What to do if your face is swollen due to drug allergy

Medicines can be used to treat diseases, but they also have a certain stimulating effect. For some people who are prone to allergies, they will also have allergic reactions to the drugs, causing swelling of the face. If you encounter the problem of drug allergy, you must take reasonable and effective measures to alleviate the situation. Specific relief and treatment methods include: removing the cause, supportive therapy, enhancing excretion, and drug treatment.

1. Eliminate the cause

The first measure to be taken is to stop taking all suspected causative drugs. Avoid continuing to use the drugs when the precursors of drug reaction have appeared.

2. Supportive Therapy

Provide patients with favorable conditions and avoid unfavorable factors so that they can successfully complete the self-limiting course of the disease, such as bed rest, nutritious diet, maintaining a suitable cold and warm environment, and preventing secondary infection.

3. Strengthen excretion

Use laxatives and diuretics as appropriate to promote the excretion of drugs in the body.

IV. Drug Treatment

1. Mild cases: ① Take 1 to 2 antihistamines orally. ②Intravenous injection of vitamin C. ③10% calcium gluconate or 10% sodium thiosulfate intravenous injection. ④ Apply calamine lotion containing camphor or mint topically several times a day to relieve itching, dissipate heat, and reduce inflammation. It usually heals in about a week.

2. For cases with more serious conditions: ① Rest in bed. ②Apply the above-mentioned medicine. ③ Take prednisone orally, and full recovery will usually occur in about 2 weeks.

3. Severe cases:

Corticosteroids: Hydrocortisone, vitamin C, and 10% potassium chloride are added to 5% to 10% glucose solution and slowly dripped. It is advisable to maintain continuous drip for 24 hours. When the body temperature returns to normal, the rash has mostly subsided and the blood count is normal, the hormone dosage can be gradually reduced until an equivalent amount of prednisone or dexamethasone is taken orally. If the rash subsides and the general condition further improves, the oral dose of hormone can be gradually reduced. The principle is to reduce the dose by 1/6 to 1/10 of the daily dose each time. Each time the dose is reduced, it is necessary to observe for 3 to 5 days, and pay attention to the rebound phenomenon during the reduction at any time. Problems in treating severe drug eruptions often arise from improper dosage or use of hormones, such as starting with too small a dose or reducing the dose too quickly.

Antihistamines: Take two at the same time.

Antibiotics: Choose appropriate antibiotics to prevent infection, but be cautious because patients with severe drug rash are often in a highly allergic state. Not only are they prone to cross-allergy to drugs, but they may also develop multi-allergy, that is, they become allergic to drugs that are completely unrelated to the original allergenic drugs in structure, causing new drug rashes.

Local treatment: Local treatment and care of skin and mucous membrane damage are very important for patients with severe drug rash and often become the key to the success or failure of treatment. In the early acute stage, skin lesions can be treated with large amounts of powder or calamine lotion to protect the skin and reduce inflammation and swelling. If there is exudate, use normal saline or 3% boric acid solution for wet compresses, change 4 to 6 times a day, and after drying, use 0.5% neomycin and 3% sugar distilled oil paste 1 to 2 times a day.