How a simple allergy can wind up killing you

Singulair — it’s the blockbuster allergy and asthma med from Merck that was once advertised on TV for adults and children with the promise that “side effects are generally mild.”

All you had to worry about were things like a headache or runny nose.

But that turned out to be so far from the truth that someone at Merck should be held responsible for putting out a drug that, among other things, can cause suicide … in children.

Now, Dutch researchers have discovered that reports of those adverse reactions have skyrocketed. And that makes sense, as the drug is now available as a generic, meaning more people than ever before are taking it.

That’s why it’s urgent that you make sure someone you love isn’t putting their life in danger with this med — especially if that someone is a child.

‘May cause serious side effects’
“I would not have given my son a drug that causes depression for a simple allergy. Who would?”

Cody Miller’s mom, Kate, had no way of knowing that a small, fruit-flavored pill given to help her son with his allergies would cause the 15-year-old high school athlete to take his own life.

And it took a full two years after Cody’s death for the FDA to limp into action and require Merck to put a warning on Singulair about “neuropsychiatric events” that can include suicide.

Singulair was a big money-maker for Merck, with sales in the billions. But now that it’s available as a generic, it looks like the drugmaker has changed its story about the potential side effects.

In a retort to the latest look at adverse events linked to Singulair by researchers at the University Medical Center in the Netherlands, Merck’s response was, yeah, the drug “may cause serious side effects,” so “talk to your health care provider” about it.

Wow, that’s a lot different than those soothing claims of years past!

What the Dutch researchers found confirmed those “neuropsychiatric side effects” and even added another one, allergic granulomatous angiitis — a life-threatening autoimmune condition that causes extreme inflammation of blood vessels.

They also checked two different databases to see how many times these frightening adverse reactions have been reported. And what they discovered was absolutely shocking.

In records maintained by the World Health Organization for over 100 countries, they found close to 18,000 reports that included depression, aggression, agitation, insomnia, suicidal thoughts and behavior, and tremors in both kids and adults taking the drug.

They calculated that the risk of depression in children and adults taking Singulair were nearly seven times higher, and the odds of a child exhibiting “aggressive behavior” were a whopping 30 times greater.

And remember — reports of adverse events, whether they go to the WHO or the FDA, actually represent just a fraction of what’s happening. What these researchers found is no doubt merely the tip of the Singulair side-effect iceberg. And for the millions who are prescribed this drug, it’s extremely unlikely that they’re getting the full story about its dangers.

That’s something Kate Miller was hoping would change.

Two members of New York’s congressional delegation had backed a bill (one named for Cody) that would tell patients about these risks in big, bold “plain language.” But it never saw the light of day.

And if you or your child or grandchild have been prescribed Singulair (which also goes under the generic name of “montelukast sodium”) for asthma, there’s something else you need to know.

During the early clinical trials before the FDA approved it, many patients are reported to have dropped out due to “worsening” breathing problems.

The message is loud and clear: We are on our own when it comes to knowing about the dangers of drugs.

And it’s also very clear that Singulair is one of those drugs that’s just too dangerous to take.

“Asthma drug tied to nightmares, depression” Serena Gordon, September 21, 2017, HealthDay, consumer.healthday.com