Allergies from annoying to scary

Allergic reactions can vary from mild and annoying to severe life-threatening (anaphylactic) reactions.  Many people deal with mild hay fever allergy symptoms such as sneezing, a stuffy, itchy nose and sore throat from sinus drainage.  They deal with it and go on with their lives.  Some people notice they break out in hives and itch when they start taking a medication their doctor prescribed.  They should stop taking the medicine and call their doctor for a different prescription. These mild and annoying allergy symptoms happen.  Symptoms resulting from allergies can affect many parts of the body such as nose, throat, sinuses, ears, lining of the stomach and skin.  Some people deal with asthma caused by allergies. 

When a severe allergic reaction happens, what might start as a mild reaction becomes life threatening:  hives and itching quickly escalates into dizziness, difficulty breathing or wheezing, swelling of the mouth, tongue and airway which can cause a person to lose consciousness.  The person may experience vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps.  The person’s face may be reddened or the opposite:  it may be a pale color.  The person can go into shock with a low blood pressure and heart failure. The person suffering from an anaphylactic reaction needs immediate medical care.  If the person has an Epi-pen (epinephrine), it’s used to counteract the shock state while the person is transported to the nearly emergency room.  Anaphylaxis can result in death.  The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology shares information about anaphylaxis at http://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/allergies/anaphylaxis.aspx