Interactive Ready for Review: Interactivities

Interactive Ready for Review for Chapter 22 - Allergic Reactions and Envenomations

An allergic reaction is a response to chemicals the body releases to combat certain stimuli, called . Allergic reactions occur most often in response to five categories of stimuli: insect bites and stings, medications, food, plants, and chemicals. The reaction may be mild and local, involving itching, redness, and tenderness, or severe and systemic, including shock and respiratory failure.

is a life-threatening allergic reaction mounted by multiple organ systems, which must be treated with epinephrine. Wheezing and skin wheals can be signs of %%2%%.

People who know that they are allergic to bee, hornet, yellow jacket, or wasp often carry a bee sting kit that contains in an auto-injector. You may help to administer this medication in this form with authorization from medical control. All patients with suspected anaphylaxis require oxygen. In assessing a person who may be having an allergic reaction, check for flushing, itching, and swelling skin; hives; wheezing and stridor; a persistent cough; a decrease in blood pressure; a weak pulse; dizziness; abdominal cramps; and headache.

Poisonous spiders include the black widow spider and the brown recluse spider. Poisonous snakes include pit vipers, cottonmouths, copperheads, and coral snakes.

A person who has been bitten by a pit viper needs prompt transport; clean the bite area and keep the patient quiet to slow the spread of venom. Notify the hospital as soon as possible if a patient has been bitten by a , as its venom can cause paralysis of the nervous system, and most hospitals do not have appropriate antivenin on hand.

Patients who have been bitten by may be infected with Rocky Mountain spotted fever or Lyme disease and should see a doctor as soon as possible. Remove the %%6%% using tweezers, and save it for identification.

Dog bites and human bites can both lead to serious infection and must be treated by a physician. Dogs can carry , a fatal viral infection present in their saliva. Vaccination of the patient is necessary to prevent %%7%% in a person who has been bitten by a dog that cannot be captured or identified. Do not try to rescue a child who is being attacked by a dog without the help of police or animal control officers. By law, all animal bites must be reported to the appropriate authority.

Remember that a hundred times more people die every year of allergic reactions to food, bee stings, or medications than of bites from venomous snakes or marine animals. Many venomous snake bites may be treated with . Many marine envenomations may benefit from submersion in hot water to deactivate the heat-sensitive toxins. Such treatment may be started in the field at the request of medical control.

Always provide prompt transport to the hospital for any patient who is having an allergic reaction or has been bitten by a poisonous insect or animal. Remember that the patient's condition can deteriorate rapidly. Carefully monitor the patient's vital signs en route, especially for airway compromise.