cole's mom

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...

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