to think this can't really be a life threatening allergy?

[Feminine]

I might be getting this all wrong?

My newish neighbour has just told me that she has a severe nut allergy ,throat closes ,can't breathe etc...

I said " Oh ,goodness sorry, and I've been sending your children over with cakes and biscuits not realizing! you must have an Epi pen right?"

"No" she said " "I just drink half a bottle of Piriton"

For a life threatening allergy ...is that enough?

she should have been prescribed an epipen but a good glug of anti-histamine is the first recommended approach from many specialists (others disagree)

It really isn't as simple as 'just getting checked'. My DS2 has a long list of severe food allergies and has been anaphylactic many, many times.

He is currently almost 4 years old and we've known about his allergies since he went into anaphylactic shock at 6.5 months old. In that time, I've managed to secure one food challenge which, as Babybarrister says, is the only accurate test. I phone the hospital constantly to chase up his case, and try and get challenges set, but they just don't have the resources.

If we could get more food challenges organised, they have the potential to change his life. Every step of his care has been a fight, unfortunately.

I have a severe allergy to animal hair. My throat closes, my eyes and face swell up and I literally have to gasp for breath. The worst thing is the panic this leads to, which makes it far warse. It's horrible and tbh I avoid friends houses if they have pets. Sad but true. But I don't have an epipen. But I think that's because it seems a massive waste of everyone's time to make a big deal about something I can avoid. It doesn't make my allergy any less serious. And really, Piriton is amazing stuff. The bottled stuff seems to work very very quickly for me.

The only thing I have a severe allergy to (ie anaphylaxis) is morphine and other opiates. Given that they're only really administered in medical situations I don't have an epi pen. I do however have a severe intolerance to shellfish, which makes me vomit for approx 24 hours after ingestion. I get really badly mocked when I go to lengths to avoid it, never really understood why.

babybarrister brilliant, brilliant posts. I get so flipped off when people who clearly know nothing about allergies are quick to hoist their judgypants and call bullshit when they do not have the full facts.

I suffer anaphylaxis when I eat some nuts and honey, as well as other some other foods. I carry an epi-pen but I rarely use it now because I'm extremely careful what I consume. My friend has almost identical allergies and she doesn't carry an epi-pen, she prefers to manage her allergies by other means.

I do not advertise my allergies but I do inform anyone who offers me food. Like your son, babybarrister, I am not allergic to peanuts but allergic to 'tree nuts'. But it is easier to tell people I do not eat nuts. One of my DH's relatives had always described my allergies as attention seeking (may have seen me eating a peanut) and one day she decided to test the theory by serving a dish with crushed almonds after assuring me it contained nothing that could trigger a reaction. I had anaphylactic shock about 20 minutes after I ate the first mouthful. Stupid, evil and criminal. My DH's relationship with certain members of his family has suffered irreparably as a result of this incident (but that's a whole new thread).

Some people lie, but I say it is always best to err on the side of caution.

Well a neighbour of mine is allergic to some medication (I can't remember which one - paracetemol? asprin? something common like that) and she came over one night in a bit of a rush, her face had swollen up, and she could barely see (eyes shutting) - apparently she'd taken the wrong tablets at home for a headache and was having an allergic reaction. I believe her ability to breathe was affected too (throat).

Obviously I was a bit frantic at this (we'd only just moved in, and I'd only seen her in passing a couple of times) but she explained that she just needed a piritin tablet if we had them and that it was a slow reaction, it would be another 30mins before her DH might take her to A&E if they couldn't get to a chemist (unlikely, i don't know any 24hr ones here and the nearest big-ish supermarket is miles away), because he was still looking through the first aid kit at home trying to locate theirs.

She didn't seem too panicked though, DH just gave her one of his piritin tablets, she went back across the road, her DH came down 20mins later thanking us because the swelling was going down just fine (as it apparently had before). they brought over a bottle of wine as a thank you a few days later.

Before that incident, I might have sided with the OP. but having seen with my own eyes that a life-threatening reaction (or what seemed like it - the lady looked in a right state) be calmed by a single tablet, i know i'm in NO position to judge.

DS1 has sever allergies to numerous things, as does DH, both have epi-pens. Not every reaction requires a stab with the epi-pen, a good old swig of anti-histamine is often sufficient. You should only use the epi-pen in extreme circumstances.

Like babybarrister has said, there are a lot of people out there including on this thread, who should have epipens. GP's and non allergy specialists are not qualified to be telling you that you don't need an epipen. Anybody who has a reaction to peanuts should definitely have an epipen. Most proteins do denature when heated, but the allergen in peanuts is made more active by heating, which makes it the most life threatening, and contamination is a much bigger issue. Simply by being in the same factory means that tiny particles in the air that have been heated and made more active can go into non nut containing food and make it a potential life threatening food. Please tell your neighbour to see an allergy specialist, reactions are unpredictable and previous reactions are not a predicter of next ones.

My neighbours DD is allergic to nuts and doesn't have an epi-pen, carry puriton but is asthmatic and carries an inhaler.

My DS has had allergic reactions, one very severe one, has no known allergen but has epi-pens.

My DS though has been treated with puriton even when reaction has been fairly bad - 15ml once in one go.

Everyone's reactions are different. You can never know how bad it will be and anyone can have a reaction even in adulthood that's never had one before.

Some cons will give an epi-pen because of previous reactions requiring ambulance, some in case of severe reaction where AH don't help and some because of the allergen someone is allergic to even if previous reactions haven't been severe.

If I was your neighbour I would be wanting one, but that's because of my experience of a friend dying of anaphylaxis after eating a cross contaminated yoghurt and my experience of DS.

Thanks for all the detailed, fantastic replies :)

As I said earlier ,the level of her allergy startled me ; as I had been sending all those treats over ...unaware.

I am truly sorry for all of you that have to deal with allergies on a daily basis...