Rash all over the body after strenuous exercise? It turns out that exercise can also be allergic
If symptoms such as elevated skin temperature, extensive itching, and urticaria occur during exercise, exercise should be stopped immediately and seek medical attention in time
Changsha Evening News all-media reporter Yang Yunlong correspondent Ji Na
As soon as the 13-year-old boy played basketball, his whole body itched and rashed, and the symptoms disappeared automatically after stopping exercising for a few hours, and he went to the hospital for examination and was diagnosed with exercise allergies... In the past few days, "it turns out that there are really people who are allergic as soon as they exercise" appeared on Weibo hot search. I've heard of pollen allergies, food allergies, drug allergies, and many people are hearing about exercise allergies for the first time. What is a motor allergy? What factors are easily triggered? How to deal with it? Wu Zhiqiang, deputy director and chief physician of the Department of Dermatology of Changsha Fourth Hospital, gave a detailed answer.
After playing a ball, the whole body itches and has a red rash, which turns out to be a sports allergy
According to reports, Xiaoxiang (pseudonym), a 13-year-old boy, had an itchy rash all over his body as soon as he played basketball, and his symptoms disappeared automatically after stopping exercise for a few hours. This has been going on for more than a year, and at first parents thought that their children were too tired to exercise too much and did not want to train again. Later, every time the child took basketball lessons, he said that his skin was itchy, and his parents took him to the hospital. After investigation, Xiaoxiang suffered from cholinergic urticaria, also known as exercise allergy, the key to current treatment is to identify and avoid triggers, and the doctor recommended that he temporarily avoid strenuous exercise.
Ms. Leung, 26, is a sports enthusiast. The night before, Miss Liang asked a few friends to play badminton. Unexpectedly, after only half an hour of exercise, she had difficulty breathing, a rash all over her body, accompanied by itching, and her friend immediately sent her to a nearby hospital. After the doctor's examination, it turned out to be a sports allergy.
Coincidentally, 49-year-old Zhang Li was also sent to the hospital twice due to urticaria and shock after strenuous exercise. The first time was in May 2021, Zhang Li and her husband made an appointment with a friend to play badminton together, and after several rounds of doubles, Zhang Li had a lot of red rashes on her body and was diagnosed with urticaria in the hospital, which should be anaphylactic shock. One day in July 5, Zhang Li and her husband made another appointment with a friend to play table tennis, but fainted to the ground, suffered from hives again, and were sent to the hospital. "Both times the patient developed hives after strenuous exercise, and then fainted, pupils dilated..." The doctor carefully looked through Zhang Li's medical records and deduced that she may have sports allergies.
What is exercise allergy and what factors are predistinct?
How does exercise allergy come about, and what factors are easy to induce?
Wu Zhiqiang explained that exercise allergy is a systemic allergic reaction that occurs only in the case of exercise, and can occur at any stage of exercise. Its pathogenesis is currently known to be degranulation of skin mast cells and transient elevation of plasma histamine and serum tryptase levels.
Some patients are food dependent, in which exercise occurs within hours of eating certain foods that cause their allergy, which may induce urticaria and transient loss of consciousness. Since the onset must have both "food dependence" and "exercise stimulation" at the same time, there will be no symptoms after exercising after not ingesting sensitizing food, or not exercising after eating. For patients with non-food-dependent exercise allergies, the trigger is exercise.
In general, elevated skin temperature, flushing, widespread itching, urticaria, and sudden fatigue are early symptoms of exercise allergy. These conditions may occur if these symptoms continue during exercise: angioedema of the face and/or extremities (usually the hands), also known as urticaria macrosis, which is a localized edema in one part of the body caused by allergies; gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea; Laryngeal edema (hyperemic edema of the mucous membrane of the larynx); Severe cases may be accompanied by anaphylactic shock-like symptoms such as palpitation, irritability, dyspnea, bronchospasm, and even hypotension and/or circulatory failure (decreased systemic blood flow, leading to ischemia and hypoxia of vital organs).
"Early symptoms of exercise allergy occur, exercise should be stopped immediately." Wu Zhiqiang said.
What factors predispose to exercise allergies? These patients are normal before exercise without any warning. In general, 20 to 30 minutes after strenuous exercise (varies from person to person), patients develop erythema, small wheals, etc. scattered on the upper trunk and upper extremities. Although exercise is an immediate trigger, many patients are more likely to develop symptoms when accompanied by one or more of the following synergistic factors: taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen, etc.; alcoholic beverages; Premenstrual or ovulatory periods of a woman's menstrual cycle; extreme temperatures (high temperature, humidity, or cold exposure); Seasonal pollen exposure in patients with pollen allergy; Infection or other illness.
Can you only lie flat after exercising with allergies? Prompt medical attention and symptomatic treatment are recommended
"The most common symptom of sports allergy patients is urticaria, and some patients will be accompanied by asthma, anaphylactic shock and other symptoms, which may be life-threatening if they are not treated in time." Wu Zhiqiang reminded that if you find that you have symptoms such as rashes after exercise, even if the symptoms are mild, you should not be careless. In daily life, it is recommended that everyone pay attention to the following aspects.
Do allergen screening to find triggers. Patients may consider allergen testing, such as those with food-dependent exercise allergies, which can be identified by skin allergen prick testing and allergen-specific testing. However, allergen examination has a certain range, can not detect all suspicious factors encountered in life, so it is difficult for some people to find the direct cause, it is recommended that patients further find possible causes, record daily intake of food, contact items, etc., such as seafood, milk eggs, dust mites, pollen, artificial scratching, sun exposure and hot and cold, etc., in order to carry out targeted treatment or avoidance.
Avoid strenuous exercise. Patients with non-food-dependent exercise allergies should avoid strenuous exercise, and it is recommended to choose walking, jogging, tai chi and other exercises, and the intensity should be slightly sweating; If strenuous exercise cannot be avoided, anti-allergic medication should be taken 1 hour before exercise and avoid going out alone.
Adjust your diet. Try to eat less allergenic foods, such as eggs, shrimp and crabs, shellfish, cheese, cured bacon ham, pastries containing chocolate and cocoa, ice cream, candy, etc., as well as certain food additives, such as salicylates, lemon yellow, etc., if it has been clear that you are allergic to specific foods, you need to avoid it.
Pay attention to hygiene and minimize irritation as much as possible. Maintain hygiene at home and reduce the presence of allergic factors such as animal fur, pollen, dust, etc. Do not overclean the skin, such as not rubbing hard when bathing, and the water temperature should be appropriate to avoid skin irritation.
Maintain a healthy mindset and improve your body's resistance. Pay attention to the adjustment of mood in time, learn to release stress, and participate in more activities that can cultivate emotions. If you can't do strenuous exercise, you can also enhance your physique through some light exercise, pay attention to nutritional balance, and improve your body's resistance.
Seek medical attention in time and treat symptoms in a timely manner. Don't give yourself a reason to lie still because of exercise allergies, cold, heat, exercise and other factors, patients are difficult to completely avoid, symptomatic treatment is an important means of disease management. (Changsha Evening News)