Sometimes allergies come on unexpectedly and threateningly. What to do in such cases? How does an allergy to drugs manifest itself, how not to get confused if your life or the lives of loved ones are in danger? In order to answer these questions, you need to study your enemy. Allergy is a specific immune response to an allergen, expressed in the production of antibodies and immune T-lymphocytes.
There are many types of specific reactions to various stimuli. The most insidious and dangerous drug allergy remains.
The danger lies in the fact that the disease may not appear immediately, but as the allergen accumulates in the body. Another difficulty rests on the symptoms of an allergy to drugs. They can be very different, and sometimes they are not associated with the use of a particular drug. In order to understand what steps should be taken for the timely diagnosis and treatment of drug allergies, complications should be classified.drug allergy.
Classification
Medication-related complications can be divided into two groups:
1. Immediate manifestation complications.
2. Complications of delayed manifestation: a) associated with a change in sensitivity;
b) not related to sensitivity change.
At first contact with an allergen, there may be no visible or invisible manifestations. Since drugs are rarely taken once, the body's reaction increases as the stimulus accumulates. If we talk about the danger to life, then the complications of immediate manifestation come forward. Allergy after medication causes:
- anaphylactic shock;
- Quincke's edema;
- urticaria;
- acute pancreatitis.
The reaction can occur in a very short time period, from a few seconds to 1-2 hours. It develops quickly, sometimes with lightning speed. Requires emergency medical attention.
The second group is more often expressed by various dermatological manifestations:
- erythroderma;
- exudative erythema;
- morbilliform rash.
It appears in a day or more. It is important to timely distinguish skin manifestations of allergies from other rashes, including those caused by childhood infections. This is especially true if a child is allergic to a medicine.
Stages of allergies
- Direct contact with the allergen. The emergence of the need to develop appropriateantibodies.
- Isolation by the body of specific substances - allergic mediators: histamine, serotonin, bradykinin, acetylcholine, "shock poisons". The histamine properties of the blood are reduced.
- There is a violation of blood formation, smooth muscle spasm, cell cytolysis.
- Immediate manifestation of allergy according to one of the above types (immediate and delayed manifestation).
The body accumulates an "enemy" element and shows symptoms of drug allergy. The risk of occurrence increases if:
– there is a genetic predisposition (the presence of a drug allergy in one of the generations);
– long-term use of a single drug (especially penicillin or cephalosporin antibiotics, aspirin-containing drugs) or multiple drugs;
– use of medication without medical supervision.
Now the question arises, if there is an allergy to drugs, what to do?
First aid for allergies with a complication of immediate manifestations
It is necessary to correctly assess the situation and act immediately. Urticaria and Quincke's edema, in essence, are one and the same reaction. Multiple, itchy, porcelain-white or pale pink blisters begin to appear on the skin (urticaria). Then an extensive swelling of the skin and mucous membranes (Quincke's edema) develops.
As a result of edema, breathing becomes difficult and asphyxia occurs. In order to prevent death, you must:
– call emergency medical assistance immediately;
– gastric lavage if the medicine has been received recently;
- if the first-aid kit contains one of such drugs as Prednisolone, Diphenhydramine, Pipolfen, Suprastin, Diazolin - take it immediately;
– do not leave the victim for a minute until the ambulance arrives;
– to reduce skin itching, smear the surface of the blisters with a 0.5–1% solution of menthol or salicylic acid.
The most dangerous reaction of the body to a drug allergy is anaphylactic shock. The symptoms of drug allergy in this form are frightening. There is a sharp decrease in pressure, the patient turns pale, there is a loss of consciousness, convulsions. It's important not to panic. First Aid:
– call an ambulance;
– turn your head to one side, unhook your teeth and stick out your tongue;
- lay the patient in such a way that the lower limbs are slightly higher than the head;
- from medicines, the drug "Adrenaline" is used.
Quincke's edema and anaphylactic shock require immediate hospitalization.
First Aid for Allergies with Delayed Complications
This is a less dangerous drug allergy. Treatment can be carried out at home, but under the supervision of a doctor.
How drug allergy manifests on skin:
- limited rashes (on certain parts of the body);
- common rashes (rash uniform throughout the body);
– the rash may be itchy, in the formnodules, vesicles, patchy;
- a manifestation of allergic erythema (damage to the skin and oral mucosa with spots that have sharp boundaries). Spots cover more internal (extensor) surfaces of the body.
Required:
– stop taking the drug that causes allergies. If there were several drugs, antibiotics and drugs containing aspirin are excluded first of all;
- take anti-allergic drugs inside: Diazolin, Dimedrol, Suprastin.
After stopping the allergic drug, the rash goes away on its own and no further intervention is required.
Survey methods
Diagnosis should be used in case of occasional symptoms of drug allergy. If the allergy manifested itself as an acute condition and a hospital is inevitable, a diagnosis will be made there, tests will be made and a course of treatment will be prescribed. In the case of sluggish forms, patients do not always rush for medical help, forgetting that each subsequent encounter with the allergen will manifest a more pronounced and stronger reaction.
Knowing about the problem that has arisen, be sure to contact a medical institution to an allergist. Modern diagnostics provides several methods for identifying the perpetrators of allergic reactions. The most informative of them:
– ELISA. The patient's blood is taken. If the serum reacts with the allergen, the analysis shows the presence of LgE antibodies.
–provocative tests. The patient's blood is mixed with a drug that can cause allergies.
Diagnosis is important for patients who are using anesthesia for the first time, as well as in the case of the initial use of the drug in people prone to allergic reactions.
Treatment
The question arises, if there is an allergy to a medicine, how to treat? After establishing the diagnosis and identifying the drugs to which the allergy has arisen, they proceed to the same drug therapy. The following drugs are prescribed:
– calcium chloride;
– antihistamines ("Diphenhydramine", "Diazolin", "Tavegil");
– glucocorticoids ("Dexamethasone", "Hydrocortisone", "Prednisolone").
Unconventional treatments for drug allergies include:
– acupuncture;
– hirudotherapy;
– herbal medicine.
It is necessary to take measures to eliminate the drug that caused the allergic reaction as soon as possible:
– drink plenty of water (preferably alkaline mineral water);
– daily cleansing enemas;
– use of enterosorbents;
– intradrip administration of cleansing preparations (hemodez).
Intramuscular and intravenous use of vitamins is advisable only if there is a 100% guarantee of the absence of allergies to them.
If an allergy to the skin from drugs causes itching, herbal decoction baths, soda compresses are used to eliminate it.
Reasonsdrug allergy development
The modern world cannot be called ecologically safe for mankind. Harmful substances of chemical, biological, toxic origin are emitted into the atmosphere every second. All this negatively affects the state of the immune system. Immunity failure entails terrible consequences: autoimmune diseases, symptoms of allergies to drugs and other irritants.
1. Getting meat from poultry and animals grown on modern feed, vaccinated with medical preparations, people do not even suspect that they come into contact with many medicines every day.
2. Frequent unreasonable use of drugs.
3. Inattentive study of the instructions for use of the drug.
4. Self-treatment.
5. Having a chronic parasitic infection.
6. The presence of stabilizers, flavors and other additives in medicines.
Also, we must not forget about the possibility of reaction to mixing drugs.
Prevention
If there is an allergy to drugs, what should I do so that it does not happen again? It is erroneously believed that the only way to prevent drug allergies is to refuse the drug that causes it. Strengthening the immune system has been and remains an important tool in the fight against allergies. The stronger the immune system, the less likely the occurrence of this dangerous disease.
Preventive measures include:
– Hardening.
- Physical education andsports.
– Proper nutrition.
– No bad habits.
– If there were allergic manifestations to any drugs, this should be indicated in the medical record.
– Taking antihistamines before vaccinations.
– Knowing that you have a drug allergy or any other form of allergy, it's best to carry antihistamines with you at all times. If you are prone to shock, Quincke's edema, let there always be an ampoule with adrenaline and a syringe in your pocket. It could save a life.
– Before using anesthetics at your dentist appointment, ask for a sample.
If you follow these tips, the symptoms of drug allergy will not recur.
Results
If a motorist starts filling his iron horse with low-quality gasoline, the car will not last long. For some reason, many of us do not think about what they put on their plate. A balanced diet, clean water is the key to strong immunity and the ability to say goodbye not only to food, but also to drug allergies. Any disease leads a person who learns about it to a state of shock. Over time, it becomes clear that most of our diseases require not so much treatment as lifestyle changes. Drug allergies are no exception. In the modern world, and especially in the post-Soviet space, there is a lack of attention to one's he alth at the proper level. This leads to undesirable and sometimes fatal consequences. Cheaperand it is easier to prevent a disease than to spend money and effort on its treatment later. Now that it is known how an allergy to drugs manifests itself, knowing the enemy in person, it is easier to deal with him. Stay he althy.
