Tag Archives: allergic reactions

allergic reactions

The question was raised about allergic reactions and what to do about them. The person was looking for and couldn’t find any Benadryl.

One suggestion was to use local honey twice a day, every day which does help with some allergic reactions such as pollen and such. However it does not help with other contact allergens.

Oatmeal baths with cool water helps with some topical reactions and the itching that comes with it.

A generalized allergic reaction most likely needs other interventions, which takes us back to looking for Benadryl.  The worst kind of allergic reaction is called anaphylactic shock. This is not actually different, just at the worst end of the spectrum from a simple ragweed allergy.

Basically an allergic reaction is the body’s response to a foreign substance by releasing histamine.  An interesting point is that you are seldom allergic the 1st time you are exposed to that substance. This is seen in medication allergies.

How to deal with allergic reactions in general and with anaphylactic reactions too.

Benadryl is one of the most common antihistamines that people turn to and it does work well. Other medications would include Claritin, calamine lotion, caladryl which is calamine with Benadryl in it to name just a few.

Zantac may help — yes I know that it is marketed as a stomach medication. It is an H2 antihistamine and Benadryl is an H1 so you get the same effect on the itching without the sleepy effect.

Several years ago while I was doing OB/GYN [obstetrics and genecology aka women’s health] the emergency department got swamped and needed extra hands so I went over to help them. One of the patients that was brought in via ambulance was having an anaphylactic reaction. We did the normal treatments of starting an IV and giving her epinephrine, steroids and Benadryl. We also gave her Zantac. I told the staff that I was OK with giving the first 3 medications but was wondering why the Zantac. The ER Doc responds with ‘OH, you haven’t heard?”  45 minutes later when she took her next breath, I says…. “AH, well duh, of course it works.” Apparently a few months prior there had been an article in one of the professional journals about it’s use in allergic reactions and it was the latest rage. ;]

It is a good idea for a well stocked medicine cabinet to keep on hand some Benadryl and Zantac along with the Band-Aids.

For those who are allergic to bee stings your doctor will most likely order an Epi-pen which is a device that delivers a metered amount of epinephrine [or adrenalin] by injection.