This is a really great article! Excerpt: One particular point that Dr. Wood made that surprised me was that reactions in children aren’t usually cardiovascular. “In children, their heart and blood pressure are so able to withstand the allergic reaction that when you have a really dangerous reaction in kids, it’s usually not because their blood pressure is low; it’s usually because their airway is shutting down,” he explained. “The degree of symptoms is usually the threshold at which we decide when to give epinephrine,” he said. “I usually divide my reactions between those that are relatively localized–something like itching around the mouth, a few hives around the mouth, but nothing spreading–to anything that is spreading.” So what happens if the reaction starts as hives, but now it’s occurring elsewhere on the body? In that case, Dr. Wood said it’s usually going to be best to give epinephrine. Also, if there are breathing symptoms, then you give epinephrine. “That’s easy,” he said. However, it’s the gray areas that are tricky. “It’s all these other times: He’s got seven hives and he’s vomited once. Should you give epinephrine? You probably should. He’s got two systems involved, hives are not just localized, and he may not be able to hold down his Benadryl because he’s vomiting. But those are the tough ones,” he said.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:56:32 +0000
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