There are times when patients arrive to the emergency room with chest pain and the doctor has to decide whether it is caused by anxiety or an heart attack.

Chest pains, cold sweat, shortness of breath will present themselves in cases of cardiovascular problems. If the pain feels different than what you experienced before or it is much stronger and lasts longer, do not avoid getting immediate help by thinking it is only an anxiety attack.

It is very important to stress that sometimes doctors make mistakes in the diagnosis, especially under emergency situations. Frank and truthful conversation with the doctor will help him avoid mistakes. It is better to have an additional exam just to rule out other physical problems.

Another extreme case that require immediate medical attention is when a person has thoughts of harming himself or others. This is a very important point since anxiety and depression sometimes go hand in hand. Many murder/suicide cases could have been averted had the person talked about it, or someone close to him has notice a change or a formation of a plan.

If the person has the means to commit suicide or harm others such as a gun, knife or pills, it is time for an outside intervention. Having a detailed plan how to do it, including time and place is another indication that the person might take action.

When there’s a deep depression and feelings that only death will make this feeling go away, when there’s talk of death, preoccupation with “the other side”, it’s time for professional help.

The help can come in different forms as in hospitalization, medication, psychological therapy or even shock therapy. All those methods aim at changing the brain chemistry to allow the affected person lead a normal life.

A normal reaction to a bite will be redness in the bite area, some swelling of the affected area and pain.

The more sever reaction can be swelling that extends beyond the bite area. While it looks frightening it is usually not much worse than a normal reaction.

An allergy to sting and bites will manifest itself in a more serious way; difficulty in breathing, hives that appear on the skin, swelling of the throat and face, rapid pulse, dizziness and a sharp drop in blood pressure.

The bigger problem is that it can lead to a shock, unconsciousness and cardiac arrest. All that in the span of no more than 10 minutes. And the next time they are bitten or stung the reaction might appear much quicker.

The way to treat an allergic reaction to a sting or a bite is my injecting adrenaline into the blood stream. In most cases the injection will prevent the symptoms from getting worse.

Those who are highly allergic need to carry a syringe with them at all times because you never know when you might get bitten and how long it would take to get medical attention. In some cases I.V fluids have to be administered and oxygen given to help the patient regain the levels of oxygen reduced by the constrictions of the lungs. In some cases one injection is not enough, so a person who is known to have sting allergy has to be rushed to a hospital for continuous treatment.

To avoid this unwanted consequence people have to recognized to what they are allergic and try to avoid activities in an infected area. When going outdoors, they need to protect themselves with long sleeves, long pants and closed toe shoes, avoid wearing perfume that might attract insects, never go hiking alone or engage in any other sport while unaccompanied. Most important – protect their living environment with screen on doors and windows, and apply insect repellent  (such as Deet).

Allergic reaction to insect bites can be prevented with a monthly shot. They are very affective, up to 97% of the cases will avoid allergic reaction if given the shot, and by increasing the dosage gradually it might stimulate the immune system to become resistant to future allergic reactions.