Imagine an afternoon of activities at the Club. A Pathfinder bites into a treat that, unknown to anyone, had peanuts hidden inside. Within five minutes his lips start to swell, his voice changes and he says his throat is \"closing.\" What you do in the next two minutes matters more than anything else.
Most allergies are mild: an itch, a few red welts on the skin, a sneeze. It passes. But sometimes the body overreacts and the situation turns into anaphylaxis, an emergency that affects breathing and circulation at the same time and can be fatal within minutes. The good news is that there is a clear course of action, and you can learn it right now.
This guide is about awareness, not a first-responder course. It does not replace medical care or official training. Faced with any suspicion of anaphylaxis, the first thing is always the same: call your local emergency number (in Brazil, SAMU 192).
Mild allergy or anaphylaxis? How to tell the difference
The most important question is not "is the person allergic?" but "how severe is it right now?". A mild reaction stays on the skin and in the discomfort: itching, a few red welts (hives), redness, a watering eye, sneezing. Annoying, but rarely dangerous. You watch, notify the parents and, if there is a prescribed antihistamine, it resolves things.
Anaphylaxis is another matter. It hits two or more of the body's systems at the same time and interferes with what keeps you alive: breathing and circulating blood. The warning signs are swelling of the lips, tongue or throat; difficulty breathing; wheezing or a persistent dry cough; a hoarse or muffled voice; a feeling that the throat is "closing"; dizziness, paleness and a drop in blood pressure; sudden vomiting or severe stomach pain; and a strange sense of dread, that feeling that "something is very wrong."
The practical rule for the Club: if the problem is only on the skin, it is probably mild. If it involves breathing, the throat or blood pressure (dizziness, fainting), treat it as anaphylaxis and act immediately. When in doubt, act as if it were severe. No one has ever regretted calling emergency services as a precaution.
What triggers it: stings, foods and medicines
Anaphylaxis happens when the body's defense system mistakes a harmless substance for a huge threat and sets off a chain reaction. In the day-to-day life of the Club, three groups of triggers appear most often.
Insect stings. Bee, wasp, hornet and fire ant. On a trail or at a campout, a sting that only stings you can, in an allergic Pathfinder, turn into an emergency within minutes. If the bee's stinger stayed in the skin, scrape it sideways with the edge of a card or your fingernail — do not squeeze it with tweezers or your fingers, because squeezing injects more venom.
Foods. The leaders are peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, milk and egg. The danger lies in what is hidden: that cake from the canteen, the sauce, the "may contain traces of." That is why food allergy and the kitchen go hand in hand — we will talk about that under prevention.
Medicines. Antibiotics and some anti-inflammatories can set it off. That is why the Club should never give medicine on its own to a Pathfinder; medication is only with the parents' authorization and, ideally, a prescription.
Step 1: call emergency services immediately
Faced with any sign of anaphylaxis, the first action — before looking for medicine, before anything else — is to call your local emergency number (in Brazil, SAMU 192). Time is the decisive factor. Do not wait "to see if it gets better." Anaphylaxis can worsen within a few minutes.
On the phone, be direct: say it is a severe allergic reaction, that the person is short of breath (or has throat swelling, or is fainting), the approximate age and the exact address. If you are at a campout or on a trail, give a clear landmark. Ask someone to go to the entrance to guide the ambulance while you take care of the person.
While you call, delegate. At a Club you are almost never alone: one Counselor holds the phone, another fetches the medical form and the epinephrine auto-injector, a third keeps the other Pathfinders' curiosity at bay. Keeping the team calm already calms the victim, and that too is first aid.
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How you position the person directly affects circulation. The general guidance is to lay the person on their back and raise their legs (you can prop them on a rolled-up jacket or a backpack). This helps blood return to the heart and brain when blood pressure is dropping, fighting the dizziness and fainting.
But there are important exceptions. If the person is very short of breath, lying down may worsen the feeling of suffocation — in that case, keep them sitting up, in the position where breathing is most comfortable. If they vomit or are drowsy, turn them on their side (recovery position) to avoid choking. And never ask the person to stand up or walk suddenly: abrupt changes in position, on their feet, can drop blood pressure even further.
Stay by their side the whole time, speaking calmly. Watch whether breathing continues and whether they respond. If at any point the person stops breathing and does not respond, then the course of action changes to resuscitation — and it is worth the Club having trained people. It is also worth knowing the guide to CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).
Step 3: the epinephrine auto-injector, when one exists
Epinephrine (adrenaline) is the only treatment capable of reversing anaphylaxis. No other medicine does its job. When a Pathfinder has a known severe allergy, the doctor usually prescribes an auto-injector pen — a simple device, made to be used by laypeople, including family members and the authorized Club team.
How it is used, in general terms: remove the safety cap, press the tip firmly against the side of the thigh (it works even through clothing) and push until you hear the click, holding for a few seconds. Each pen comes with its own instructions — the family should train the team on the specific model before the emergency happens, not during it. Keep the used pen to hand over to the paramedics.
Two life-saving points: first, giving epinephrine does not replace the emergency call — the person needs a hospital regardless, because symptoms can return hours later (the so-called biphasic reaction). Second, if the Club does not have the prescribed pen, do not improvise with other medicines — focus on positioning, calling for help and watching the breathing.
What NOT to do: the mistakes that cost dearly
Do not offer liquids or food if the person has difficulty swallowing or breathing. Giving some water may seem like a caring gesture, but with a swollen throat the liquid can go into the lungs and cause severe choking. Keep the mouth closed until help arrives, unless the person themselves needs to swallow a prescribed tablet and is swallowing well.
Do not rely on the antihistamine to resolve anaphylaxis. The antihistamine (such as loratadine) helps with a mild reaction, with itching and skin welts. But it works slowly and does not open the throat or raise blood pressure. Using only the antihistamine in an emergency gives a false sense of security while the situation worsens. In anaphylaxis: epinephrine and emergency services, always.
Do not leave the person alone, do not make them walk and do not underestimate any improvement. Even if they seem better after the epinephrine, care must continue. And do not waste time looking for who is to blame or what they ate in the middle of the crisis — that is investigated afterward, calmly.
Prevention: the medical form and the conversation with the kitchen
The best emergency is the one that does not happen. And preventing severe allergy at the Club begins with organized information. Every registration should include a medical form with the Pathfinder's known allergies, what has happened before, and whether there is a prescribed epinephrine auto-injector. That form needs to be accessible — not locked in a drawer at home on the day of the campout.
The Director and Counselors should know, before each activity, who has a severe allergy and to what. It is not exposure, it is care. And the older allergic Pathfinder can learn to protect themselves: reading labels, asking what is in the food, carrying their own pen and telling a trusted friend in the Unit.
The most overlooked point is the kitchen. Whoever cooks at the event needs to know about the allergies in advance in order to keep preparations separate, avoid cross-contamination and label dishes with peanuts, nuts, milk, egg or seafood. A five-minute conversation with the canteen team prevents the treat with hidden peanuts from the start of this story. Preventing is, in the end, a way of loving well — and a Club that plans this way takes care of everyone.