Anaphylaxis
- Anaphylaxis
- (Anaphylactic shock)
- is
- an immediate severe allergic reaction.
- It
- is
- a life-threating problem.
- Symptoms
- often
- develop very rapidly
- within several seconds
- or
- minutes,
- and
- the reaction
- leads to difficulty
- in breathing,
- and
- a shock
- that may cause death.
- Anaphylaxis
- is
- the systemic allergic reaction,
- whole body reaction,
- to an allergen.
- Your immune system
- becomes sensitive
- to an allergen,
- a foreign substance
- taken into you body,
- after it is exposed
- to the allergen,
- and
- a later exposure
- to that allergen
- may cause anaphylactic shock.
- Animal bites
- and
- stings
- can trigger anaphylaxis.
- Wasps
- and
- yellow jacket bees
- cause 30 to 120 deaths
- each year in the U.S.
- Yellow jacket bees
- cause over 95%
- of the allergic insect stings
- in this country.
- Fifty percent of deaths
- occur
- within 30 minutes
- of the sting.
- The sting
- involves injecting venom
- (poisonous fluid)
- into the human body
- from the bee's stinger.
- Anaphylaxis
- is
- an extreme reaction
- of the immune system.
- It
- is
- the most serious response
- to the insect sting,
- and
- it
- causes airway obstruction
- and
- severe hypotension
- that may lead to death.
- The first time
- you are stung
- by yellow jackets,
- you
- will not have an anaphylactic shock.
- You
- must be stung
- at least once in the past
- in order for your immune system
- to produce a kind of antibody
- that triggers the serious allergic reaction
- on subsequent stings.
- Some symptoms
- of the shock
- are:
- skin itching,
- difficult breathing,
- dizziness,
- and
- nausea.