Allergic Reactions to Medication
 
Description of the Disease and Clinical Picture
Allergic reactions to medication can occur during the first or subsequent administrations of the drug. There are multiple types of allergic reactions. They can occur suddenly after the application of the drug (anaphylactic reaction or Type I hypersensitivity), and often such a reaction is acute and can endanger the life of the animal. Allergic reactions may manifest later (Type II, III, IV hypersensitivity reactions), whereby it may take several days from the application of the drug for the first symptoms to appear. Various medications can lead to such allergic reactions, such as antibiotics, anti-glaucomamedications, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, ectoparasiticides, but they can also occur after the administration of vaccines, vitamins, cytostatics, and many other drugs. Reactions to locally applied eye drops or ointments are also common. The changes on the skin that occur as a result of an allergic reaction to medication most often affect the eyelids, where periocular swelling and redness appear, along with the presence of pustules and bullae that later burst and leave erosions. The transitions from skin to mucous membrane are often affected.
 
Therapy
The diagnosis is made based on the information that the animal has been receiving certain medications. The drug suspected of causing the allergic reaction must be immediately discontinued, and the patient is most commonly given supportive therapy, glucocorticoids, and antihistamines for very aggressive systemic allergic reactions, or topical therapy for inflammatory changes affecting only the eyelids—lacrimal stimulants and lubricants.
 
Please contact our specialty veterinary ophthalmology hospital Animal Eye Consultants
of Iowa (animaleyeiowa@gmail.com) in USA or Oculus Veterinary Specialty Hospital
(oculusklinika@gmail.com) in Serbia, Europe to schedule an appointment so your pet
can be seen.