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Medicinal products contain not only active drugs but also other ingredients included for a variety of purposes. These other ingredients are known as 'excipients' and they are often referred to as 'inactive' ingredients which has mislead some people into thinking that they are totally safe. These other ingredients are only safe if you do not have an allergy or intolerance to them.
The cases below highlight the importance of checking all the ingredients in any medication that you take – never ever assume that it is okay without reading the detailed ingredients list.
Pinney et al looked at the type of excipients present in allopathic drugs that were derived from food allergens in the various pharmaceutical formulations of the 50 highest-selling drugs in French pharmacies in 2002. An excipient deriving from an allergen with obligatory labelling in food was present in 58.6% of the studied pharmaceutical formulations.
Dueñas-Laita et al report on the cases of two women(58 and 81 years of age) who experienced anaphylactic reactions after taking a generic omeprazole capsule Both women had previously taken nongeneric omeprazole and had not had a reaction. The generic drug that each of the women took contained soybean oil as an excipient. Testing revealed that both women had reacted to the soybean oil.
Atopic dermatitis in one person was made worse as a result of hazelnut essence being present in hydroxyzine syrup.
Vaccines often contain preservatives, excipients, and manufacturing residuals in addition to pathogen-specific immunogens. Offit and Jew reviewed some of these substances and confirmed that both gelatin and egg proteins are contained in vaccines in quantities sufficient to induce rare instances of severe, immediate-type hypersensitivity reactions.
Vaginal suppositories that contain lysozyme and other contaminating egg white proteins can either elicit allergic reactions in patients with a preexisting egg white allergy or induce sensitization to lysozyme and other egg white components. Reactions have included urticaria and anaphylaxis.
Abidec drops prescribed to a newborn baby were found to contain arachis (peanut) oil.[
Sulphites are widely used as preservative and antioxidant additives in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Sulphites can be found in creams, pills and tablets and in sensitive individuals can lead to symptoms ranging from dermatitis, urticaria, flushing, hypotension, abdominal pain and diarrhoea to life-threatening anaphylactic and asthmatic reactions.
Greenhawt et al presented the case of a woman with documented carmine hypersensitivity, who experienced anaphylaxis ninety minutes after taking a generic azithromycin. Their investigations showed that this was an allergy to the carmine dye in the tablet's coating rather than to the antibiotic.
The article, complete with references.
You can find out more about food allergy and food intolerance in
Change Your Diet and Change Your Life.
If peanuts or cashew nuts are safe for you to eat but you have problems with the roasted type then the problem may not be anything to do with the nuts but with processing aids used by the manufacturers.
All of these products have salt added but if you add salt to nuts you have roasted yourself you will soon discover that the salt simply does not ‘stick’ to the nut. Manufacturers of pre packaged roasted nuts must add something to either the salt or in the final stage of processing before the bags are sealed to ensure that salt sticks to the nuts. It could very well be this ‘hidden’ ingredient that is the cause of some problems.
Finsterer outlines the case of a 44-year-old man who was suffering from muscle cramps. He had been a heavy drinker of black tea for 25 years but had decided to switch to Earl Grey tea believing it would be less harmful to his stomach.
Within a week of making the change he began to experience muscle cramps in his right foot. The longer he drank Earl Grey tea, the more intense the muscle cramps became and after three weeks were also occurring in the left foot. After five weeks, the muscle cramps had spread towards his hands and the right calf.
Other symptoms also began to present themselves including skin sensitivity, muscle twitching, a feeling of pressure in his eyes and blurred vision. Tests of thyroid, hepatic, adrenal, and kidney functions showed no abnormalities. Serum and urine potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate were all within the normal range.
The man assumed that there was a relation between his symptoms and his tea consumption, and stopped drinking Earl Grey. Within a week, his symptoms had completely disappeared.
It was decided that the reactions had been caused by ingesting too much bergamot oil from the Earl Grey tea.
Earl Grey tea is composed of black tea and the essence of bergamot oil. Bergamot oil is an extract from the rind of bergamot orange. Bergamot oil contains bergapten (5-methoxypsoralen), bergamottin (5-geranyloxypsoralen), and citropten (5,7-dimethoxycoumarin).
Reference: Finsterer J. Earl Grey tea intoxication. Lancet 2002:359(9316):1484.
Raap et al describe the case of a twenty six year old man who developed itchy skin,, urticaria, severe swelling of his lips and tongue and breathing problems within fifteen minutes after eating lychee.
Raap U, Schaefer T, Kapp A, Wedi B.
Exotic food allergy: anaphylactic reaction to lychee.
J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2007;17(3):199-201.
Illegal dioxin levels found in 8 per cent of foods
Excessive levels of dioxins were detected in eight per cent of thousands of foods sampled over a nine-year period, said
the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
Spirulina faces legal questions
Spirulina, the blue colour from algae used in Nestlé’s Smarties, is one of 10 substances used to colour food that faces an uncertain future as its legal status is scrutinised.
Children with food allergies should carry 2 doses of emergency medicine
In a six-year review of emergency department data, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston found that many children with severe food-related allergic reactions need a second dose of epinephrine, suggesting that patients carrying EpiPens should carry two doses instead of one.
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Food Can Make You Ill
Your Complete Guide to Food Intolerance and Food Allergy
www.foodcanmakeyouill.co.uk