sulpha reactions

when i was born i was told i had an allergy to sulpha and the sulpha in penicillan, and was put on life support with massive swelling and rashes very young. i was then told that i had a rare case of stephen johnston syndrome, so rare in fact that iam unable to find out any information on it. It has never really bothered me and i have never thought twice about it until i had an extremly bad reaction to some drugs that i took both of which contained sulpha. iam very very interested to know whether it was what was in the drugs that made me have this reaction on both occations before the drug peaked. The reactions included hot and cold sweats, intense stomach cramps back aches. iam extremely interested on any information or links you may be able to suggest regarding this matter

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Sulfa reactions can indeed be very severe, even life-threatening.  If you had such a reaction, and it appears you did, you should never be treated with sulfa drugs.  SAuch reactions can be from even tiny doses, so the drug doesn't have to "peak"--actually be in your system for a while for the reaction to happen.

If the drugs you took recently contained sulfa, pease make sure aany doctor who takes care of you knows that you have this problem.  If you avoid sulfa, you should be OK--other antibiotics are chemcially unrelated.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[DoubleTrouble]

Check this out, hope it helps http://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?q=%22stephens+johnson+syndrome%22&kl=XX