On a weekend afternoon in early May, 38-year-old Tran Quoc Bao from Binh Tan Ward took his 10-year-old daughter out for a seafood hotpot at a nearby restaurant. Roughly 15 minutes after the meal, she began complaining of an itchy throat, developed a red rash around her face, and coughed continuously. Assuming it was a mild allergic reaction, the family gave her over-the-counter antihistamines they had at home.
However, less than five minutes later, she suddenly experienced difficulty breathing, her lips turned cyanotic, and she collapsed. For Mr. Bao, the rapid deterioration was terrifying.
“At that moment, she was struggling to breathe, her eyes were glassy, and she didn’t respond when called. We rushed her to the emergency room at the City Children’s Hospital in a state of hypotension and respiratory failure caused by severe seafood-induced anaphylaxis,” he explained. “The doctor said that if we hadn’t brought her to the hospital for a few more minutes, the risk of death would’ve been extremely high,” Mr. Bao recounted.
Multiple hospitals have also documented several instances of anaphylactic shock occurring after eating, taking medication, receiving antibiotic injections, or reportedly even after insect stings.
People's Hospital 115 has recently admitted a 40-year-old male patient who became critically ill just minutes after taking painkillers, presenting with swelling of the lips and tongue, widespread hives, and shortness of breath. Doctors determined the patient was suffering from Grade-2 anaphylaxis, ostensibly drug-induced, carrying the risk of progressing to life-threatening respiratory failure.
Prior to this, Binh Chanh General Hospital also received 11 workers from a company in Hung Long Commune who appeared to have suffered an allergic reaction, or anaphylaxis, after lunch; they exhibited symptoms of restlessness, facial flushing, fatigue, mild shortness of breath, and erythema on their arms and chests.
The City Children’s Hospital also just saved a 3-year-old pediatric patient who went into Grade-3 anaphylactic shock and respiratory failure due to a bee sting. Level-II Specialist Nguyen Minh Tien, Deputy Director of the City Children’s Hospital, stated that anaphylactic shock is a severe systemic allergic reaction that occurs when the body overreacts to allergens like drugs, food, chemicals, vaccines, or insect venom.
Among these triggers, drugs and food are unequivocally the two most prevalent culprits behind anaphylaxis. Anaphylactic shock progresses rapidly; initially, patients might just experience itchy skin, hives, or feel slightly uncomfortable. In merely a few minutes, it can escalate to dyspnea, bronchospasm, hypotension, and cardiac arrest. If intervention is delayed, the mortality risk is exceedingly high.
According to allergy and immunology experts, anaphylactic shock can strike anyone, including individuals with absolutely no prior history of allergies. Notably, children and the elderly are particularly susceptible to more severe complications due to their weaker immune systems or the difficulty in detecting early symptoms. This condition can advance incredibly fast, leading to respiratory failure or anaphylactic shock, which becomes life-threatening if it isn’t addressed promptly.
Foods that commonly trigger allergies include seafood, eggs, milk, peanuts, and various tree nuts. In young children, food allergies are becoming increasingly prevalent due to shifts in living environments and dietary habits.
Meanwhile, antibiotics, analgesics, and anti-inflammatory drugs are also potent agents that easily induce drug allergies, especially since many citizens maintain the habit of self-medicating without a doctor’s prescription.
There are numerous cases where people break out in rashes and struggle to breathe, yet they try to endure it at home or self-administer over-the-counter medicine. Some assume that a little rest will clear it up naturally; but by the time they turn cyanotic and suffer a drop in blood pressure, heading to the hospital is often too late.
According to Deputy Director Nguyen Huu Truong, MD PhD, of the Center for Allergology and Clinical Immunology at Bach Mai Hospital, those who’ve been allergic to seafood or any other food shouldn’t be careless about eating it again, because subsequent reactions can be far more devastating.
As a rule of thumb, when trying an unfamiliar dish, it’s best to sample a small amount and monitor your body’s reaction for about 30 minutes. Once signs like severe abdominal pain, chest tightness, dyspnea, or dizziness emerge after a meal, it’s imperative to visit a medical facility immediately for urgent care.
Level-I Specialist Nguyen Huu Tin from the Intensive Care and Poison Control Department at People’s Hospital 115 advises that if suspected signs of anaphylaxis appear such as rashes, hives, swelling of the lips or mucous membranes, dyspnea, wheezing, laryngeal spasms, hypotension, dizziness, fainting, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, anxiety, or altered consciousness, patients need to head to the nearest medical center right away for proper treatment.
The World Health Organization warns that by 2050, roughly 50 percent of the global population might suffer from at least one form of allergy, marking a sharp increase compared to the current 30 percent and the mere 5 to 10 percent seen in the 1980s. Experts are now calling this a “silent pandemic” driven by the impacts of urbanization, climate change, and shifting lifestyles.
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