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Can Amoxycillin Cause Allergic Reaction In The Body?

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Posted on Thu, 15 Jun 2017
Question: Can amoxycillin cause a secondary allergic reaction wherein your body produces more histamine to fight the penicillin allergen? Then when your body produces this histamine it causes more mucus.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (22 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
allergic shock was probably the cause

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

I'm very sorry for this unfortunate 2 year old child. Being a father myself I can't even start to imagine the grief of her family...

If she died because of amoxicillin then the most likely cause is allergic shock. Allergic shock is an immediate-type reaction which causes edema in various parts of the body including the airways, the blood pressure drops suddenly and the patient dies soon if not treated promptly and properly. If somebody is allergic to penicillin, even the slightest amount of penicillin or similar antibiotics (amoxicillin is included) can cause allergic shock. It is also possible for this allergy to develop in later doses. For example a patient may have used amoxicillin several times without any problem and to suffer a serious reaction after taking another dose.

Histamine is involved in the aforementioned reactions.

I hope it answers your question...
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (16 minutes later)
She did not die immediately after taking the dose of penicillin. Could she still have an allergic shock from it even after fourteen hours?

You also said yes that the allergic reaction could cause more histamine. So more histamine creates more mucus, right? Could the mucus cause edema in her throat and nasal cavity to cause them to close so she could not get air?

Thanks you
doctor
Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (6 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
it is possible

Detailed Answer:
You're welcome!

The reaction may evolve over minutes to hours. Death may occur very fast or not so fast, it depends on the severity of the reaction (and the treatment of course, if given). So it is possible for an allergic reaction to kill the patient several hours later.

Histamine causes the accumulation of fluid in the tissues (edema). This is what causes narrowing of the airways. The mucus is not so important in this regard. The mucus does not cause edema... Too much mucus may obstruct the airway partially and make breathing difficult. In allergic reactions this is not the main concern though. Edema (swelling) of the airways is the most important reaction.

Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (16 minutes later)
Sorry, one more question and some history for you.

They did an autopsy and found little IGE build-up and say it was not anaphylaxis. But they did not look for this until three weeks after the intial autopsy.

Aren't you suppose to check for tryptase within three hours of the allergic reaction to see if there if there was anaphylaxis?

She did have edema and moderate swelling in her trachea. Again they did not check for this until 24 hours after her death.

Is there a way to check for any of this in her core blood or the remaining tissue, blood, samples, remaining from the autopsy?

Do you know an expert allergy doctor?

I know this was more than one question. Sorry again, we feel helpless.

Thank you for your time.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (9 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
I can't get into forensics

Detailed Answer:
I'm sorry but I'm an internal medicine specialist. I can't answer questions about forensics. I'm not reluctant to do so, I just don't have the answers. For example I don't know whether the IgE is degraded or not after death and when... so if it's not detected three weeks after death, does it really mean there was no IgE-mediated reaction? I don't have the answer to that and other questions...

If you'd like you can ask a specialist question and ask for an allergy doctor only to answer it.

In practice (when the patient is still alive) the diagnosis is clinical. We rarely need tests to diagnose an immediate-type allergic reaction. If the doctor were certain about that then they're probably right.

I hope it helps!
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (25 minutes later)
Thank you for your answers. Yes, I would like to be referred to an allergy specialist. How do we do that? Can you send me to the specialist via this email?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (7 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
ask a specialist question

Detailed Answer:
You're very welcome!

You can ask a specialist question (you can choose between GP and specialist questions) on healthcaremagic. You should specifically ask for an allergy doctor, otherwise any specialist may answer it.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (18 minutes later)
Please direct this question to an allergy doctor.

Can a two year old have a latent reaction to amoxycillin which causes histamine to fight the amoxycillin allergen which then causes edema and mucus and cause the throat and nasal cavity to close? I am not talking about anaphylaxis, I am asking about a latent allergic reaction to amoxycilling such as hives. If it can cause a latent reaction like hives, can't it cause edema also?

How would you check for that after death? Skin, blood, bone, core-blood, etc?
Thank you
doctor
Answered by Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis (7 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
I can't do that...

Detailed Answer:
I'm sorry but I can't send questions on your behalf. Online doctors can only answer the questions. I don't have the power to do anything more than that. You should repeat the procedure right from the start. You can start here:
http://www.healthcaremagic.com/ask-doctor-online

Remember to indicate that you require answer from an allergy doctor only!
Note: For further information on diet changes to reduce allergy symptoms or to boost your immunity, Ask here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
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Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis

Internal Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1999

Answered : 3809 Questions

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Can Amoxycillin Cause Allergic Reaction In The Body?

Brief Answer: allergic shock was probably the cause Detailed Answer: Hello, I'm very sorry for this unfortunate 2 year old child. Being a father myself I can't even start to imagine the grief of her family... If she died because of amoxicillin then the most likely cause is allergic shock. Allergic shock is an immediate-type reaction which causes edema in various parts of the body including the airways, the blood pressure drops suddenly and the patient dies soon if not treated promptly and properly. If somebody is allergic to penicillin, even the slightest amount of penicillin or similar antibiotics (amoxicillin is included) can cause allergic shock. It is also possible for this allergy to develop in later doses. For example a patient may have used amoxicillin several times without any problem and to suffer a serious reaction after taking another dose. Histamine is involved in the aforementioned reactions. I hope it answers your question... Kind Regards!