nuts and eggs Amongst a number of other things .
He has severe reactions when his tongue swelled up and his eyes swelled and closed up too and breathing was affected. It also affects him for days after having a mild reaction and has terrible itching in his skin and around his eye.

Are you unable to identify the trigger? It is unusual to have a reaction at 15 having never had allergy before so you may find she has had a reaction to one of the foods. It is highly likely to be something she hasn't had before mixed in with stuff she has. You need to take time to go over it . It took us 6 mths to establish what my baby was allergic too so it's not easy. The time was due to finally getting an appointment with the allergy team. Get some piriton or cetirizine incase ur happens again

@sunflowersandtulips50 Yes, we are very aware they aren’t the usual allergy symptoms - she’s a bit of a mystery!! Having spoken to GP + medical friends since though we are pretty certain that it is.

We have gone over ingredients of everything she ate that day and none of them are things she has ever had a problem with before so the plot thickens....

Only allergies she has ever had are pollen + dogs which she has long grown out of so this is all very new to us.

She keeps having smaller, random reactions so Piriton constantly at hand these days! GP’s only advice was to keep her on an antihistamine long term to stop her immune system going into overdrive as it is at the minute so shall see how we go :)

As far as the itchy hands and feet are concerned, I had this during my first episode of anaphylaxis. I had a reaction to aspirin, it started as itching hands and feet, then head, and my airways swelled up. My face was so swollen I could hardly see out of my eyes.
I don't have an epipen as it's relatively easy to avoid aspirin, I've had reactions to other things but they are usually helped with antihistamines.
My daughter has an epipen, she's allergic to a lot of things including quorn!

@susandelgado Ah! Very interesting to hear of another person with the itchy hands + feet phenomenon - thank you!

I’m not the only one I know that this has happened to, my cousin was in work when there was a chemical spill, his hands and feet started itching then he had quite a bad reaction to the chemical and was taken to hospital 😐

There is no such things as mild anaphylaxis. if this is truly linked to a food reaction you need a referral. See other Gps in your practice to get one.

My DC have anaphylactic reactions to a range of foods. They have had mild - severe reactions over the years. But even the mild reactions were different to this (they always involve swelling to face, lips, throat and hives).

This doesn’t sound like an anaphylactic reaction - and that is a good thing.

Agree there is no ‘mild’ reaction - more like sometimes the reaction is more extreme than others depending on the amount of allergen they are exposed to.

Anaphylaxis isn’t mild. She’s had a mild to moderate allergic reaction. My DD had a reaction to pecan age 5. Never itchy mouth, tummy ache and vomited. We were referred and her skin prick test showed several tree nut but not peanut allergy. Epipen was deemed unnecessary. We avoid all nuts and it’s never happened since. She’s 16 now and I’d like to get her tested again now that she’s entering the more independent stage.

*Had an itchy mouth not never an itchy mouth.

I had a very similar reaction a number of years ago. The palms of my hands and soles of my feet went extremely itchy and then within minutes, my whole body, including the whites of my eyes turned red. Was rushed to hospital and doctors said it was an allergic reaction. We narrowed it down to an NSAID tablet I'd taken that day. I had previously taken them with no problems and it was assumed it was a reaction to one of the ingredients in it, which differ depending on manufacturer.
Had your daughter taken any medication that day? I'm also allergic to penicillin after having a reaction in childhood. Again, doctors now think it wasn't the penicillin itself but another ingredient in the tablets I was taking.

@canteatcustard

There is no such things as mild anaphylaxis. if this is truly linked to a food reaction you need a referral. See other Gps in your practice to get one.

I was about to say the same. One of my DC is allergic to one particular nut. The first time he ate the offender, he immediately went bright red and started screaming, then vomited - but only a bit. The second time, he was about four, and said his mouth felt 'buzzy'. His face then swelled up visibly and he had simultaneous and severe diarrhoea and vomiting.

At that point, I took him to the GP, who referred him to a fantastic consultant. He did various tests and diagnosed a severe allergy to that particular nut, and 'possible' and 'milder' allergies to various other things (nuts, pollen, animals, grass, dust, etc).

We were told at the time that the reaction to an allergen tends to be worse with each subsequent exposure. However, we were also told that people tend to grow out of allergies to some extent.

DS is bothered by the 'possible' items even now, aged 19, but only in such a way that he complains about them. His hayfever is less bad than when he was little, when he used to be sent home from school because his eyes were so swollen that he couldn't see, despite various medications. He still (and wisely) won't touch nuts of any description, though.

Yes that's anaphylaxis. My DS mostly goes grey and faints.

Grey and fainting is blood pressure dropping which is very dangerous.

I'm actually quite horrified at the people on here saying that's a mild reaction and not anaphylaxis.

www.bsaci.org/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=148391

This is the allergy plan my kids have. Loss of consciousness =anaphylaxis.

Agree, some odd advice here. Get a referral to allergist. Also, food diary / photos and video of any reaction/ a&e if it happens again. One of my children has a life threatening allergy to peanut and one of the ways this could manifest itself apparently is through fainting or sleepiness rather than struggling for breath.

And you absolutely can develop allergies to things you’ve always been fine with, or develop new allergies at any age. I know several people who’ve developed anaphylaxis to previously “safe” foods at ages ranging from 20 to 70.

How did her episode resolve itself? Did you give antihistamine?

Sorry I missed your follow up. If she is having smaller random reactions she absolutely needs to see a specialist.

Perhaps a reaction to chemicals/pesticides on unwashed fruit or veg?

Def needs to be referred to an allergy specialist. Allergies are such odd things and can present differently to other people. We have epipens for my dc and his reactions can differ depending how much he’s accidentally eaten, if it was cooked, if he is already ill or suffering from hayfever the reactions can be worse.

He’s had a full anaphylaxis reaction to “raw” milk but oddly can tolerate some butter in baked goods because the proteins are broken down more but has a similar reaction to your dc if he accidentally has something with milk powder. It’s utterly confusing.

All of the above have happened because of shit labelling btw. I’d keep a food diary for a bit including his food have been prepared and/or cooked.

Weird question but has your daughter dyed her hair or had a black henna tattoo? My daughter had no allergies until she got a (now illegal) henna tattoo that had black dye added and she reacted to it. That triggered lots of very random allergies - tree nuts, nickel, black dye and a few others. She has very similar reactions when she eats a small amount of those foods - not anaphylactic but a definite reaction. After she has been sick she sleeps for hours. She had a full allergy test at the hospital and a primary PPD allergy was confirmed.

I would absolutely get your child checked out by an allergy specialist. Some of the advice given by one of the previous posters sounds particularly dangerous ("Your DD has had a mild reaction and doesn't need an epipen").

Whilst your daughter awaits for a diagnosis and a possible prescription for adrenaline auto-injectors, please carry around with you Piriton.

I am a mum of a teenager that suffers from a severe dairy allergy and his symptoms were very similar to what your daughter suffered when he had soup that was laced with a small amount of dairy. He had to have 3 adrenaline auto-injectors, intravenous steroids and oxygen to stabilise him plus a 72 hour stay in hospital and a week of Piriton (or more accurately chlorphenamine maleate).

Allergies can develop at any age but they can also disappear and only to reappear later in life too and with different symptoms which totally adds to the confusion. Plus there's allergic load to contend with.

Please be vigilant and good luck.

Another thing - my dc was part of the LEAP study and we saw some of the top allergy consultants as part of it. I remember one saying allergies go in 7 yr cycles, that you can grow out of them but also in to them if you know what I mean. He explained why and I can’t remember what he said sorry, probably because I had a bit of a crush on him so found it hard to focus

You cant have a mild Anaphylaxis...

Anaphylaxis is when your airways close and you cant breath.

Fainting is fairly severe, normally caused by a drop in blood pressure.
She needs more allergy testing.

Epi pens are for Anaphylaxis, when the airways become / starts to / risk of closing