Many diseases cannot be defeated without this or that drug. When a doctor, while prescribing medications, asks if you are allergic to any drugs, many find it difficult to answer. The editors asked 8 naive questions to the specialist.
1. What medications most often cause allergies?
These are usually antibiotics (penicillins, streptomycin, syntomycin, tetracycline), followed by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (aspirin, analgin, indomethacin, voltaren). But the body can also react hostilely to insulin, novocaine, serums and vaccines, vitamins, etc. Even folk remedies (chamomile decoction, calendula tincture) may not be so harmless for someone.
By the way, often the cause of an allergic reaction is not even the active substance itself, but stabilizers, emulsifying and aromatic additives, preservatives included in its composition.
2. How do you know if a person is allergic to a certain medicine?
To do this, it is worth conducting skin tests for those medicines that are in doubt: it is better to prevent a reaction than to stop it. To begin with, a drop of the drug solution is applied to the back surface of the forearm treated with alcohol, a scarification test is done 20 minutes after a negative result (the skin is scratched with a needle with a potential allergen). And another 20 minutes after a negative result, an intradermal test can be done to confirm the result, in which the allergen is injected with a syringe with a very thin needle.
3. How can an allergic reaction manifest itself?
The reaction can be general and local. The most common and most dangerous are immediate reactions or those that occur within the first minutes after taking the medicine. This is anaphylactic shock. But do not forget about local delayed (after 2-24 hours) and late (after 24-72 hours), which include redness, itching of the skin at the injection site, urticaria, etc. By the way, the minimum risk of developing and the strength of the manifestation of an allergic reaction when taking medications orally (by mouth). Then incrementally: intramuscular injections, inhalation method and intravenous administration of drugs, in which the risk is greatest.
4. How to prevent an allergic reaction?
You should always know and clearly answer your doctor about which medications you have had an inadequate response. It is better to carry a leaflet with a list of these remedies with you, so that in case of illness, the specialist will prescribe others for you, without the risk of cross-allergy. For example, there is a drug that causes you allergies, but a whole group of drugs contains a substance similar in chemical structure or mechanism of action. They, too, can provoke a reaction of the immune system – this is cross-allergy. So if there is an allergy to aspirin, then the body can react to citramone, analgin, butadion, baralgin, etc., if you are allergic to diphenhydramine, a reaction to tavegil may occur, etc. treatment aimed at reducing sensitivity to an allergen.
5. If, after taking the medication, allergies did not arise, can you be sure that it will not arise in the future?
Allergic reactions do not always manifest themselves at the first intake of the medication. For the first time, the organism becomes acquainted with the substance, and if the immune system sees it as an “enemy”, it remembers it in order to destroy it next time. In the future, the reaction may occur after taking even the smallest doses of the drug, and with an increase in the dose, it does not increase.
By the way, one of the risk factors is long-term and frequent use of medications, as well as the simultaneous administration of several drugs of different groups. So, even if you have been taking the medicine for years, you cannot be sure that the allergy will not show up.
6. Who is most likely to have an allergic reaction?
Naturally, heredity plays a huge role: if an allergy to some drugs was noted in the family, it is worth checking your body. In addition, the likelihood increases if you take medications on your own without a doctor’s prescription, if you have an individual intolerance to the components of medicinal substances. Health problems are also “provocateurs”: these are immunodeficiency states, allergic diseases (hay fever, bronchial asthma, etc.), hypersensitivity to various allergens, any chronic diseases.
7. What is anaphylactic shock and what to do if someone nearby suddenly has an allergic reaction to the drug?
Anaphylactic shock is an immediate reaction of the body, which begins with a burning sensation at the injection site, severe itching, redness that quickly spreads throughout the skin. When taking an allergen inside – with a sharp pain in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting, swelling of the oral cavity. Then begins a spasm of large bronchi and larynx (bronchospasm and laryngospasm), leading to severe breathing difficulties. Blood pressure drops sharply and collapse develops. The patient may lose consciousness or faint. Anaphylactic shock develops very quickly, which sometimes leads to death within minutes or hours after the allergen enters the body. If someone develops this rapid reaction nearby, call a doctor immediately, but do not waste time yourself. If the medicine was taken orally, try to induce vomiting, flush the stomach. If a reaction to drops occurs, treat the mucous membranes with plenty of water. If you are allergic to the injection, you must apply a tourniquet above the injection site for 30 minutes, loosening it every 10 minutes for 1–2 minutes. Ice or a heating pad with cold water should be applied to the injection site for 15 minutes. And put the person so that the legs are higher than the head, and the head is turned to the side. For milder reactions, it is worth taking antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine, suprastin, or tavegil.
8. Is there a relationship between drug allergy and food allergy?
Medicinal allergy is often combined with food, so it is worth switching to a hypoallergenic diet: limit carbohydrates and exclude all salty, sour, bitter, sweet, smoked meats, spices, etc. Drink should be plentiful – weak tea, rosehip broth, still water, and here coffee, cocoa, water, juices, compotes and jelly from some fruits and vegetables should not be drunk.