Wheel from allergy shots - Allergies Message Board

juice39 · 06-30-2009, 02:35 PM

Can anyone give me a description of what is meant by the term "wheel" regarding the reaction one gets from allergy shots? I sometimes get a red area or a small sweling in the injection site. I have searched on the internet and can not come up with a description for a "wheel".

gcsjr · 06-30-2009, 03:09 PM

The term you're looking for is actually spelled "wheal". It simply means "a small, burning or itching swelling on the skin, as from a mosquito bite or from hives."

Titchou · 06-30-2009, 04:46 PM

Merriam-Webster defines it as " a suddenly formed elevation of the skin surface as a) welt, b) a flat burning or itching eminence on the skin." And it is spelled "wheal," as stated above.

juice39 · 07-02-2009, 07:16 AM

Thank you for the description. My allergy nurse (who gives my shots and checks the reaction) spelled it wheel on my papers and didn't explain the difference between a wheal or a lump, with redness around the lump. She notes if a wheal appears (which it seldom does); but does often note when I have a lump in the center of the redness. So I don't understand the difference between the two. But thanks for the description anyway.

Titchou · 07-02-2009, 09:07 AM

The wheal is the redness out from the injection site. That was what they measured when you had you allergy testing - the size of the wheal indicates the severity of the allergy. The lump is part of it but does not indicate an allergic reaction per se.

Hope that helps.