What should you know about familial angioedema?

Episodes may affect the face, lips, hands, feet, or abdomen. Swelling can feel tight or uncomfortable and may occur without the surface rash seen with hives. A family history of similar attacks is a useful clue, although relatives can have different symptoms or no recognised diagnosis. A clinician may review triggers, medicines, timing, examination findings, and family history. Some forms involve pathways that are not controlled by ordinary allergy mechanisms, so the label familial does not automatically mean a food allergy.

Keep a record of where swelling appears, how it develops, possible triggers, and any stomach symptoms. Ask your clinician for a written action plan and instructions for prescribed rescue treatment. Review medicines before stopping or starting them, because some can worsen swelling in susceptible people. Antihistamine treatment may help selected forms, while oral corticosteroid treatment may be considered in specific situations; the right choice depends on the type of angioedema and your medical history. Tell close family members what to do during an attack.

Treat swelling of the tongue, throat, or inside the mouth as an emergency, especially with hoarseness, trouble swallowing, noisy breathing, breathlessness, dizziness, or faintness. Use your prescribed emergency plan and seek emergency care immediately. Severe abdominal pain or repeated vomiting during an episode also needs urgent assessment. Skin swelling without breathing or swallowing symptoms still deserves medical review when it is recurrent or unexplained.

Which type of angioedema fits my pattern? Could family members need assessment? Which medicines or procedures should I flag? What is my emergency plan, and when should I use it?