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Article: When your immune system panics. (anaphylaxis, severe allergic reaction)
- Article from:
- The Saturday Evening Post
- Article date:
- October 1, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Saturday Evening Post Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHEN YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM PANICS
An unexpected overreaction to drugs, foods, or insect venom can hurl an otherwise healthy person into shock.
It seems to erupt from nowhere: a young man, finishing his shift as a taxi driver, sits down to have a snack. Within seconds, he complains that he has a lump in his throat. Moments later he is gasping for air, and as the ambulance arrives, he loses consciousness. On arrival in the emergency room, the man suffers a respiratory arrest, and his heart stops briefly. As physicians treat him they wonder what evil can strike such a powerful blow: Drugs? Asthma? Clots in the lungs? Several hours later, in an intensive-care unit, ...