There are many manifestations of drug allergies, with mild cases of skin redness, swelling, and itching, and severe cases of asthma, purpura, and allergic shock. This may not only damage organs such as the liver, kidneys, and brain, but also lead to vasodilation, decreased blood pressure, local laryngeal edema, difficulty breathing, and even life-threatening conditions.
Some medication allergies can improve after discontinuing the medication. But sometimes, stopping medication alone is not enough. When allergic to drugs, patients should first drink more warm water to quickly excrete the medication, while also paying attention to changes in their body. If severe allergic symptoms occur, necessary first aid measures may need to be taken, such as taking antihistamines, vasoconstricting drugs, or injecting corticosteroids. It is best to go to the hospital as soon as an allergy occurs to avoid worsening the situation.
Drug allergic reactions are often caused by the degradation products or impurities of drugs, and are usually not related to the dosage of the medication. They are only seen in a few patients with specific physical conditions. Patients with specific constitutions may experience allergic reactions even when using conventional or minimal doses. Allergic reactions to drugs generally occur at or shortly after the time of medication, and some may occur for a longer period of time after medication. Drug allergic reactions are mainly manifested as rash, urticaria, drug fever, asthma, and angioneuroedema, with allergic shock being the most severe and even leading to death.
Common drugs such as penicillin, cefazolin, streptomycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, procaine, refined tetanus antitoxin, sodium fosfomycin, compound neomycin, cytochrome c, various vaccines, ampicillin, amoxicillin, berberine, etc. can cause allergic reactions. Among them, the incidence of allergic reactions caused by penicillin ranks first among various drugs, accounting for about 0.7% to 10% of the number of drug users. Its incidence of allergic shock is also the highest, accounting for 0.004% to 0.015% of the number of drug users. Among them, allergic shock is the most acute and dangerous, usually occurring a few seconds after injection (even at the moment of injection). It can also occur within minutes to half an hour or during continuous medication.
Those who stop taking penicillin injection for more than 72 hours must undergo a new skin test. Only those who are negative can use this medication again. In addition, when switching to penicillin produced by different manufacturers or with different batch numbers, skin tests are also required. Only those with negative results can be reused. In addition, the Ministry of Health stipulates that penicillin preparations (including long-acting preparations and semi synthetic preparations), regardless of the route of administration (even oral administration), must undergo skin tests before use. Only those who are negative can use them. In recent years, the Ministry of Health has approved the exemption of Penicillium V potassium tablets from skin allergy testing. In summary, individuals who test positive for penicillin skin test are prohibited from using various penicillin preparations.
What should I do if I experience an allergic reaction? The specific approach is:
Once a drug allergic reaction occurs, the use of this medication should be immediately stopped, and the patient should be sent to the hospital for treatment or rescue as soon as possible. Those who are far from the hospital can be treated and rescued on site first. Then send the patient to the hospital for further examination and disposal.
2. If there is vascular neuroedema and urticaria, antihistamines should be administered by intramuscular or intravenous injection, such as 10% calcium gluconate injection, vitamin C, dexamethasone, cyproheptadine, chlorpheniramine, Mindy, Xismin, Dermatitis Cream, 1% hydrocortisone ointment, camphor tincture, etc.
3. Once allergic shock occurs, emergency rescue should be carried out every minute and second. The patient should immediately lie down with their head down, and receive subcutaneous or intramuscular injection of 0.1% adrenaline 0.5-1.0 milligrams (to be reduced in children). Alternatively, 0.1-0.5 milligrams can be slowly administered intravenously (diluted to 10 milliliters with 0.9% sodium chloride injection). If the efficacy of subcutaneous or intramuscular injection of adrenaline is not good, 4-8 milligrams of intravenous infusion (dissolved in 5% glucose 500-1000 milliliters) can be used instead. When breathing is difficult, slow intravenous injection of 0.25-0.5 grams of aminophylline can be administered, while artificial respiration can be performed. Oxygen and insulation can be provided according to the needs of the patient, and attention should be paid to maintaining respiratory and circulatory functions.
Before using highly allergenic drugs such as penicillin, cephalosporins, and norfloxacin, a skin test must be conducted and should not be ignored due to past non allergic reactions. In addition, people who have a history of drug allergies must inform their doctors before prescribing medication.
