What to do if you are allergic to cephalexin

Cephalexin is the most common anti-inflammatory drug in our daily life and it is also a must-have medicine for us. It is most commonly used when we have a cold. As the saying goes, all medicines are poisonous. Therefore, we must be cautious when using the medicine and use it according to the doctor's instructions, because some medicines are incompatible with our daily food. For example, you must not drink alcohol after taking cephalexin. Also, some people are incompatible with certain medicines, and taking them may cause allergies. There are still quite a lot of people who are allergic to cephalexin, mainly because of the special ingredients in cephalexin. Learn in detail what to do if you are allergic to cephalexin.

Although cephalexin is effective quickly, it also has side effects, such as the following two misunderstandings.

Misconception 1: Antibiotics are cold medicines: Many people use antibiotics to treat colds or believe that antibiotics can reduce fever. In fact, although antibiotics can fight bacteria and certain microorganisms, they cannot fight viruses. Most colds are viral infections. If antibiotics are used indiscriminately, it will only increase their side effects and make the body resistant to drugs. In addition, when a patient has a bacterial infection, he or she may have a fever.

Antibiotics can help the inflammation subside and the body temperature return to normal naturally. However, not all fevers are caused by bacterial infections. Common colds are caused by viruses and can also cause fever, and antibiotics are not effective.

Misconception 2: The new generation is better than the previous generation: Many people believe that the third-generation cephalosporins and the fourth-generation cephalosporins are new and expensive, and their efficacy must be better than the first-generation and second-generation cephalosporins. Clinical practice has shown that the inexpensive first-generation cephalosporin has better antibacterial effect on Staphylococcus than the third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins. Doctors believe that the newer and more expensive the antibiotics are, the more effective they are not. What is important is what bacteria cause the infection and where the infection occurs. Doctors should choose antibiotics that have strong effects on pathogenic bacteria and high concentrations at the site of infection to achieve the best therapeutic effect.

Several commonly used antibiotics

So what should we do if we are allergic to cephalosporin? First, let's look at the symptoms of cephalosporin allergy. When we are allergic to cephalosporin, the symptoms are diffuse bright red spots or red maculopapules ranging from half a rice grain to bean size, densely and symmetrically distributed, and the shape is like measles or scarlet fever.

What are the symptoms of ceftriaxone allergy?

When cephalosporin allergy occurs, the symptoms are sudden onset, often accompanied by chills, high fever, headache, general discomfort, etc. More than half of the cases completely disappear 2 weeks after stopping the drug.

If you are allergic to cephalosporin and the medication is not stopped in time, it may develop into exfoliative dermatitis, which may have adverse consequences and have a very bad impact on your health.

Patients allergic to cephalosporin should: ① take 1 to 2 antihistamines orally; ② intravenous injection of 1g vitamin C once a day; ③ 10% calcium gluconate or 10% sodium thiosulfate 10ml intravenous injection for 1 to 2 days; ④ apply calamine lotion, vibrating lotion or powder containing camphor or mint topically several times a day to relieve itching, dissipate heat, and reduce inflammation. Generally, recovery can be achieved in about a week. Suggestions: Slightly more serious cases refer to those with more extensive rashes and fever. ① Rest in bed; ② Apply the above-mentioned medicine; ③ Take 20-30 mg of prednisone per day, divided into 3-4 times orally. Generally, full recovery can be achieved in about 2 weeks.