Allergic reaction severe whole body rash

[dasped]

Hi, I write this post on behalf of my lovely lady who over the past two days has suffered greatly with severe rash reaction.

Background,

She is asthmatic who suffers with allergies in general, she suffers with nasal polyps and has had three operations in recent years to remove them, her ears also suffer and grommets have been used in the past. Symptoms include loss of hearing, and severe sinus and nasal discomfort and blocked nose. She is also allergic to Aspirin.

Over the last week or so she developed a chest infection which caused problems with her breathing, after a visit to the doctor she was prescribed with the following;

Asthma; (AstraZeneca) Bricanyl & (AstraZeneca) Pulmicort
Recent Polyp removal prescription; (Nasofan Aqueous) Nasal spray Fluticasone Propionate
Chest infection; (Almus) Amoxicillin 500mg & (Actavis) Prednisolone 5mg (we cannot understand this prescription as it clearly states on the notes; "the colours sunset yellow & carmoisine in the capsule shell can cause allergic-type reactions including Asthma. Allergy is more common in those people who are allergic to asprin" Was the doctor a fool to prescribe such medication given her background? We noticed this after she had taken a single tablet and so from there she emptied the capsules prior to ingestion.
She regularly takes Paracetamol for sinus pain relief combined with anti-histamine of a variety, most commonly she will take lesser strength anti-histamine or anti drowsy ones so she is not affected by drowsiness.

So appreciated she is a walking drug factory at the moment but I am still extremely concerned about a recent reaction she has had to something. (Not necessarily the Drugs)

At work on Friday last (1530hrs) she noticed some red spots on her hands that where spreading to her forearms, she completed a meeting she was required to speak at and left for home.
Visiting a friend at (1645hrs) she opened a bottle of rose wine and sat down to relax, her friend immediately asked what was wrong with her blotchy neck, the rash spread extremely quickly from there, her ears, hands and top lip began to swell and the spots turned to lumps, within minutes the rash began to turn deep red/purple and the spots and patches began to join together, slightly facial within half an hour her whole body was an extreme bright red.
After calling NHS direct she was advised immediately to take piritin, her friend had some on hand and so she took a tablet and they rushed to A&E. Where the rash ceased after approx 1 hr she was then given piriton tablets and advised to return to A&E if the rash returned. The rash did return the following evening and once again she had a glass of rose wine and started with a rash

We have tried  to account for all possible triggers and can only suggest (1) spice(s) used on her food or (2) alcohol , however this does not explain why she started with a rash on her hands Friday afternoon (as she had no alcohol intake)
Is there blood or any other means of test, she can take to identify allergies?  

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Glad to know that the posts have been of some help to you.

Do post us on what the doctor's advise and also if you have any doubts.

Keep us posted about how she is doing now.

Regards.

[dasped]

Thankyou both greatly for your responses, I have just returned from a business trip and so this is the first moment i have had to check the forum so apologies for the delay in this reply.

She has visited the doctors this week but did not see her own GP, the doctor has not advised anything further and so after reading your posts i have demanded (Politley) :o) that she books in again in the immediate future with her own GP at a time that I can accompany her.

I will of course keep you both updated with our progress as soon as we have had the appointment.

As for this week she has not had any repercussions thank goodness and is avoiding the substances we feel it may have been.

Thankyou very much for your advice it is greatly appreciated.

Kindest regards

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

How is your friend doing now? Has she seen a doctor as yet?

Twinkle is right about allergic reactions - they could be very severe and in some cases even life threatening.

So this should definitely not be neglected and appropriate medical advise and treatment should be taken at the right time.

Let us know if you have any other doubts.

Regards.

[Twinkle1974]

I am not an expert, however i have suffered with chronic asthma, atopic eczema and allergy's all 33 yrs of my life.. I have inhalers, antihistamines, a home nebulizer , steroids and 2 epi-pens in my house.  

I had a strong word with my doctor that it was way over due to go see an allergy specialist for tests.  Upon which he wrote a referral for me.  I have had skin ***** tests and blood tests.  Of course they need to know on arrival (you take them with you) all medications you are on.  However your doctor should refer you to the nearest Allergy testing clinic.. Mine was in Leicester (Glenfield hospital).. Long way away from me although it was worth it.  

I strongly suggest that you go back to your doctors and demand politely a referral to your nearest clinic where you can get tested correctly so you no longer have to guess what you are allergic to.  Main reason is you DONT want to guess and you DO want to avoid what could possibly slightly harm or even kill you.  Allergic reactions can be severe.. but even the slightly annoying ones can make you down and miserable.  This is not on.  

Best of luck..  I hope she receives help.

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

In most cases , it is not possible to identify a trigger for an allergic reaction. There could be multiple triggers in one individual.

Your friend could be allergic to various substances. It would be best to avoid substances to which she is allergic too. Also it would be advisable to consult an allergy specialist about her symptoms and whether allergy testing is required and other blood tests need to be done.

You should ask her to keep oral antihistamine medications like cetrizine and loratadine at hand, in case of a sudden flare up of symptoms.

She should talk to her alergy specialist about the current medications she is on and whether ahe should carry a Epi-pen for use in case of an emergency.

Has a lung function testing and CT scan of the sinuses been done?

Let us know about how she is doing and if you have any other doubts.

Regards.