Before you are discharged from hospital or a healthcare service, your clinician will talk to you about the cause or ‘trigger’ for the anaphylaxis (if known), and how to manage your allergy. These triggers are also called allergens. It is important that you know the trigger for your anaphylaxis so you can avoid it. You also need to know how to recognise an allergic reaction and what to do in case of another severe allergic reaction. In some cases, your trigger may not be known and further tests may be needed.
Before you are discharged it is important that you receive:
- Information about your allergic trigger and how to avoid it
- An ASCIA Action Plan that includes information about
- How to recognise an allergic reaction including anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis may be different each time, so it is important that you can recognise all of the symptoms
- How to use the adrenaline injector, if prescribed.
- Advice to see your general practitioner (GP) promptly, within one week.
- Information on how to arrange an appointment with a clinical immunology/allergy specialist. If this is your first anaphylaxis event, the specialist will help to confirm the cause of your anaphylaxis, and advise you about how to manage your allergy. Ask your GP to refer you to an allergy specialist as soon as possible, if arrangements are not made by the hospital. If you already have a regular specialist, arrange to see them for follow-up.
- Advice about wearing special jewellery to identify that you have an allergy.
If there is a risk of re-exposure to the trigger, you will also be given a personal adrenaline injector or a prescription for this medicine. If you are given a prescription, it is very important that you go to a pharmacy to get the adrenaline injector as soon as possible, preferably on the way home. Anaphylaxis could occur at any time and you will need to keep an adrenaline injector with you all the time. You, and your family or carer, should be trained on how to use the adrenaline injector.
If your anaphylaxis was caused by a medicine, you will be given an ASCIA Action Plan for Drug (Medication) Allergy and a record of the details of your drug allergy such as an ASCIA Record for Drug (Medication) Allergy. These will be filled out with your details. In the future, you will need to tell healthcare staff who may prescribe, or provide you with medicines, about your allergy. It is important that you know the medicine’s active ingredient name so that so you can avoid it, and that this is accurately recorded in your healthcare record.
You can also enter or update information about your allergies within your My Health Record. A guide for consumers can be found at:
nationalallergystrategy.org.au/projects/australian-digital-health-agency/consumers
You can use the ASCIA Event record for allergic reactions to make a record of the anaphylaxis event -
allergy.org.au/hp/anaphylaxis/anaphylaxis-event-record.
Information for ongoing support services available in the community, such as the Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia information and advice line (1300 728 000), and Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) information leaflets and website will be given to you.