If you or a loved one has a medicine allergy, it’s vital that you inform your physician. In most cases, a patient with a medication allergy will experience an allergic reaction only when taking the same medicine. However, a person with an allergy to multiple medications is at a greater risk of suffering a severe reaction if he or she takes more than one medication. For this reason, it’s critical to learn about medication allergies and their potential side effects, as well as how to treat them.
Many patients with multiple drug allergy syndrome are susceptible to more than one medication. This condition is rare, and the prevalence of multiple drug allergy syndrome is estimated to be between two and five percent of all suspected or confirmed DHRs. While the precise incidence of multiple drug allergy is unknown, case series have been described. A diagnosis is made using a detailed history of onset of symptoms and the temporal relationship between symptoms and drug use. A careful set of diagnostic tests is then conducted to confirm the diagnosis.
The immune system is the body’s defense against disease and infection. It was developed to fight foreign invaders. However, with drug allergy, the immune system confuses the drug for an invader and releases antibodies programmed to attack it. The body’s response causes symptoms like a rash, a fever, and trouble breathing. In rare cases, a person may experience an allergic reaction even after consuming the drug a few times.
The medical team will administer a graded drug challenge to confirm a child’s medicine allergy. The child is given a small dose of a medicine and closely monitored to determine whether or not the medication causes a serious allergic reaction. If the child does experience an allergic reaction, the physician will prescribe emergency medicine. This is the most common type of medicine allergy. In most cases, a medication allergy is a result of an infection or an allergic reaction to another drug.
A patient should tell their family doctor if they experience allergic symptoms after taking medication. During the examination, the physician will ask questions about the symptoms. Keeping a diary can help the doctor answer these questions more effectively. If the physician thinks a patient may be allergic to a certain drug, he or she will refer them to an allergist who can perform a skin prick test or blood test to rule out other potential allergies.
Another option for treatment of a medicine allergy is to use drug desensitization. During this process, the patient is gradually exposed to an allergen until it no longer triggers an allergic reaction. This procedure is known as drug desensitization and is effective in treating penicillin allergy. In addition, other methods such as hapten inhibition and IgE consumption have also been used to successfully treat patients with medication allergies. However, drug desensitization is only a temporary cure.