Has your allergic reaction to a medication been properly recorded in your medical records so you are not at risk in future? Health reporter Elspeth McLean has some advice from her own experience of medication that didn't agree with her.
When you are a health reporter, it is sometimes hard not to be a hypochondriac.
You get to learn a dangerous little about far too many illnesses and, in the middle of the night, it is easy to think any ache or pain is whatever it is you last wrote about.
Death, an urgent hospital trip, or, at the very least, months of debilitating treatment seem imminent. Disease of the week syndrome, I call it. Usually, it is complete nonsense, but in one instance my concern might have been worthwhile.
An article I wrote last year involving reference to a patient's reaction to the commonly prescribed antibiotic Augmentin, prompted me to see how my own reaction to this had been recorded.
I had been prescribed the drug on discharge from Dunedin Hospital in late 2006 when I had to be surgically repaired after stupidly falling off my bike in Portobello Rd and smashing a previously fractured elbow.
My reaction to this medication after a day included itchy welts over much of my body and a tongue-swelling incident (cruelly welcomed by some around me who thought talking would be curtailed).
My breathing was not affected.
As this occurred on New Year's Eve and I thought emergency department staff would be busier with more important things, I stopped taking the medication. The tongue swelling had resolved spontaneously before I visited the ED the next day.
There, I was prescribed a different antibiotic which I took without further incident.
When I viewed my hospital records, I discovered the symptoms I had reported were accurately recorded, but when I asked some further questions, I discovered the reaction was flagged neither on my electronic record nor on the front of my paper records folder. That has now been rectified.
As far as I can ascertain, without getting a copy of what is recorded against my national health index number, the allergy information has not entered the medical warnings system (MWS).
This is the system that should alert hospital doctors about the reaction should I turn up to be treated at any hospital in the country in future.
Doctors with whom I have discussed this agreed that if they were contemplating treating me with antibiotics they would want to know about this incident before making a decision.
If I want to ensure my reaction is recorded on the MWS, I have been advised to discuss the issue with either my GP or the relevant hospital specialist, who could ensure the information got to the MWS.
While I could have reported the information myself through the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring, the involvement of medical professionals is recommended because it is important events are recorded accurately and there is a distinction made between what might be an annoying side effect of a medication, and a true allergic reaction.
It also makes sense to have those involved with your ongoing medical care up to date with your concerns.
A suggestion was buying a Medic Alert bracelet. My advice: discuss it with your GP and take it from there.
