Severe Allergy warning bracelets

[BillThePony]

After 40 years of taking penicillin I took some yesterday and ended up in hospital, it was horrific. Sort from itching so badly and massive hives I went a lovely purplish red colour, my hands, arm, feet and legs swelled and my tongue swelled.

Noire penicillin for me

My dm (who does panic bless her) is telling me I need to wear an medic alert band. Is this actually necessary? I am not really very clued up on this stuff but am I likely to be given penicillin in an emergency?

Any other sufferers wear one or is my dm being her usual over cautious self.

What about those 3 or 4 Mners who ended up in hospital with sepsis after thinking it was a bug bite/heavy period/etc? If they fell unconscious and were taken to hospital by ambulance or passed out in A&E they would likely have been given antibiotics. Emergency penicillin isn't rare,I don't think.

Really the hospital should have advised you; have you been given an adrenaline auto injector and referred to an allergy clinic?

I collapsed due to anaphylaxis a few weeks ago and to be honest nobody checked anything as they were too busy dealing with me. I wear a medic alert bracelet, have information on my phone, carry a letter with me and carry adrenaline with me at all times. I also have a tag on my bag to the zip where the adrenaline pouch is held so people know where to find it. This was all advised by the hospital though before I left.

After I was safe in hospital the hospital went through my pockets and bags but really when you are in the middle of a severe allergic reaction there is no time to check anything. They would probably see a bracelet if it was a medic alert one when trying to get access into you.

I hope you feel better.

@dementedma If you have an iPhone you can put it under health settings and it can be accessed from a locked phone.

Yes where on phone? Mine has a password to get into it so how is it possible to convey the information?

DS carries an epipen and has a severe allergy. He has a bracelet from here www.universalmedicalid.co.uk/ His is a metal tag with interchangeable silicone bands. He wears it swimming/in the bath/shower. It's really hardwearing.

This is the one he has www.universalmedicalid.co.uk/prod_uk/stainless-steel-small-silicone-flex-red-308

Definitely get the bracelet.

The phone is a good idea but it just isn't reliable.

Penicillins are common first line antibiotics. If you were brought into hospital unconscious & with signs of infection the HCPs looking after you wouldn’t be faffing around trying to work out how to use your phone (if it was with you) to get that info. I’m not sure if there’s a way of bringing emergency info up without requiring your phone code, but from recent experience finger print recognition may not be reliable and I’d imagine facial recognition wouldn’t work if you were intubated/had severe facial injuries. If I had a life threatening allergy to a common drug group I’d pretty much have it tattooed on my forehead!

Same thing happened to me a couple of years ago, OP - fine with penicillin up til that day, took first pill and ended up on the floor 15 minutes later! Tingling all over, itching,face felt like it was swelling up, vomiting, diarrhoea and just to add insult to injury, a 'period' spontaneously started! Ghastly. By the time a doc showed up with an epi-pen, my body had pretty much purged itself. Ghastly!

Apparently adult onset allergies can happen, particularly during menopause. It's in my records and on my phone but like you, I should sort out something more obvious and permanent.

If your phone is locked there's sometimes a way to put a message on the lock screen. You can get a cheap throwaway from any supermarket for under a tenner so consider doing that.
Its always best to use several methods in any case.

if you have an iphone, follow these instructions (you can then see it by tapping emergency call without unlocking your phone)

if you have a samsung follow these instructions

I don't think you need to worry about a medicine bracelet. I would put in your phone. Paramedics are trained to look there. I would also make sure it's ok your medical records.

Antibiotic allergies are very common. In the unlikely event you need antibiotics and the medical staff are unable to ascertain if you have any allergies they would give a test dose first. That's a very small dose to see how you react before giving the full dose. It is all very controlled.

The hospital didn't really advise anything. I am going to my doctor Monday morning.

I still need treatment for the infection I was given the penicillin for, what do they give instead?

There's a list of penicillin alternatives and they'll work through most of the list with caution. They'll keep one or two back for absolute emergencies.
I think that antibiotics fall into groups of related drugs, so you wont be able to take any from the penicillin group judging from how severe your reaction was.
www.nhstaysideadtc.scot.nhs.uk/antibiotic%20site/penhypers.htm

This chart is handy in case anyone doesn't read your notes and prescribes by mistake;
www.nhstaysideadtc.scot.nhs.uk/antibiotic%20site/pdf%20docs/penposter.pdf