Drug allergies

What is a "drug allergy"?

All drugs have side effects next to the desired main stock exchange securities. Mostly, these don't fall at a therapy into the weight but e.g. it can in some cases come to allergic reactions. The immune system recognizes certain substances (allergens) of a medicine as "foreign" in the body and triggers a defense reaction with antibody production. This normally doesn't happen at drug active substances but there are exceptions again and again. There is therefore the possibility that every man can react to every medicine allergically sometime. It doesn't play a role in this, the medicine was taken in which drying calibration shape. Sprays or tablets splash, suppository -- everyone is possible as possible triggers.

The allergic reaction appears (most on the 2nd to 3. or 9. to 18. day) after the first intake in the form of red spots on the skin in connection with a strong pruritus after the taking of the medicine as a rule few days. The eruption usually starts to the arms and legs and then expands on the trunk. The eruption can be fine stained as in the case of rubellas or great stained and flowing together as in the case of veins. Wheals frequently also form. It can come to further allergic troubles of the most different species in the consequence. The phenotype of the eruption doesn't allow any conclusion on the cause. Only the temporal cohesion with the medicine intake suggests a drug eruption . as soon as the medicine triggering allergy is removed, the skin image improves and the troubles fall off after.

In principle, every medicine can cause all forms of an allergic reaction. It immediately effects (type I), direct cell lesions (type II), can, lesion by antigen antibody connections (type III) as well as the allergy, i.e., of the delayed hypersensitivity reaction appear.

At the various reactions to drugs you must distinguish in addition between "actual" allergic reactions and "pseudoanaphylaxises", i.e. incompatibility reactions (intolerance syndrome). The immune system isn't involved at this shape and no antibodies are formed either. The diagnosis is also aggravated by the fact that more than only a medicine take most patients. Allergy tests go negatively (because of the variety of the triggering possibilities, like adjuvants or metabolization in the body) in many cases. You should certainly go to a physician at every unclear exanthema or at suspicion of drug eruption.

Trigger of drug allergies



Every drug or can trigger incompatibility reactions, today, really knows a number of substances at which the risk is increased one even if practical allergic:
  • Antibiotics (penicillins, sulfonamides, beta Lactam antibiotics, also Cephalosporine)
  • Analgesic (acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), Pyrazolone (Novalgin) and other so-called not steroid ale antirheumatics (NSAR, e.g. volt ares, Diclofenac).
  • Thyroid hormones
  • Blood high form of pressure
  • Antidiabetics
  • Contrast medium (here has the preventive gift of an antihistamine proved to be an appropriate countermeasure at risk patients)
  • Immunoglobulins
  • Other drug adjuvants, components of the preparation or conservation substances

Which symptoms are there?

  • Sneezing attacks and flowing common cold (rhinitis), with strong watery secretion and, blocked nose by swelling up the mucosas exanthema, nettle rash (Urtikaria), wheals with pruritus
  • Schwellung der Schleimhäute in Mund- und Rachenraum
  • Cough and dyspnea up to asthma attacks (amount like, heavy dyspnea with narrowing of the respiratory systems)
  • Reaction of the digestion tract in the form of diarrhea, winds, vomiting, colics
  • Rare fever and disturbance of the general condition
  • possible circulatory collapse up to the anaphylactic shock

Diagnosis position

  • With the symptoms which the patient describes (anamnesis), i.e. primarily where and when the troubles appear.
  • Skin tests
  • Antibody detection from a blood test, primarily rest test
  • Provocation tests: The suspicious substance becomes under a medical supervision into the nose, found on the bronchial or conjunctival mucosa.

Tips for drug people suffering from an allergy

  • Avoid the medicine or the substance class for which an incompatibility reaction or an allergy was proved or is probable strictly.
  • You note themselves down the name the drug which has triggered the allergy this one in this contained active substance shouldn't be given any more since the allergic reaction would turn out fundamentally stronger at the second time
  • You would always drive which with themselves let you issue an allergy passport to themselves, (important at emergency (accident) or at a stationary photo as well as at the dentist)!
  • You don't buy any freely saleable medicines for yourself best without speaking with your physician and in any case showing the physician or the pharmacist who then can find out with the given contents substances which medicines with the same contents substances don't stand them the passport at all further drug prescriptions
  • Gegen den Juckreiz beim Ausschlag helfen außer Salben auch kühlende Umschläge.

Medical treatment

  • Immediately removing the triggering medicine at suspicion of drug eruption
  • If necessary, prescription of a means with the same effect which has another composition

Medicinal medical treatment

  • Ointments soothing pruritus
  • Antihistamines (ointments, tablets, guttas)
  • Cortison (ointment, tablets) at heavy courses
  • Beta Sympathomimetika

Being part of an emergency pharmacy:

  • at least two tablets of an antihistamine or 20 ml of Fensitil gutta
  • 100 mg Prednisolon or 30 ml Celestamine N 0.5 liqu. = 15 mg Betamethason
  • are spray or are syringe with epinephrine for the self application or medihaler epi: Epinephrine-measuring out aerosol for inhaling (only into international pharmacies) . alternative: fastjekt (epinephrine ready syringe


These informations may be considered a substitute for a piece of medical advice in no case. The content of health-illness.com doesn't can and may be put into any case to make diagnoses or carry out self medical treatment independently.


Diese Informationen dürfen auf keinen Fall als Ersatz für ärztliche Beratung angesehen werden. Der Inhalt von medhost.de kann und darf auf keinen Fall verwendet werden, um eigenständig Diagnosen zu stellen oder Selbstbehandlung durchzuführen.

Medhost ¦ Startseite - Newsletter - Impressum - Disclaimer - Kontakt - Sprache ¦ Deutsch - English
1999 - 2007 Copyright Promeus AG, Alle Rechte vorbehalten