Allergic Reaction: Check Your Symptoms

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When to See a Doctor

Do you have a rash and you are not sure if the rash was caused by an allergic reaction or a skin infection?

See significance of a skin infection if you need information to help you answer the questions below.

Review health risks that may increase the seriousness of your symptoms.

Call your health professional immediately if you answer "Yes" to any of the following questions.

Yes

Do you have diabetes?

Yes

Do you have peripheral arterial disease?

Yes

Do you have a disease or take a medicine that causes problems with your immune system?

Yes

Do you have red streaks extending from the rash?

Call your health professional today if you answer "Yes" to any of the following questions.

Yes

Do you have increased pain, swelling, redness, or warmth around a rash?

Yes

Is the area around your rash increasingly tender to the touch?

Yes

Do you have pus in or around the rash?

Yes

Do you know or think you have a fever?

You may wait to see if the symptoms improve over the next 24 hours (or specified time period) if you answer "Yes" to any of the following questions.

Yes

Have you had mild pain and swelling with redness less than around a wound for 24 hours or longer?

Yes

Have you had painful, swollen glands (lymph nodes) near a wound for 24 hours or longer?

If you have answered "No" to the above questions, go back to Check Your Symptoms and continue to answer the questions to evaluate your symptoms.

Last updated:	July 11, 2007
Author:	Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC
Reviewed By:	William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine, H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer