Allergies can range from benign to life threatening. People might react completely differently to the same allergy, which sometimes makes them difficult to manage. While for some people, they might be a slight nuisance, allergy treatment can be a question of life and death for others. Let’s take a closer look at some of the symptoms of severe allergies and how to treat them.
To understand severe allergy symptoms, it’s important to know mild symptoms as well. Mild allergy symptoms will often be characterized by things like hives, a runny nose, itchy eyes, skin rash, stomach cramping and nausea. These are usually not life threatening even if they might spread to your entire body.
In more severe cases, your immune system might start to overreact and cause swelling in multiple body parts. These can include the throat, tongue, lips, fingers, or toes for instance. Excessive swelling of the tongue and lips could eventually prevent you from breathing or speaking easily by blocking your mouth.
If the swelling extends to your throat, then it could cause some severe issues like shortness of breath, wheezing, trouble swallowing, trouble breathing or asthma. In these cases, steroid treatment or antihistamines might be able to treat these symptoms.
Allergic asthma is caused when small particles located in your lungs start to become inflated, which causes swelling and airflow obstruction.
Allergic asthma is treated just like regular asthma. A rescue inhaler will usually be used for this type of asthma. It will allow your airways to expand, which will facilitate airflow to your lungs. However, in anaphylaxis cases, inhalers won’t be effective since its contents won’t be able to reach the lungs.
Anaphylaxis is one of the most serious symptoms of severe allergy. This is when the throat becomes so swollen that it completely blocks airflow. Your blood pressure may start to drop, and your heartbeat can become weak. And if it lasts long enough, then you could even become unconscious.
If you happen to be suffering with allergies, only an allergist can help you evaluate your symptoms and give you the proper course of action in case of emergency. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with the best allergist in New York.
Having to deal with allergies or having a son or daughter that has to deal with them is never easy. The first part of dealing with possible food allergies is understanding them. Fortunately, a large portion of food allergies are caused by a handful of products which makes the process easier. Here are some of the most common food allergies you can come across.
Did you know that cow milk allergies are one of the most widespread allergies in children? As a matter of fact, up to 3% of infants and toddlers are diagnosed with this type of allergy. This often happens when babies have been consuming cow’s milk before they reach 6 months.
The good thing is that the symptoms will usually disappear once the child reaches the age of three 90% of the time, which is why it’s not common in adults.
Symptoms will differ depending on the type of allergy you have. Symptoms might include rashes, vomiting, swelling, and even anaphylaxis in more severe case. In other cases, you might experience gut based symptoms like constipation, diarrhea or vomiting, which makes diagnosis a bit more difficult since it can be mistaken for intolerance. If you or your child has been diagnosed with the condition, then the only treatment is to completely cut out diary that contains cow’s milk like cheese, yogurt, ice cream and butter. And if you happen to be breastfeeding and your child has been diagnosed, then you should cut out milk products from your diet as well. A professional may be able to prescribe an alternative to cow milk-based formulas.
Tree nuts and peanut allergies are some of the most common and affect roughly 1% of the population for the former and around 10% for the latter. While peanuts are technically legumes, there are some similarities between the two allergies. And people who are allergic to peanuts are often allergic to tree nuts as well. Some examples of tree nuts include brazil nuts, almonds, cashews pistachios, pine nuts and walnuts.
Tree nut allergies are some of the most serious and cause some of the strongest reactions in sufferers. They are responsible for about half of all anaphylaxis-related deaths.
If you have an allergy to some tree nuts, you will be advised to avoid nuts altogether. However, a large percentage of people who are diagnosed with a peanut allergy before they enter their teenage years will not suffer any symptoms when they enter their teens.
Shellfish allergies are caused by the immune system attacking some of the protein contained in them. This includes lobster, shrimps, scallops, prawns and crayfish just to name a few. The symptoms from a shellfish allergy are often similar to contamination, so it is one of the most difficult to diagnose.
If you think you or your child might be allergic to one of these food products, then it would be wise to talk with a professional today. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with the best allergist in New York.
Serving all of New York City and the Tri State Area including Zip Codes: Top Allergist NYC Midtown, Chelsea and Clinton: 10001, 10011, 10018, 10019, 10020, 10036 | Gramercy Park and Murray Hill: 10010, 10016, 10017, 10022 | Greenwich Village and Soho: 10012, 10013, 10014 | Lower Manhattan: 10004, 10005, 10006, 10007, 10038, 10280 | Lower East Side: 10002, 10003, 10009 | Upper East Side: 10021, 10028, 10044, 10128 | Upper West Side: 10023, 10024, 10025