The One-Man Itchy and Scratchy Show
Written: Nov 22 '00 (Updated Nov 28 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: it might save your life
Cons: can cause drowsiness
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| erik_kosberg's Full Review: Benadryl Allergy 100 Tablets |
I’ve had a nasty cough for a month now. The type that rattles your ribcage and leaves you groaning. The type that your family and coworkers get really tired of hearing. The type that gets progressively worse no matter what you do. Three weeks ago I went to my internist who said that (at that time at least) I didn’t have bronchitis. He gave me a prescription for arithromycin in case my cough got even worse. It did and I started in on seven days of the antibiotic.
When the meds ran out and I was feeling worse rather than better, I went to an urgent care where they did blood tests, chest X-rays, and put me on a Ventalin inhaler. The doctor there told me that I had pneumonia and started me on a ten-day course of Augmentin, a more powerful antibiotic. More powerful in fighting the bacterial infection causing the pneumonia, but in my case at least, not all that good at reducing the symptom of coughing. Admittedly, the coughing helps to loosen the gunk in one’s chest and is therefore a good thing that your body needs to do to help heal itself.
By last Friday, I was coughing so hard that I pulled muscles and ligaments in my back and shoulder that were causing a great deal of pain. I went to the ER friday night where they did more X-rays, blood tests, and even an EKG. They downgraded my diagnosis from pneumonia to bronchitis and gave me a shot of morphine and 14 Percocet tablets to take home to control pain and a Medrol Dose Pak® of methylprednisolone to reduce inflammation.
Rather than take a cab home (those wacky medicos frown on morphine-influenced driving) I elected to take a bus so I happened to see the blue-clothed occupants of three squad cars escort several young men out of a car aided by the inducement of drawn 9mm handguns. It was actually rather amusing to watch while gorked out.
Well yes, the morphine at the ER was wonderful but those meds they sent home with me are another thing altogether. I started the new medications Saturday morning and soon felt a mild itchiness on my hands. Oh well, it must just be the dry winter air causing my skin to dry out, I’ll just use a bit of hand lotion. Time to take my meds again. Hmmm, now my hands are looking a bit puffy and it’s feeling strange when I try to grip something. That’s kind of weird. Oh well, I’ve got a busy day, no time to dwell on a few minor pains. The air must be getting drier. A few hours pass and it’s time to take my meds again. Where did those red marks on my arms come from? Okay, so I’m a little slow on the uptake sometimes.
Whoa dooggies, it turns out that I’m violently allergic to one of those drugs. My wife is an RN and when she saw the severity of the reaction she went to the closet and handed me two capsules of Benadryl®. Within about 15 minutes, the swelling and redness were reduced by about half. We called my internist’s on-call partner that evening and he said that it’s extremely rare to be allergic to prednisone and that since it was probably one of the other meds, I should continue with the prednisone. In fact, prednisone is often given to people who are having allergic reactions. Okay, swallow another dose of prednisone. Ten minutes later and I’m itching everywhere. You know me, Mr. One in a Million. Yup, I am allergic to prednisone. Don’t you just love itching all over, being covered in red welts, and having your face puffed up so that you look like you’ve served as a punching bag for an up and coming middleweight contender? At least I’m not allergic to Benadryl®.
Allergic reactions can vary in intensity from mild itchiness and swelling, to my extreme itchiness and swelling, all the way to swelling in the throat that can be life-threatening. You or someone in your family could have a reaction to anything from a medication to a food to ragweed to a bee sting. Do yourself a big favor and see if you have any Benadryl® in your house. If not, buy some. If you want to save a few bucks, get a generic equivalent (at Walgreens, it’s called Waldryl) that contains diphenhydramine, the active ingredient of Benadryl®. If you’ve got small children in the house, get the liquid form. In my case, it’s helped to significantly reduce the symptoms of my severe reaction (even if I’m still having to take it four days later).
It might sit there (replace it every two years) or you might use it occasionally if you get a runny nose from pollen. It might come in handy if you have a nasty reaction to a medication like I had. Or it just might save your life.
As the comments to this opinion suggest, Benadryl® isn’t for everyone. And don’t place too much faith in any medication. For serious reactions, call 911 and let the pros take over.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
erik_kosberg
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Location: Minneapolis, MN
Reviews written: 118
Trusted by: 264 members
About Me:
A science experiment with inconclusive results
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