7 Surprising Triggers of Anaphylaxis
Signs And Symptoms Of Allergies
Some of the most common signs and symptoms of allergies are sneezing, coughing, and itchy eyes. Allergies are caused by the body's immune system mistaking a normally harmless substance as something dangerous, causing an unnecessary reaction.
The substance that causes the reaction is called an allergen. Common allergens include latex, pollen, pet dander, mold, dust mites, insect venom, and certain foods, plants, and medications. Here's what you need to know, including when it's best to see a healthcare provider.
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Allergies can be difficult to identify because they can have various symptoms. Some symptoms are common across different allergens, including: Allergies can cause hives, rashes, and trouble breathing in severe cases. Severe allergic reactions can lead to anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening condition, if not treated promptly. Some symptoms of allergies can be characteristic of the type of allergen that's triggering the reaction. The different allergens range from certain foods to medications. Food Allergy Food allergies are most common in children, but adults can also have them. It's important to know the signs of a food allergy so you can take steps to stay safe. Allergies to certain foods tend to run in families. Younger siblings are likely to be allergic to peanuts, for example, if the oldest child has a peanut allergy. You still cannot always predict if you or your child will have an allergy. Any food can cause an allergy. Around 90% of all food allergies come from: Cow's milk and other dairy products Eggs Fish Peanuts Sesame Shellfish (most commonly, crustaceans like shrimp, lobster, and crab, and less commonly, mollusks like scallops, oysters, clams, and mussels) Soy Tree nuts (e.G., almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts) Wheat Food allergy reactions can affect the gut, heart and blood vessels, lungs, or skin. Common symptoms include: A swollen tongue Frequent cough Hives (urticaria), or a rash characterized by itchy bumps called wheels Stomach cramps Vomiting Wheezing, or a whistling sound when breathing These are not all the symptoms that can occur. Reactions can occur within several hours of ingestion, and many times, they occur within minutes. Everyone's reaction to a food allergy is different. It's important to see an allergist (who specializes in allergic conditions) for proper diagnosis and treatment if you think you or your child may have a food allergy. Environmental Allergy Allergens that arise from your everyday surroundings can cause environmental allergies. These include: Animal dander: This is made up of dead skin cells found in fur or feathers. Household pets like cats or dogs can be a common source of dander. Washing your pet, reducing contact, and washing your hands after petting them can help reduce symptoms. Cockroaches: These insects thrive in damp, dark places with food waste. Cockroach feces is the main allergen that can lead to allergies. Keeping an indoor space free of excess moisture and uncovered food can reduce cockroach infestations, along with hiring an exterminator if needed. Dust mites: These are microscopic bugs that live in dust. The fecal matter of dust mites contains a type of digestive protein called peptidase 1, which is the main allergen. Dust mites can travel through indoor air and trigger an allergy. Mold: Not all types of mold can lead to allergy. Some people may be allergic to certain molds found in damp indoor places such as basements, bathrooms, and around windows. Common types of mold that could trigger an allergy include Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, and Penicillium. Pollen: Grass, trees, and weeds produce pollen, which can circulate in the air at varying levels throughout the seasons. You will likely have common allergy symptoms if you have an allergy to one of these. Some people may also have: Itchiness in the nose, mouth, or throat Mucus in the throat, particularly for mold allergies Nasal and sinus congestion Rash Watery or burning eyes Latex Allergy Latex, also called natural rubber latex, is a flexible material made from the sap of rubber trees known as Hevea brasiliensis. Some gloves, bandages, and other items may be made from latex. Certain proteins in natural rubber can trigger a latex allergy. An allergic reaction can happen when latex makes direct contact with your skin, is inhaled from latex particles in the air, or comes into contact with mucus membranes, like your mouth or eyes. People with allergies to latex can either have an immediate reaction or a delayed skin reaction. Common latex allergy symptoms usually include: Itching or swelling of your mouth or tongue after a dental exam involving latex gloves Itchy or swollen skin after contact with a latex bandage, gloves, condom, or vaginal diaphragm Red, swollen lips after blowing up a balloon Severe allergic reactions to latex can cause additional symptoms, such as: Hives Red, swollen, pain, or blurry vision in the eyes (eye inflammation) Runny nose and sneezing Trouble breathing Using certain products can help reduce the likelihood of latex allergies. Look for ones labeled "not made with natural rubber latex." Insect Allergy Insect allergies can cause a range of symptoms, depending on the severity of the allergic reaction and the type of insect. Insect stings contain venom, for example, which can trigger an allergy in some people. Common culprits of insect sting allergies are bees, wasps, hornets, and fire ants. Bites, such as those from mosquitoes, bed bugs, and fleas, can trigger other allergies. Insect bites or stings can cause common symptoms like pain, stinging, redness, and mild swelling around the affected area. You might have more severe symptoms like difficulty breathing, swelling, and nausea if you're seriously allergic to insect stings or bites. Severe symptoms are typically more common after insect stings and are considered rare for insect bites. Medication Allergy Antibiotics, or drugs used to treat bacterial and some fungal infections, are commonly reported with drug allergies. Only about 2% of reported drug allergies at hospitals tend to be allergic reactions. Some people might develop side effects from a drug or complications from a current infection. Penicillin, a type of antibiotic, is one of the most widely reported drug allergies, with up to 10% of people claiming they're allergic. Less than 1% of the general population actually turns out to be allergic when tested. Medication allergies can range from mild to severe and life-threatening. Some symptoms may include: Abdominal pain Coughing Diarrhea Hives Itching Swollen eyes or lips Trouble breathing Vomiting Allergies can be very serious and even life-threatening in some cases. Anaphylaxis is a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that can affect several organs in your body. Symptoms can develop quickly and may include: Difficulty breathing Dizziness Faintness Hives Nausea Swelling of the face, tongue, and throat Wheezing Get help right away and call 911 for anaphylaxis, even if you use epinephrine. Anaphylaxis needs to be treated promptly with a shot of epinephrine, or a hormone that's also called adrenaline. This treatment is highly effective at slowing or stopping an allergic reaction and can be life-saving. You might be tempted to self-diagnose your allergy symptoms, but it's important that you see an allergist if you have any concerns. Allergists know how to best diagnose and treat allergies and can provide you with better insight into the root cause of your symptoms. Ask a healthcare provider for help if your allergies are not getting better or are worsening. Reach out to an allergist if you have sudden symptoms you can't explain or if your symptoms last more than a week for a diagnosis and treatment plan. Talk to a healthcare provider about getting epinephrine auto-injectors for a history of allergies. Allergens that more commonly lead to anaphylaxis include peanuts, tree nuts, fish, crustacean shellfish (e.G., shrimp, lobster, or crab), fish, insect stings, and latex. You can still be at risk of anaphylaxis even if you have a history of mild allergic reactions. You are at high risk of anaphylaxis if you have a history of severe allergic reactions to a known allergen. An allergist can show you how to administer an epinephrine auto-injector in case of an emergency. Common allergy signs and symptoms may include red and itchy eyes, sneezing, coughing, runny nose, and skin rashes. More severe reactions, such as difficulty breathing, tightness in the throat or chest, and fainting, require immediate care. See a healthcare provider right away for a proper diagnosis if you experience any of these signs or symptoms after contact with a certain food, substance, or other allergen. They can also assist you with the right treatment plan.Thanks for your feedback!
Latex Allergies
A latex allergy is when your body's immune system overreacts to certain kinds of proteins found in natural rubber latex that's used to make things like rubber gloves, condoms, and some medical devices.
Doctors don't know what causes it. Coming in contact with latex and rubber products over and over may be part of the reason it happens.
About 5% to 10% of health care workers have some form of latex allergy.
Other people who are more likely than most people to get it include those who have:
Rubber industry workers and people who use condoms are also more likely than others to get a latex allergy.
You can get exposed to latex:
There are three types of latex reactions:
1. Irritant contact dermatitis. This is the least-threatening type, and it's not an allergic skin reaction. It usually happens due to repeated exposure to chemicals in latex gloves and leads to dryness, itching, burning, scaling, and skin problems. This generally starts 12-24 hours after contact.
2. Allergic contact dermatitis. This is a delayed reaction to additives used in latex processing. It results in the same type of reactions as irritant contact dermatitis. But the reaction is more severe, spreads to more parts of the body, and lasts longer. Symptoms can start anywhere from 1 to 4 days after you've come in contact with latex.
3. Immediate allergic reaction (latex hypersensitivity). This one is the most serious. It can show up as a nasal allergy with hay fever-like symptoms, conjunctivitis (pinkeye), cramps, hives, and severe itching. It's rare, but symptoms may also include rapid heartbeat, tremors, chest pain, trouble breathing, low blood pressure, or anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that can be life-threatening.
If you have severe symptoms, call your doctor or 911 immediately, or go to the nearest emergency room.
Doctors diagnose a latex allergy in people who:
If you need a skin test to check on a latex allergy, an allergy specialist must supervise it, in case you have a severe reaction.
There's no cure for a latex allergy. If you're allergic to latex, the best course of action is to avoid contact with it. If you do have a reaction, the treatment will depend on how serious it is. For irritated skin, these may be enough:
If your reaction is severe, you may need these right away:
If you have a latex allergy, wear a medical alert bracelet or another type of ID in case of an emergency. You may also need to carry two epinephrine shots if your doctor recommends that.
An allergy to latex can become worse the more you come in contact with it. If you know you have this condition, be aware of products that may have the potential to cause a reaction. Ask your doctor if you need to avoid them.
Many items have latex in them. Read product labels carefully. You may need to ask product makers to be sure.
Home goods that are made with latex include:
Outside the home, latex is also in many items, such as:
Medical products containing latex include:
Tell them about your latex allergy at least 24 hours before your appointment. The hospital or doctor's office should have a plan in place so they can use products like nonlatex gloves to treat you.
Ask for the first appointment in the morning. Even if your doctor or dentist uses latex-free gloves for you, there can be latex particles in the air from gloves used with other patients. You're more likely to avoid these particles by getting there early.
If you have to stay in the hospital, you'll usually be given your own room, free of products that might give you a reaction.
Between 30% and 50% of people who have a latex allergy also have reactions to eating, touching, or even smelling certain foods. This happens because some fruits and vegetables have proteins that are structured a lot like the ones that cause the reaction to latex. It's called a cross-reaction.
These foods include:
Almonds, peppermint, and mustard can also cause cross-reactions.
If you're allergic to any of these foods, you may also have a latex allergy, even if you don't know it. Let your doctor and dentist know so they can keep from exposing you.
How To Tell If You're Allergic To Semen Because, Yep, That's A Thing
Sex is usually a pleasure thing—you already know it can be super fun, help you connect with a partner, and lead to an incredible orgasm. So there's no buzzkill like winding up with a sore or swollen vagina after the fact. Though there are plenty of conditions that can leave you itching or burning down there post-hookup, it's also possible for your body to react to the sex itself when there's a penis involved. Yes, you can be allergic to semen, much like any other substance that you might come into contact with.
A semen allergy (a.K.A. Seminal plasma hypersensitivity) happens when proteins in semen trigger an immune response in your body. And that can unfold in one of two ways, Jonathan A. Bernstein, MD, FAAAAI, a Cincinnati-based allergist who's researched allergic reactions to semen, tells SELF: a systemic reaction, which involves multiple different organ systems; or a localized reaction, which happens only in the area(s) where the semen touches your body.
In either scenario, your vagina and vulva can get pretty angry: Pain, burning, swelling, and itchiness are common. Dr. Bernstein says some people who've experienced this have "described it as having a thousand needles stuck in their vagina, so it can be quite severe." With a systemic reaction, you'd also experience symptoms elsewhere in your body, he adds, which might present as hives or a skin rash, a swollen face or lips, wheezing, diarrhea, and potentially even anaphylaxis (though, rest assured, there has been no reported death from a semen allergy).
Both types of reactions are rare; research suggests that up to 40,000 people with a vagina in the United States are allergic to semen. Still, experts suspect that it may be more common than numbers suggest, both because there hasn't been a ton of funding to study it and people may not feel comfortable sharing sex-related symptoms with their health care provider. So if this sounds like you, keep reading to learn about how it happens and what you can do if your body seems to be anti-semen.
What causes an allergic reaction to semen?Again, a couple different scenarios could happen, based on whether your response involves a variety of body parts (systemic) or just occurs around your vagina (localized).
A systemic reaction is a classic type 1 allergy, or IgE-mediated immune response, Dr. Bernstein says, which is the same thing behind most food and seasonal allergies: Your immune system clocks a particular substance (in this case, the proteins in semen) as a potential threat and, as a means of trying to keep your body safe, launches an attack consisting of a bunch of antibodies called immunoglobulin (IgE). These antibodies release a chemical called histamine, which incites all the uncomfortable symptoms.
But a different cause is likely to blame for a localized reaction, Dr. Bernstein says. (The proof: People with this kind of response don't typically react to skin prick tests that contain semen proteins or create IgE antibodies to them.) From research he conducted, Dr. Bernstein suspects that in these folks, semen proteins may mess with the tissue lining the vagina specifically, setting off receptors that unleash an inflammatory response (read: create a lot of pain). It's also possible that hormone-like substances called prostaglandins in semen can trigger inflammation around the vagina for some folks, without causing symptoms elsewhere.
What puts someone at risk for either sensitivity in the first place isn't totally clear, just as we don't always know why some people are born with any other kind of allergy. And much like you can develop food or seasonal allergies later in life, it's possible to become hypersensitive to semen if you once weren't, or even to experience a reaction when having sex with one partner and not with another, though experts don't quite know why. Researchers think that certain events involving a hormonal change—like getting an IUD, having a hysterectomy, or going through menopause—might be involved for some.
There's also some evidence that people with a penis may react to their own semen—a condition called postorgasmic illness syndrome, which involves flu-like symptoms after ejaculation. But a 2023 study found that an allergic response (at least, one including the development of IgE antibodies) is probably not in play here, and psychological factors are more likely the culprit.
How do you know if you have a semen allergy?Unfortunately, a lot of things can leave your vagina raging, so it's easy to mistake a semen allergy for something else. The main sign is a painful burning sensation in or around your vagina and vulva that starts during or right after unprotected sex, Dr. Bernstein says. (It can last anywhere from a half hour to several hours.) You should also look out for any of the whole-body allergy symptoms above, like hives, wheezing, and so forth. An important note: You likely won't experience symptoms of a semen allergy if you wear a condom (and strangely, it's uncommon to get a rash around your mouth even if you have oral sex). If the pain only shows up when you do use a condom, a latex allergy could be to blame.
Another way to tell is by doing a little process of elimination, Alyssa Dweck, MD, FACOG, a New York–based gynecologist, tells SELF. She usually evaluates her patients for more common causes of vaginal pain first by looking for things like discharge (a symptom of both a yeast infection and bacterial vaginosis, a.K.A. BV) and a fishy or foul odor (typical for BV and some STIs). From there, she'd also ask if they used any new product in that general vicinity—a lubricant, spermicide, douche, wipe, pad, massage oil, or body soap could also be the culprit of an allergic reaction, particularly if it's scented or dyed in any way, Dr. Dweck adds. If she can rule out all of the above, a semen allergy becomes a more likely trigger to consider, she says.
To officially get a diagnosis, though, you may need to see an allergist, who can do a skin prick test with proteins separated out from your partner's semen—yes, they'll need to provide a semen sample for it. (Basically, the doctor will use a tiny needle to introduce a small bit of the substance into your system, and if your skin reacts, it indicates an allergy.) But, as noted above, if you're one of the folks who experience a localized allergic reaction—your vagina reacts, but nothing else happens—you still might not respond to a skin test, at which point your doctor may also diagnose you by ruling out alternatives.
So what's the best way to deal with a semen allergy?The simplest thing you can do? Avoid making contact with the stuff by wearing a condom during sex (and by "during," we mean for the whole shebang, since precum is a thing). But in some scenarios, that's not ideal—the most obvious one being if you're trying to get pregnant, but also just if you can't (or don't want to!) use a condom for any reason.
If you tend to get mild systemic symptoms (for instance, vaginal pain along with hives or lip swelling), you may be able to avoid a reaction—or alleviate one that's happening—by taking an over-the-counter antihistamine, like Benadryl or Claritin, pre-sex, Dr. Dweck says; remember, this kind of reaction is evidence of extra histamine flowing through your system, so tamping that down can help. And if you exclusively deal with vaginal burning or pain, you may get some relief with an OTC anti-inflammatory drug like ibuprofen, which can help chill out a localized response, Dr. Bernstein says. The same goes for placing a cold compress (like an ice pack wrapped in a T-shirt) over your vulva or taking a cool bath, Dr. Dweck adds, which can tame a fiery reaction.
But for some folks, particularly those with a severe semen allergy or those who have sex often or are trying to get pregnant, these quick fixes won't cut it. You'll want to pay a visit to an allergist, who can prescribe an EpiPen to prevent the very rare scenario of anaphylactic shock and discuss treatment options for the allergy too. (Just take note: Because of how uncommon it is to have a semen allergy, not all allergists have the capacity to treat it, and some may refer you to an academic center for specialized care.)
One option that's shown success in a few case studies is intravaginal desensitization: Your doctor inserts small amounts of diluted semen from your partner into your vagina, gradually increasing the concentration with insertions every 15 to 45 minutes. Over a few hours, the vagina can actually get desensitized to the semen, Dr. Bernstein says. (You may need to return for a second round of treatment the following day, depending on your response.) Another option mirrors that approach but with injections of specific semen proteins under your skin (a.K.A. Subcutaneous immunotherapy). In both cases, you'll need to have unprotected sex a couple times a week in order to maintain the effect.
It's also worth noting that if pregnancy is your goal, you can consider options like in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or intrauterine insemination (IUI) to conceive with a semen allergy because sperm is "washed" before use, Dr. Dweck says, meaning it's stripped of any proteins that might trigger a reaction. And no evidence suggests that being allergic to semen has any direct link to infertility or the ability to carry a baby to term. (Reminder: The proteins in semen are the allergens here, not the sperm itself!)
Even so, taking steps to manage a semen allergy can go a long way toward helping you maintain a thriving sex life, healthy relationship, or both. So again: Be sure to surface symptoms to a doctor, particularly if the at-home solutions above are falling short—because the only reaction your body should be having to sex is a pleasurable one.
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