First Aid for Allergy Attack: What to Do if Someone Has a Severe Reaction

Allergic reactions can range from a mild inconvenience to a potentially life-threatening allergy attack. In the case of the latter, it’s important for people to be aware of what to do when it comes to first aid for allergy attack.

It is especially important to know what to do in case of an allergy attack as this information can potentially save lives.

First Aid for Allergy Attack: What You Need to Do

Before anything, it is important to stay calm and never panic during an emergency. Staying calm can help you remember the things that you need to do, and allows you to assist someone in need to the best of your abilities.

But how do you know if someone’s having a serious allergy attack or anaphylaxis? Here are some things to remember:

• Difficulty breathing or coughing
• Tightness of the throat
• Swollen tongue
• Pain in the abdomen
• Vomiting
• Feeling dizzy or about to collapse
• Paleness
• Hives or welts on the skin
• Swollen lips, face, and eyes

If you’ve determined that someone is indeed having an allergy attack, here’s what you need to do:

Call emergency services

The first thing you need to do would be to call emergency services. In the Philippines, the number for emergencies is 911. If there’s a hospital nearby and you know their emergency number, you can call them for help as well.

It is very important to do this as soon as possible, because the sooner that help can arrive, the sooner the patient can be stabilized and assisted.

Get them to lie down

Next, if the person is conscious, ask them to lie down, and then elevate their legs. By doing this, you’re lowering the risk that they experience a sudden drop in blood pressure, which can be very dangerous.

Raising the legs also ensures that blood flows to the important organs of the body.

If they are vomiting, turn them on their side

In case the person is vomiting, turn them on their side instead. The reason for this is so they don’t accidentally choke on their vomit. This also helps if the person is bleeding from their mouth.

It’s also a good idea to make sure that they’re breathing normally, and that nothing is obstructing their airways.

Perform CPR if there are no signs of breathing

If the person suddenly stops breathing or shows no sign of movement, perform CPR immediately.

Here are the steps to perform CPR:

• Open their mouth and make sure their airways are clear.
• Place both your hands at the center of their chest, and push hard. You should be pushing at a pace of about twice in one second. Do this about 30 times.
• Afterward, pinch their nose, and breathe into their mouth twice.
• Repeat the chest compressions and rescue breaths until they regain consciousness or help arrives.

While even untrained persons can perform CPR, it would be best to undergo CPR training if you can. This helps ensure that you know exactly what to do, and you’ll also learn how to perform CPR properly.

Stay with them until help arrives

It’s also important to stay with the person until help arrives. It’s also a good idea to talk to the paramedics, and inform them about what caused the allergy, and what time the severe allergy started.

Key Takeaways

One of the biggest problems for persons with allergies in the Philippines is the lack of availability of epinephrine auto-injectors. These are devices that persons with allergies use in case they suddenly experience anaphylactic shock.

It’s especially important for people to be aware of what to do in case someone has a severe allergic reaction. Until auto-injectors become more available, it’s up to us to do our best and help out in case someone experiences anaphylactic shock.

Learn more about Allergies here.