# anaphylactic shock?



## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)

Just let the dogs in after dinner, and the 7 month old Libby runs up to me wheezing, flops down on my feet, I notice she is covered in hives and her eyes are swelling, lips are huge. I have seen allergic reactions, but never seen it affect the airway like anaphylaxis does. 

Called the emergency line at the clinic, and we dosed her with benadryl and dexamethasone. I have a handy emergency kit, for the SAR dogs being out on disasters luckily, so no trip or vet fee this time. 

Anyway, how common is this?


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Definitely sounds like anaphylaxis...it's not super common, but can happen with things like insect stings and vaccines with some individuals. Hope she feels better!


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## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)

Already breathing better and hives almost gone. So is this like.people where we have to be very careful about bee stings from now on? Do dogs become immune?


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## Melissa Thom (Jun 21, 2011)

Do you know for certain it was a bee? One of mine is pretty horridly allergic to spiders - the last time she ate one her face swelled up to the point she couldn't see, she got violently ill, and I was sure I was going to lose her. 

You can get an Rx for an epi pen for a dog.


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## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)

Melissa, no I don't know for sure. Just guessing. She has been trying to catch the bees and wasps all day, they are out like mad. I deal with lots of snake bites, its not that. It could very well be a spider. 

The dogs were all out back while I had dinner, was already dark when I let them in. She ran in I could hear her wheezing, she vomited a few times, eyes and lips swollen, hives around quarter size all over her face, neck, ears, and belly. 

All is well now. All the swelling is gone, her breathing is clear.


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## Doug Zaga (Mar 28, 2010)

Wow! Sorry to hear that Julie.. Glad to hear she is ok! 

I know if I am going into shock I would want you right there to treat me...


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

We have a lot of yellow jackets late summer and I see this quite often. 6 to 8 week old pups get them in their mouths when feeding and get stung multiple times. Not much to do about it other than move out of the area. They have reactions and look like they are dead but always come out of it fairly quickly. It did really throw me the first few times. Got epi on hand but never needed it.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

julie allen said:


> Melissa, no I don't know for sure. Just guessing. She has been trying to catch the bees and wasps all day, they are out like mad. I deal with lots of snake bites, its not that. It could very well be a spider.
> 
> The dogs were all out back while I had dinner, was already dark when I let them in. She ran in I could hear her wheezing, she vomited a few times, eyes and lips swollen, hives around quarter size all over her face, neck, ears, and belly.
> 
> All is well now. All the swelling is gone, her breathing is clear.



Whatever caused the reaction it's very doubtful if the dog will relate it to the insect bite/sting. That, unfortunately, means the bee/wasp/spyder chasing will continue.
I've had many dogs that took great joy in that. Fortunately there was never any reactions in spite of many, many stings in their mouths.


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## maggie fraser (May 30, 2008)

Yes I had a dog which took anaphylactic shock, with much the symptoms as you describe, three times, which I attributed to wasp stings. I think his first one was when he was around a year old, and the concurrent reactions became more severe. That dog went on to develop other allergies which I battled with for a couple of years before putting him down. Horrible thing to deal with. I believe you'll need to have adrenalin? at hand from now on. 

I also had another dog which was attacked by a bink of wasps after disturbing them whilst hunting a squirrel. No idea how many stings he had on him, he seemed covered in wasps trying to burrow through his coat to sting him, we were about an hour away from home. I got the dog away from the immediate area as fast as I could and picked them out with my fingers whilst freaking out,,,think I was screaming at the time .

His head swelled up, and he did a fair bit of jumping around due to the discomfort I suppose, but by time we made it home, he was on the mend.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

i'm also curious about the immunity Q ...

- IF it was a reaction to a stinging insect, what is the cumulative effect ?
- does it build up any immunity or does it become more dangerous for the dog with repeated stings ?
- has this been studied anywhere ? ref link ?

i have a dog that will catch anything that flies within range and often it's in his mouth b4 even i know what it was. But i do know he got one of those heavy hauler hornets once and it kinda freaked me out for a few mins ... almost obsessive for him, and this has been a Q in the back of my mind too


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

rick smith said:


> i'm also curious about the immunity Q ...
> 
> - IF it was a reaction to a stinging insect, what is the cumulative effect ?
> - does it build up any immunity or does it become more dangerous for the dog with repeated stings ?
> ...



I've had a couple of terriers that got into ground nesting yellow jackets more then a couple of times when I was doing earth work but none seemed the worse for wear. I've "heard" that it can eventually develop a problem with progressive numbers of stings. I've been stung more times then I can count, mainly because of dumb youth and a few "I dare ya" but, knock on wood, I've never had even the slightest reaction.
I still just reach up and pinch the mud wasps that get all over the inside windows of my wood working shop....and I ain't as quick as I used to be. #-o 8-[


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## Betsie Janson (Jan 2, 2012)

Like most other severe allergic responses, repeated reactive exposures however can result in an increase of reaction, often leading to deadly proportions. This has also been noted in herpetologists whom harvest and handle venomous snakes. Continuous bites over a lifetime can lead to increasingly deadly anaphylactic reactions. 

There is the possibility of development of reactions, but most whom never react, will never. For instance, I do not react to poison ivy or oak, and mosquito bites are gone within 12 hours. 

There is venom immunotherapy, which also exists for other allergen treatments. In this therapy, small benign doses of the causative agent is injected, decreasing systemic reactions and providing about 95% in prevention of these severe reactions. When treatments continue for a number of years, the effects increase, and are seemingly lasting. This is done so by "convincing" the immune system responsible for the reaction that the "threat" is not truly a threat. This treatment has also been used successfully on other less severe allergic responses in dogs, as well as humans. 


Some literature on the subject:
http://urban.ucr.edu/Animal bites stings.pdf

Regards,
-B


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## julie allen (Dec 24, 2010)

So its similar to the same human response. Well crap. I hope we can figure out what the response was to.


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