Allergy to antibiotics is a serious problem

Often it is antibiotics among all medicines that cause an allergic reaction. The use of β-lactams is the most common cause of drug allergy. The placement of skin tests is considered one of the most effective ways that help determine if there is an allergy to antibiotics for antibiotics. Of secondary importance are laboratory methods, since they are most often nonspecific.

Tactics of treatment and diagnostic approaches for? -lactams are developed in the most detailed manner. Carrying out desensitization takes place when it is necessary to take an antibiotic in a patient with an allergic reaction in the anamnesis.

Often, a real drug allergy can be confused with the usual unwanted reaction of the body to this or that antibiotic. At this stage it is worth pointing to such a concept as idiosyncrasy. This is a common name for allergy-like reactions of the body, which are manifested by hypersensitivity to certain nonspecific agents, which in most patients do not cause pathological phenomena.

Allergy to antibiotics is explained as a reaction of the human immune system to the action of metabolites of the antibiotic .Such reactions are quite rare, based on immunological mechanisms. Another feature is that the allergy after antibiotics develops rapidly, especially in the case of repeated contact with the causative apparatus. There are similar reactions not immediately after taking the drug, there may be variants of allergy after a few days. It is recommended to select antibiotics under the supervision of a medical specialist, and not independently.

With regard to the likelihood of allergic reactions, they increase with increasing dosage and duration of treatment. Despite the fact that the cutaneous allergy to medicines is only two percent of all possible adverse reactions to medications, it is considered very serious, since it can be accompanied by very serious complications, up to a lethal outcome. The risk group includes patients who already have a history of allergic reactions to antibiotics.

For example, if a patient has previously experienced an allergy to penicillin, the likelihood of an unwanted reaction to any other medication will increase several fold. Allergy in infants can manifest even when applying the medication just to the skin. The very development of allergic reactions directly depends on the antibiotic itself, as well as on the immunological state of the patient and on the disease. Skin reaction is the most frequent symptom. It can be itching, hives, or other types of rash. Development occurs within a few days. In this case, it is important to use a spray from an allergy. Less common may be coughing with allergies or symptoms such as anaphylaxis, fever, anemia, or Stephen-Jones syndrome.

Treatment and diagnosis of antibiotic allergy

Thorough analysis of allergic reactions is necessary for effective and timely recognition of allergies to antibiotics. A drug of another class must be assigned depending on the nature of the results obtained. What to do with allergies, if you can not replace the antibiotic? It can be used to treat a medication of the same group only if the allergic reaction is poorly expressed. Sometimes it is also prescribed a special treatment for the allergy itself, which consists in reducing the sensitivity of the human body to an allergen. This can be a trial therapy of a step type or desensitization. The refusal of this or that antibiotic in favor of another is, in most cases, sufficient.

To avoid undesirable allergic reactions to antibiotics, it is advisable to conduct a sample in the form of an intradermal injection with one tenth of a milliliter of the drug. A normal reaction is the presence of redness that occurs after the injection, no more than five millimeters in size. If a sample is made for antibiotics in tablets, then one-fourth of the pill should be taken for testing. As an allergic reaction, a rash or nausea may occur within half an hour after the procedure.

Antibiotics are recommended to be used only after the doctor's recommendations and after preliminary tests. All available negative reactions to the drug should be reported to the doctor in advance to avoid unwanted complications.