Sunshine is allergic to fire ants. The first time she had a reaction with this, she was 2 years old. I was not familiar with anaphylactic shock at that time. I noticed she was red and even had a few red splotches coming up on her body.
We thought she may be too hot. After applying cool water, her face began to get a little puffy. This is when we noticed the bites. She had 5 ant bites on her little foot. Immediately I called our after hours nurse. Still not understanding the severity of anaphylactic shock, I tell her what's going on. She ask if I have any benadryl. I replay with ~no. She then ask, do I think anyone around us has benadryl!!! This is when I knew things were serious. We called 911 and the ambulance took us to the hospital. Before coming home that night her little face had swelled up so high, her checks were level with her nose. She had broken blood vessels in her face and ears. She even ended up having trouble breathing. We now keep an epipen jr and benadryl on hand. Unfortunately we live in a place that is filled with fire ants.. Each year we spend tons of money treating them. This helps but does not take care of them completely.
We thought she may be too hot. After applying cool water, her face began to get a little puffy. This is when we noticed the bites. She had 5 ant bites on her little foot. Immediately I called our after hours nurse. Still not understanding the severity of anaphylactic shock, I tell her what's going on. She ask if I have any benadryl. I replay with ~no. She then ask, do I think anyone around us has benadryl!!! This is when I knew things were serious. We called 911 and the ambulance took us to the hospital. Before coming home that night her little face had swelled up so high, her checks were level with her nose. She had broken blood vessels in her face and ears. She even ended up having trouble breathing. We now keep an epipen jr and benadryl on hand. Unfortunately we live in a place that is filled with fire ants.. Each year we spend tons of money treating them. This helps but does not take care of them completely.
Since that terrible day Sunshine has had one more ambulance trip to the hospital, after being bit last year. Spring and Summer are such fun months but for us they come with worries.
What is anaphylactic shock? Anaphylactic shock (also called anaphylaxis) is a rapid and severe allergic reaction, and one of the scariest health emergencies a parent can face. It starts when the immune system mistakenly responds to a harmless substance as if it were a serious threat, triggering the release of histamine and other chemicals that cause a number of symptoms — some of them life-threatening.
The symptoms in a child include:• Swelling of the skin, lips, throat, tongue, or face• Wheezing or severe breathing problems• Rapid pulse or irregular heartbeat• Hives• Dizziness, fainting, loss of consciousness• Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea• Extremely pale skin and sweating, skin redness, or blue skin color• ConfusionSymptoms usually appear within two hours after exposure to the substance — sometimes within minutes — although it's possible for symptoms to appear up to four hours later.
The symptoms in a child include:• Swelling of the skin, lips, throat, tongue, or face• Wheezing or severe breathing problems• Rapid pulse or irregular heartbeat• Hives• Dizziness, fainting, loss of consciousness• Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea• Extremely pale skin and sweating, skin redness, or blue skin color• ConfusionSymptoms usually appear within two hours after exposure to the substance — sometimes within minutes — although it's possible for symptoms to appear up to four hours later.
There are many possible allergens. Food/ Insect bites and stings.
( Some of you may have seen this when I posted it last year. Its such valuable information I wanted to post it again)
8 comments:
I am so glad you found me! I love when people find me and I have new blogs to read...I am also allergic to fire ants, though it sounds like not as bad as your little girl. my mom was a nure and used to take me to get some shot whenever I got bit.
So you know how it is! Great to hear from you. I too love to view new blogs.
Thanks for posting this, Catherine. I've never heard of it and we have TERRIBLE fire ants around here.
Happy I could let another parent know more about this! Put your ant killer out!
My son is allergic to peanuts. We found it out the hard way by giving him a cashew in a can of mixed nuts. We now have epi-pen jr. on hand. I would also advise to remember to get this refilled once a year. It's no good if it expires.
GREAT POST!!!
How scary. I'm so glad you posted this information, especially the symptoms, which I will keep in mind now. Thank you!
My husband nearly died from the same thing - and it was fire ants too.
Yes, this is something that is very serious. We have several kiddos at school that have to have a pen around at all times.
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