When to Seek medical Care

Always contact the health-care provider who prescribed the medication for advice.

If the symptoms are mild, such as itching and localized hives, the provider may switch you to a different type of medication, recommend that you stop the medication, or, if appropriate, prescribe antihistamines to relieve your symptoms.

If you cannot reach this provider for advice quickly, play it safe and go to a hospital emergency department.

If you are having any "systemic" symptoms such as fever or vomiting, you should stop taking the medication and be seen immediately by a medical professional.

If you are having difficulty breathing, your throat is swelling, or you are feeling faint, you may be having an anaphylactic reaction. Go immediately to a hospital emergency department. Do not attempt to drive yourself. If no one is available to drive you right away, call 911 for an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance, start self-treatment.

Self-Care at Home

For hives or localized skin reactions, perform the following:

• Take cool showers or apply cool compresses.

• Wear light clothing that doesn't irritate your skin.

• Take it easy. Keep your activity level low.

• To relieve the itching, apply calamine lotion or take nonprescription antihistamines, such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or chlorpheniramine maleate (Chlor-Trimeton).

For more severe reactions, self-treatment is not recommended. Call your health-care provider or 911, depending on the severity of your symptoms. If you have symptoms of anaphylaxis, here's what you can do while waiting for the ambulance:

• Try to stay calm.

• If you can identify the cause of the reaction, prevent further exposure.

• Take an antihistamine (one to two tablets or capsules of diphenhydramine [Benadryl]) if you can swallow without difficulty.

• If you are wheezing or having difficulty breathing, use an inhaled bronchodilator such as albuterol (Proventil) or epinephrine (Primatene Mist) if one is available. These inhaled medications dilate the airway.

• If you are feeling light-headed or faint, lie down and raise your legs higher than your head to help blood flow to your brain.

• If you have been given an epinephrine kit, inject yourself as you have been instructed. The kit provides a premeasured dose of epinephrine, a prescription drug that rapidly reverses the most serious symptoms.

• Bystanders should administer CPR to a person who becomes unconscious and stops breathing or does not have a pulse.

• If at all possible, you or your companion should be prepared to tell medical personnel what medications you take and any known allergies.

Prevention

There is no known way to prevent drug allergies. You can reduce your risk by taking as few medications as possible. The more exposure your body has to medications, the greater the likelihood of a drug allergy.

Always tell any new health-care provider you see about your allergies and the types of reactions you have had. Talk to your doctor about the possibility or necessity of having a portable epinephrine kit to treat severe reactions.

Do not take a drug that you have reacted to in the past. Once you have a reaction to a drug, your risk of having a more severe reaction next time increases dramatically.

Consider wearing a medical alert ID bracelet or necklace. These devices are worn on the wrist or neck and can alert medical personnel and others about the risk for an allergic reaction.

Adults might carry a card with pertinent medical information in a wallet or purse. Tell your health-care provider about any adverse reactions to medications in the past before he or she prescribes medications to you.

Tell your health-care provider about any medications, prescription or over-the-counter, that you are taking.