The research, which comes as Allergy Awareness Week gets underway, shows that 66% of people don’t know how to use an adrenaline pen which could help save lives and almost half (44%) of allergy sufferers live in daily fear of a reaction.
NHS statistics reveal that hospital admissions in England for allergic reactions have reached more than 20,000 each year.
Lindsey McManus, deputy CEO, Allergy UK said: “Anaphylaxis is a sudden and severe allergic reaction which can be terrifying at best and fatal at worst. There is a concerning lack of awareness of this fatal condition.”
The biggest lack of knowledge is among 18-24 year olds. The survey shows that 74% would not know what to do if they saw someone having a reaction. Making them the least ‘allergy aware’ group.
Ms McManus said: “People need to understand the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction and have the knowledge and confidence to act swiftly if faced with an emergency by administering a life-saving injection.”
Allergy UK is calling on people to ‘recognise the symptoms, recognise the FEAR’:
•Face - is their face/are their lips swollen? Have they gone pale? Are they lightheaded?
•Eyes - is there a look of fear in their eyes? Are they red, watery and puffy?
•Airways - are they wheezing/uncontrollably coughing? Do they have a shortness of breath? Are they unable to talk? Are they making a strange sound?
•Rash - is there a red, raised, itchy rash anywhere on their body especially their face or neck?
If a combination of these symptoms is visible, the advice is to administer adrenaline into the upper, outer leg (thigh) and call 999. If the symptoms do not improve after five minutes, administer a second dose of adrenaline into the other thigh.
Allergy UK has launched the #LivingInFear campaign and is asking everyone to write down their individual fear on a piece of paper, along with the hashtag, and post a selfie on social media, nominating a friend to share their own fear in support of allergy sufferers.
Allergy Awareness Week runs from April 20-26th 2015.