>Avigayil has had hives all over her body and
>episodes of violent throwing up, but no full-blown anaphylactic
>reactions.

The symptoms that you describe are symptoms of anaphylaxis. What they don't
include is anaphylactic shock, a precipitous drop in blood pressure that
leads to unconsciousness and potentially worse (can't say it). Signs of
anaphylaxis include respiratory distress, swelling of the airways, hives,
swelling of the lips and/or tongue. Oftentimes it is difficult to predict
how far any such reaction will go, and whether any antihistamine will be
enough (or fast enough) to cover the reaction. It's always best to have epi
on hand, and can be less dangerous to use un-necessarily rather than to not
use when needed.

As always, any used of epi should be followed up in a trauma facility.

Mark

____________________________________________________________
Mark Feblowitz                  GTE Laboratories Incorporated
[log in to unmask]              40 Sylvan Road, Waltham, MA 02154-1120