We know allergy to dust mites or pollens. But there are other, less well-known allergies, such as allergy to cold, for example. This rare and strange form of allergy has just caused an anaphylactic shock in an American after getting out of his shower.
A 34-year-old American almost froze to death when he got out of his shower! A very real information that has just been reported by the doctors of the Emergency Department of the Denver (Colorado) hospital in the Journal of emergency medicine. When he had just taken a very hot shower, the man collapsed on the bathroom floor, the victim of a sharp drop in blood pressure. When his family found out, he was breathing heavily and his body was covered with hives, one of the first signs of an allergy.
Taken to the emergency room, the doctors diagnosed him with anaphylactic shock and had to give him two injections of epinephrine to stop the drop in blood pressure and combat acute respiratory distress. He was then admitted to the intensive care unit for monitoring of anaphylaxis and doctors confirmed the suspicion of allergy to the cold by the ice cube test. This simple test involves applying an ice cube to the skin for a few seconds. If the epidermis immediately begins to swell, this is a sign of an allergy to cold.
An acquired or hereditary allergy
Usually this chronic and recurring form of allergy manifests itself in simple hives. without significant complications. It can be either acquired or hereditary. The hereditary forms are transmitted usually last throughout the life of the patient while the acquired forms improve or disappear after a few years. The 34-year-old patient had lived in Micronesia and had already suffered several episodes of allergic reaction to the cold since moving to Colorado. But until then the only symptoms were hives.
More informations :The Big Book of Allergies by the French Federation of Allergology, Eyrolles editions
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