What do I do if I have an anaphylactic attack?

What do I do if I have an anaphylactic attack?

Harold Kaiser (Practicing Allergist and Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School) gives expert video advice on: What questions should I ask my doctor after getting an allergy diagnosis?; How soon will I start to feel better after taking allergy medication?; Can I be cured of my allergies? and more...

If you're allergic to shellfish and you accidentally ate some shellfish in a salad, and you find yourself tightening up, unable to swallow, unable to breathe, getting hives, getting itchy, getting scared, then two things: if you have an EpiPen, use it immediately, and then get to a medical facility. Get to an emergency room; get to a physician's office. Get there: have somebody drive you there, take a cab. Dial 911. An anaphylactic reaction is a potentially life-threatening reaction. It doesn't occur very often, but there are deaths that do occur because the patient has not been treated quickly, promptly, and because they thought, "Well, I'll be OK. I'll be OK." It's much better to be aggressively over-careful with anaphylaxis than almost anything else.