Beyond Food: The Anxiety or Anaphylaxis Phenomenon Further Validated by Vaccine Research

It is safe to say that the Anxiety, or Anaphylaxis? debate lives rent free in my head.

Not only does it stay on the lips of All Things Allergies, but the psychological and physiological similarities between the fight-or-flight response and food-induced anaphylactic shock is also the subject of my doctoral dissertation proposal.

Inspired by my own recovery from the Invisible Consequences of Anaphylaxis, this research has been both personally and professionally rewarding… My literature review continuously validating the lifelong experiences I used to suffer in silence.

The Hivey League has already established how challenging it is for us to differentiate between anxiety and anaphylaxis, but I recently came across some pretty powerful evidence that even trained medical professionals may have trouble making sense of the symptoms, too.

And this was certainly was not the first time a peer-reviewed journal article has brought me to tears… I’m on year three of a four-year homework assignment, after all. But this time was different, as if Google Scholar was speaking straight to first grade Alyssa when it said, “It’s not just you.”

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In the state of Georgia, public health researchers investigated 79 reports of adverse postvaccinal events following a 2008 measles-rubella vaccination campaign. The team was tasked with investigating this collection of severe reactions to dissuade safety concerns and combat vaccine hesitancy.

Through their causality assessment, the researchers attributed vasovagal syncope and/or anxiety attacks to 37 of the adverse reactions. This was relatively unsurprising, given that needle phobias and dizzy spells are routinely seen by health care workers.

But what was surprising is that of those 37 cases that were retroactively identified as anxiety attacks, 97.3% were originally misdiagnosed as postvaccinal anaphylactic reactions. Nearly every single one.

If even trained medical professionals cannot effectively differentiate between anxiety and anaphylaxis symptoms, it’s no wonder that the traumatized food allergy community cannot either. 

The Melbourne Vaccine Education Centre took notes and got down to business. Pictured below, the Guidance for Differentiating Anaphylaxis from Acute Stress Response for Vaccine Providers and Emergency Departments was created to educate medical professionals on how to distinguish between the two.

In Victoria, any reactions resulting from immunizations are reported to the Surveillance of Adverse Events Following Vaccination in the Community (SAEFVIC). The collection of this data has helped the Melbourne Vaccine Education Center offer an entire COVID-19 Vaccines and Allergy brochure, which includes a four-minute cartoon illustrating the difference between anaphylaxis and acute stress responses.

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With these publications, the Anxiety or Anaphylaxis debate quickly went from a proposed hypothesis I would need to argue in my dissertation defense, to an established psychological phenomenon with a documented research backing. Of course this helped push along my literature review, but more than anything, it substantiated what I’ve known so long to be true.

I wasn’t going crazy. I wasn’t making it up. Whether it be food-induced, vaccine-induced, or otherwise, panic attacks undoubtedly mimic anaphylactic shock.

References

Khetsuriani, N., Imnadze, P., Baidoshvili, L., Jabidze, L., Tatishili, N., Kurtsikashvili, G., Lezhava, T., Laurent, E., & Martin, R. (2010). Impact of Unfounded Vaccine Safety Concerns on the Nationwide Measles-Rubella Immunization Campaign, Georgia, 2008. Vaccine (28), 6455-6464.

Melbourne Vaccine Education Centre. (2021). Guidance for Differentiating Anaphylaxis from Acute Stress Response for Vaccine Providers and Emergency Departments. Victoria Department of Health.

Disclaimer

The content of this post is for educational purposes only, and should not be substituted for medical or professional advice. Please consult with your doctor for more information.