Which symptom indicates respiratory involvement in an allergic reaction?

• A. Flushed, itching, or burning skin
• B. A sense of impending doom
• C. Tightness in the chest or throat
• D. All of these answers are correct

Answer: (C)

The symptom that indicates respiratory involvement is chest or throat tightness. This tightness signals that the airways are narrowing, either from swelling in the airway or bronchoconstriction, which directly affects breathing. That airway involvement is the key feature of a respiratory reaction.

Skin symptoms like flushing or itching show a skin-level reaction, not the airway issue, and a sense of impending doom is a general feeling that can accompany a severe reaction but doesn’t indicate airway compromise by itself. So while those signs can occur with allergic reactions, they do not demonstrate respiratory involvement the way chest or throat tightness does.