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Old 10th December 2020, 01:04 AM   #121
Planigale
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Originally Posted by Modified View Post
All these stories are leaving out the most important piece of information, so I assume they don't have it. What were these two people allergic to?
The point is this was not an allergic reaction (so it is said). To give a technical explanation; allergic reactions are triggered by the immune system you eat egg and you have anti-egg antibodies (usually IgE) the binding of the antibody to the egg protein causes the body to release chemicals such as histamine and bradykinin that are the actual cause of the swelling, flushing, drop in blood pressure that occurs in a severe allergic reaction - anaphylaxis. However the chemicals (histamine, bradykinin etc.) can be released by other mechanisms that are not immune mediated and so not allergic. One common trigger in some people are angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor drugs such as enalapril or ramipril, morphine like drugs can also do this. These can trigger histamine release, but as a direct consequence of the way they work in the body, not because you are allergic to them, you do not have antibodies to the drug. This direct stimulation of histamine release without involvement of the immune system is called an anaphylactoid reaction. A blood test - serum tryptase done at the time of the reaction differentiates the two.

If these people had an anaphylactoid reaction it is irrelevant what they are allergic to, and potentially the reaction could occur in non allergic people.
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