What are the signs of anaphylaxis?

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that can affect breathing, blood flow, skin, and the digestive system. Symptoms may begin soon after exposure to a trigger such as food, medicine, an insect sting, or latex. A person may develop wheezing, a hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing, tightness in the throat, or swelling around the lips and face. Skin changes can include itchy raised patches, flushing, or pale clammy skin. Some people have stomach pain, repeated vomiting, or diarrhoea. Symptoms can occur together or progress quickly, and skin symptoms may be absent.

Treat suspected anaphylaxis as an emergency. Use the person’s prescribed adrenaline auto-injector immediately if available, following its instructions, and call emergency services. Help them lie down with legs raised unless breathing is easier sitting up; a person who is vomiting should be placed on their side. Do not let them stand or walk. If symptoms continue and another prescribed injector is available, emergency clinicians may advise using it. Stay with the person and monitor breathing until help arrives.

Seek emergency help for breathing difficulty, throat swelling, faintness, confusion, collapse, or rapidly spreading symptoms after a possible allergen exposure. Even if symptoms improve after adrenaline, hospital assessment is still needed because the reaction can return. Emergency treatment may include additional medicines, oxygen, and monitoring. Arrange follow-up allergy assessment after recovery to identify triggers and make a written emergency plan.

Ask which triggers should be avoided, whether you need adrenaline auto-injectors, how to use them, and when to replace them. Ask how family, friends, school, or workplace colleagues should respond if symptoms recur.