ALLERGIES: BE PREPARED - IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE

Emergency kits of allergy drugs, sold through chemists, are prescribed to people who have at any time experienced life-threatening reactions or who have a history of very severe symptoms. If you fall into either of those categories, you should own an allergy kit or an automatic-injectable adrenalin kit. One kit should be carried in your handbag, briefcase or car, and another should be kept at home. If you begin to react and have any reason to feel you're headed towards a severe, uncontrol­lable reaction, you should be prepared to take emergency action immediately.

Say you inadvertently eat nuts, to which you are extremely allergic, and you begin to feel very sick. The first order of business is to reverse all the alarming changes your body is going through. So every emergency kit contains a vial of adrenalin. That's a synthetic form of epinephrine, the hormone that plays a key role in keeping all body systems running on an even keel. A single shot of adrenalin pushes blood pressure back to normal and reduces swelling (which keeps your airways open and helps you breathe). It's the quickest and most effective way to neutralize a severe reaction. Adrenalin calls for medical directions; your doctor should teach you how to give yourself an injection and supervise a practice shot. The procedure is easy to learn, since adrenalin is simply injected into the fatty tissues under the skin, and not into a hard-to-pinpoint muscle, vein or artery.

The adrenalin in your emergency kit should be checked once a month to be sure the solution is not discolored or out-of-date, which would indicate a decrease in potency. The drug deteriorates in sunlight, so don't store the kit on the dashboard of your car or in front of a window.

Adrenalin is also available in an aerosol form, which you can inhale to restore normal breathing. Although not a substitute for injected adrenalin, the aerosol may help to relieve laryngeal oedema or asthma more quickly. Test spray your aerosol adrenalin periodically to be sure that the valve opening is free of dust. If it's clogged, clean it with soapy water.

Kits are also usually equipped with antihistamine tablets to further counteract the flood of antihistamine that is to blame for much of an allergic reaction. Find out exactly how much antihistamine you should take, to save valuable time in an emergency. If you've been prescribed asthma medication, be prepared to take that, too. As much as we advocate drug-free means for day-to-day control of allergies, you shouldn't hesitate to use whatever first-aid measures are necessary in a life-threat­ening situation. The possible side effects of a single dose of these drugs are a minor concern compared with the certain conse­quences of not taking them.

Tourniquets are also included in many allergy first-aid kits. Applied near a sting, a tourniquet will slow the circulation and absorption of venom. The problem is that a tourniquet also stops the circulation of blood. While routine use of tourniquets is discouraged by most doctors, many allergists say that if a highly sensitive person is stung by an insect, a tourniquet is justified - if it's applied immediately after the sting occurs and on an arm or a leg only. Even then, a tourniquet is merely a stopgap measure to block the spread of venom until a doctor can be reached.

If no tourniquet is available, you can make do with a strip of cloth, thick cord, belt, dog leash or other similar device. Tie the tourniquet two to four inches above the sting (towards the trunk of the body). Do not tie the tourniquet so tightly that circulation is cut off. You should be able to slip your fingers under the band. And be sure to loosen the tourniquet every five minutes.

If the sting was inflicted by an insect with a stinger, scrape the stinger out of the skin with your fingernail or a dull knife. Do not grasp or try to pull the stinger out - that would only squeeze more venom into the wound.

Place a cold pack or ice wrapped in cloth on the sting area to reduce total swelling.

After taking these first-aid steps, you should call an ambulance or have someone drive you to the nearest hospital casualty department. There you will be given further medication and oxygen, if necessary, to bring the reaction under complete control.

 

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ALLERGIES