Drugs responsible for most cases of deadly allergic reactions

Whenever a case of deadly anaphylaxic shock makes the news, it’s usually associated with something like a peanut or shellfish allergy.

But fatal food allergies are much less common than you may think.

Most lethal allergic reactions — about 59 percent — were due to drugs.

A new study has found “a significant increase in fatal drug-induced anaphylaxis” in the U.S. between 1999 and 2010. In fact, the rate nearly doubled in that time.

Because there is no national database tracking deadly drug allergies, the researchers weren’t able to name the medications that killed in 75 percent of the deaths they studied.

But when they were, antibiotics made the top of the list.

Next were substances given to enhance imaging tests.

“We are using more imaging studies than other countries, and they’re potentially life-threatening” said lead author Dr. Elina Jerschow of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

And the risk of having a drug-induced fatal reaction was found to be higher in older people and African Americans.

So if your doctor has ordered any test for you that requires iodine, barium or any other substances to take beforehand, it’s vital that you ask questions first and find out as much about it as possible.

If you’re allergic to any foods (especially shellfish), pollen, dust, chemicals or are asthmatic, be sure to tell your doctor. That would make you much more likely to have an allergic reaction to any substance used in a test. He may want you to take skin tests first to check for an allergic response.

And the same applies before you start taking any new drug — especially an antibiotic. If you’re allergic to penicillin, for example, there’s a good chance that you’ll also be allergic to similar antibiotics like amoxicillin.

Sources:
“Medicines are biggest culprit in fatal allergic reactions: Study” Health Day, October 9, 2014, nlm.nih.gov