Anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis threatens life within minutes. There is no room for hesitation.

The signs

Within minutes to tens of minutes of eating (food or medicine), being stung (bee) or contact:

• Whole-body hives, itching, flushed skin
• Swelling of lips, tongue or throat
• Breathing difficulty, wheezing, a changed voice
• Dizziness, fainting, falling blood pressure
• Abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea

Skin symptoms plus breathing difficulty (or dizziness) together should be treated as anaphylaxis.

What to do immediately

1. Call 119 and say "allergic shock".
2. Remove the trigger — take out the sting, stop eating the food.
3. If an adrenaline auto-injector is available, use it at once on the outer thigh.
4. Lay them down with legs raised. If breathing is hard, sit them up.
5. Keep checking consciousness and breathing. If either stops, start CPR. See cpr.
6. Go to hospital even if symptoms subside — a second-phase reaction can follow.

If you carry an auto-injector

• Carry it always, and tell family and colleagues where it is and how to use it.
• Check the expiry date.
• After using it, you must still go to hospital.

Where to go

• 119 immediately
• 1339 Korea Disease Control Agency
• 1345 interpretation
• An allergy clinic (testing and prescription) — see food-allergy

Questions people ask

I don't know what I'm allergic to. After recovery, get tested at an allergy clinic. Knowing the cause is how you prevent the next one.

I was stung by a bee and I'm getting short of breath. A classic sign of anaphylaxis. Call 119 at once. See insect-sting.

I came out in hives after taking medicine. Stop the medicine and contact a clinic. If breathing difficulty develops, call 119. Note which medicine it was.

My child seems unwell after a school meal. Submit allergy information to the school in advance, and ask them to call 119 immediately if symptoms appear. See food-allergy.

Take care

"Last time was mild, so this time will be fine" does not hold. Reactions can worsen with each exposure. For anyone diagnosed, avoiding the trigger and carrying the auto-injector are the baseline. Teach the people around you how to use it.

Related

food-allergy · insect-sting · first-aid-basics · cpr · emergency-symptoms

Source

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency www.kdca.go.kr / As of 2026-08