Wednesday, May 30, 2012

cole's mom

By cole's mom Monday, October 22, 2007

Should my athletic 12 year old be playing basketball with Exercise-Induced Analphylaxis?

10/24/07 10:17pm

Hi Cole's Mom!

Has Cole been officially diagnosed with EIA?

 

There is a good article at http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/news-159767-31.html that discusses a study done with Varsity athletes. The study determined that 1 of every 3 Varsity athletes have EIA. However, it also discusses the misdiagnosis and need for more structured testing. There are also several links on the page that direct you to informative articles on allergies.

 

Good luck and let us know how you are doing!

Vicki M

 

Anonymous
cole's mom
10/25/07 6:10pm
Hi! Thanks for your response.  Yes, Cole has been diagnosed by a local allergist but will be evaluated by a pediatric allergy specialist at Duke University soon.  Thanks for recommending the article... however (and I may not have made this clear), he has Exercise-Induced "Anaphylaxis" rather than "Asthma."  His symptoms are not primarily respiratory, rather begin as intense itching, severe generalized hives, and finally a croupy cough and itching of the tongue, mouth, and throat (hence, the anaphylaxis diagnoses).  These patients can have a severe drop in blood pressure which leads to unconsciousness and possibly death if not quickly treated (usually with an epi pen).  We have given him benadryl at the first symptom and have him stop the activity and take a cool shower.  This has prevented further complications, however, we now have an epi pen just in case!  Thanks again for your interest...
10/26/07 10:39am

Well there is a really good article here about that specific disorder written by the Harvard Medical School. It talks about the same symptoms you describe Cole as having. One of the interesting aspects I thought was that somehow they think that the exercize induced anaphilaxis is some how related to a food allergy. Apparently part of the study involved having people with EIA eat prior to exercising and then people who had nothing to eat for 4-6 hours prior to exercising. They found that those who had not eaten, do not get the hives associated with EIA. Interesting read!  Good luck. Let us know how Cole does!

 

Vicki M 

By cole's mom— Last Modified: 12/20/10, First Published: 10/22/07