Definition of allergy

hotspur

I was in for surgery last week involving a general anaesthetic and when asked about allergies I told them that I am allergic to eggs. The anaesthesiologist (probably concerned about propofol) was quizzing me about my allergy.

It's something I've had since I was about 8. I can't have any trace of egg in any food, scored 5 on pin prick test for egg, and have extreme gastro reaction with vomiting and diarrhoea along with swollen lips etc. I told him it didn't cause anaphylaxis.

Anyway he was of the opinion that for it to be an allergy it must do one of three things. The first was be life threatening, the second was produce a rash, and I can't recall the third. He asked me if it produces a rash. Given that I have avoided food with egg so well that I can only recall 2 adult reactions and the salient features for me were the gastro reactions I could only tell him that I thought so but had no explicit memory of a rash.

My felt sense was that yes I get a rash, but it is an implicit memory albeit a strong one. We talked it over for several minutes with him wanting to know about the rash and seeming dissatisfied, eventually saying "We're getting nowhere here".

So my question is what definition was he using for allergy? I wasn't aware of a much narrower medical definition than is commonly used in our ordinary vernacular. Thanks.

MrCreosote

I'm not sure what definition he was using- but it sounds like he was wrong. You have an allergy to egg.

Allergy= type 1 hypersensitivity reaction. That is all. The symptoms can be varied. Anaphylaxis is just one(generalised) manifestation. Angiooedema, eczema, gastro symptoms, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, urticaria etc etc can be a manifestation themselves, either alone or in combination.

You have a positive skin test, positive food challenge and typical allergy symptoms- and he's trying to say you don't have an allergy?!

Vorsprung

Are we getting allergy and anaphylaxis mixed up?

Traumadoc

Or anaphylactoid :rolleyes:

MrCreosote

Vorsprung wrote: »

Are we getting allergy and anaphylaxis mixed up?

We are not, although the OP's anaesthetist might have been.

Vorsprung

MrCreosote wrote: »

We are not, although the OP's anaesthetist might have been.

That's what I was suggesting in a less than clear qay

hotspur

He shouldn't have been getting it mixed up because I asked him had the nomenclature changed and he told me that he lectured on this. Also what he said doesn't seem to apply to anaphylaxis or anaphylactoid as I have understood them having looked them up in respect of only 1 of 3 criteria needing to be met (life threatening, rash, and X).