Our goal is to provide you with essential information on severe allergic reactions and if you can make use of the information provided, you may just save a life, maybe your own.

As common as allergic reactions are their triggers or causing factors can vary widely as can the resulting symptoms. Thankfully the severest allergic reaction resulting in death from anaphylaxis is rare.

When you suffer from anaphylaxis, you experience a severe allergic reaction that spreads quickly and causes life threatening symptoms in the body. The victim usually finds it difficult to breathe, and may experience shock that leads to death.

For anaphylaxis to start in the body you have to have been exposed to the trigger previously; this is referred to as sensitization. This means that though a bee sting may not cause severe allergic reactions at first, a second sting may lead to anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock.

A person may enjoy eating shellfish for years and then suddenly develop a severe allergic reaction; there is no telling when or if it will strike. Usually on exposure to an allergy trigger, anaphylaxis results almost instantly but there are times when the reaction is delayed.

Anaphylaxis occurs when the body's immune system overreacts to an antigen acknowledging a foreign substance in the body. The leucocytes or white blood cells make antibodies when reacting with the antigen; and these antibodies disperse in the bloodstream and bind to some cells of the body.

Once the antibodies come in contact with an antigen, other cells start producing chemicals called 'mediators'. An example of such a mediator is histamine. And it is this effect of these mediators that causes an allergic reaction in the body.

There are many causes or triggers for severe allergic reactions including food additives and some foods such as shellfish and nuts, medications both prescription and non prescription, dyes used in radiology procedures, blood products, transfusion of blood and venom of stinging insects. Only a minute amount of any trigger is all it takes to bring on anaphylaxis.

Severe allergic reactions can come out of the blue and attack anyone. But patients who endure eczema, hay fever and asthma are more prone to anaphylactic reactions then other people.

The most frightening life threatening crisis occurs from swelling and/or spasms in the air ways resulting in breathing difficulties leading to 'shock' which is loss of consciousness from low blood pressure. The breathing and heart can both stop in rare cases.

If suffering from a severe allergic reaction don't flirt with danger by waiting it out at home, go straight to your nearest emergency department or ambulance.

As difficult as it may seem it is important to remain calm and try to think of the cause of this allergic reaction, while waiting for the ambulance. If your swallowing is ok take an antihistamine or better still inject yourself if you have an epinephrine kit.

The main motive of this article was to make you aware of the importance of being informed concerning severe allergic reactions and if you think that we were successful in doing that, our goal has been achieved.