First thing this morning, I gave some instructions to the daycare, including to call 911 if he starts having a reaction that includes 2 symptoms and call me for any hives or lip swelling.
Sometimes 1 symptom is enough to epi for ... for example, "LUNG" symptoms after ingesting the allergen is something many of us here have been told to epi for.
Yes-- it's important to know which symptoms are "life-threatening" or
indicative of imminent/hard-to-see life-threatening responses.
SKIN symptoms, ironically, are the easiest to see, but the least
dangerous type of allergic response. Just like in first aid class-- remember your
A B C's.Airway-- anything that obstructs the airway is BAD, BAD, BAD, and can kill-- this includes swelling
anywhere along or near that airway, particularly in young children, who have SMALL airways to start with. So lip or mouth swelling is a LOT more serious than eye swelling, basically.
Breathing-- this is a tricky symptom in young children, but wheezing, coughing, or other signs of respiratory distress of ANY kind should be treated with epinephrine because they are IMMEDIATELY life-threatening.
Circulation-- this is, at least in my mind, the ULTIMATE bad news set of symptoms (could be because I've seen these relatively often in my DD). The reason is that they are SO darned hard to pin down in kids when you're on the outside looking in. Symptoms of shock are
so hard to spot early. Glassy eyes, dazed behavior, or unusual lethargy with pallor...
all call for epinephrine if you have ANY reason to suspect an allergic reaction is in progress.Basically, that's it.
Get to know this:
Anaphylaxis Grading ChartWhich is the plain-English version of the one originally published in a medical journal (the link is in the chart)-- I'd take that with you to your allergist and discuss previous history (the symptoms you saw) as well as what to do about each of the ones listed in the future.
Understand that the "neurological" symptoms usually indicate cardiovascular involvement-- pay VERY close attention to those last three columns, as those symptoms can kill in just a few minutes, and there also seems to be a "tipping point" beyond which medical intervention (even epinephrine) is no kind of guarantee of anything. I don't say that to scare you-- but to cement for you that your family MIGHT think that you're overreacting, so you need to KNOW that you are not.