Anaphylaxis due to self-medication

After 5 days of using medicine bought by the family to treat cough, the boy was hospitalized due to severe abdominal pain and red rash all over his body.

The Pediatric Center - Bach Mai Hospital (Hanoi) recently received pediatric patients admitted in a life-threatening anaphylactic condition related to the use of unsafe drugs.

Pediatric Center doctor - Bach Mai Hospital examines a child patient

PHOTO: BACH MAI HOSPITAL

Most recently, a 7-year-old patient (in Ha Giang) was transferred with high fever, infectious rash, itchy rash all over the body, fatigue, epigastric pain, difficulty breathing, rapid heart rate, and abdominal distension.

At the Pediatric Center, through examination and questioning, doctors learned that 5 days before being admitted to the hospital, the patient had a dry cough, no fever, and the family bought antibiotics, cough medicine, and anti-inflammatory medicine for the child to take.

After taking the medicine for 1 day, the patient experienced abdominal pain, fever of nearly 38 degrees Celsius, itching, and rash all over the body. The family continued to give the child anti-allergy medicine. However, the symptoms did not improve.

When the child's rash became more red and itchy, and his stomach hurt more, the family took him to a nearby hospital. There, the patient was transferred to Bach Mai Hospital (Hanoi).

At Bach Mai Hospital, through clinical examination and tests, the patient was diagnosed with grade 2 anaphylaxis, suspected to be caused by drug allergy, including some antibiotics, expectorants, anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-allergy drugs and some pills without packaging or labels.

According to the assessment of the Pediatric Center, the above patient was fortunately treated immediately according to the anaphylaxis protocol for children at a lower-level hospital and transferred to Bach Mai Hospital for further treatment. After more than 1 week of treatment at the Pediatric Center, the patient has overcome the critical stage and is gradually recovering.

Drugs are the leading cause of anaphylaxis.

Through the reality of clinical cases of anaphylaxis requiring emergency and intensive treatment, the Pediatric Center - Bach Mai Hospital reminds families: The causes leading to anaphylaxis are very diverse, the leading ones are drugs and chemicals that penetrate the body through food, drink, inhalation through the respiratory tract, or through the blood such as injection, infusion...

In medicine, there are many types of drugs that can cause anaphylaxis, such as antibiotics, anesthetics, anti-inflammatory drugs, vaccines, intravenous fluids, and contrast agents.

In life, chemicals such as lacquer, oil paint, herbicides, insecticides... can also cause allergies and anaphylaxis depending on the individual's constitution. Next, some foods derived from insects, strange plants, seafood, and drinks containing chemicals can also cause allergies and anaphylaxis. Insect venom transmitted through bites should also be noted.

Parents, teachers, caregivers, schools and families should absolutely not arbitrarily buy medicine for their children without a prescription from a specialist at a medical facility, should not let children come into contact with chemicals, should not play in environments with insects and should properly manage food, medicine and chemical sources for children.

Anaphylaxis (formerly known as anaphylactic shock) in children is an immediate, hypersensitive reaction of the body when an allergen (drugs, foods) enters the body.

Anaphylaxis is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis, emergency care, early treatment, and active treatment to protect the child's life.

Clinical manifestations of anaphylaxis are very diverse in many organs such as: respiratory (nasal congestion, sneezing, laryngeal edema, difficulty breathing, bronchospasm, respiratory muscle contraction, apnea), cardiovascular (tachycardia, hypotension, arrhythmia, cardiac arrest), nervous system (chills, sweating, fever, headache, dizziness, convulsions, coma, restlessness, tremors, dizziness, fainting), digestive system (abdominal pain, nausea, incontinence, bloody stools), dermatological (urticaria, erythema, itching).

When you see your child showing unusual symptoms, you need to urgently take them to the nearest medical facility for examination.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bi-phan-ve-do-tu-dung-nhieu-loai-thuoc-185241103181439343.htm