While in pharmacy school, I think my third year or so can't really remember. We were taught about Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR). Prior to that , I lost a dear friend of mine her name was Nma, she was a student of the university of Calabar..According to stories, she had malaria and bought Fansidar...immediately she took the drug, she started reacting to it...her skin had blisters and ruptured, she was looking like a burnt patient��...she couldn't survive it...we all thought it was a spiritual attack...you know Nigerians can spiritualize every thing ....Not until I was taught in pharmacy school about Adr example Steven Johnson's syndrome ...that I knew drugs can actually cause an unexpected and dangerous reaction which can result to death��...
All through my career as a pharmacist, I always pray never to have such experience...i personally ensure I ask questions about the history of drug reactions from my patient before I administer any medication...i guess Wednesday wasn't my lucky day��.
So last week Wednesday, the pharmacy is usually busy in the evenings....i really don't like checking patients vital signs like sugar level, blood pressure in the evening due to the rush hour...but an elderly patient came , looking so desperate and sickly.....with his explanations,it was obvious that his blood pressure was high...i just had to check his vitals signs to be sure before any further diagnosis ....while I was attending to the elderly patient, a young man came into the pharmacy to get a pain relieving drug...he wanted an effective one...though he had used one before and according to him, it was effective unfortunately he couldn't remember the brand...he wanted that exact one...our sales assistant then offered him another brand since he could not remember the one he was used to and told him how he should administer it...assuring him that he will get the same result.. he left...
On Thursday morning, while I was preparing for work, I got a call from the sales assistant ...according to her, the man and his people came to the office with some police officers to arrest her....he reacted seriously to the drugs...according to him,he fainted, his body was stiff and his eyes rolled back...he felt his soul leaving his body...his wife and brothers rushed him to the nearby clinic where the doctors quickly attended to him by administrating drips to neutralise the effect...the products he reacted to was a combination of paracetamol and diclofenac 50mg...after he was relieved, he reported the case to the police saying we were sent to kill him��.
I had to calm them down thru the phone and rushed to the office....
On getting there, after listening to his side of the story, I educated them about ADR.. since the drug was not an expired drug..there is no case..its was just a drug reaction..thank God it wasn't worst ....i then took it upon myself to take him to the hospital for a thorough medical check up...Ensured he was ok...paid all his medical bills and apologised..... he was grateful.... i came back to the pharmacy ..... breathe a sigh of relief....thank God it wasn't worst than i thought ....
So blog visitors, Do you know about ADR (Adverse Drug Reactions) ��
Well,
An adverse drug reaction (ADR) is an unwanted or harmful reaction experienced following the administration of a drug or combination of drugs under normal conditions of use and is suspected to be related to the drug. An ADR will usually require the drug to be discontinued or the dose reduced.
An adverse event is harm that occurs while a patient is taking a drug, irrespective of whether the drug is suspected to be the cause.
A side-effect is any effect caused by a drug other than the intended therapeutic effect, whether beneficial, neutral or harmful. The term ‘side-effect’ is often used interchangeably with A DR.. although the former usually implies an effect less harmful, predictable and may not even require discontinuation of therapy (e.g. ankle oedema with vasodilators).
Drug toxicity describes adverse effects of a drug that occur because the dose or plasma concentration has risen above the therapeutic range, either unintentionally or intentionally (drug overdose).
Drug abuse is the misuse of recreational or therapeutic drugs that may lead to addiction or dependence, serious physiological injury (such as damage to kidneys, liver, heart), psychological harm (abnormal behavior patterns, hallucinations, memory loss), or death.
Types of Adverse Drug Reactions ...
Dose-related adverse drug reactions represent an exaggeration of the drug's therapeutic effects. For example, a person taking a drug to reduce high blood pressure may feel dizzy or light-headed if the drug reduces blood pressure too much. A person with diabetes may develop weakness, sweating, nausea, and palpitations if insulin or an oral antidiabetic drug reduces the blood sugar level too much. This type of adverse drug reaction is usually predictable but sometimes unavoidable. It may occur if a drug dose is too high overdose reaction, if the person is unusually sensitive to the drug, or if another drug slows the metabolism of the first drug and thus increases its level in the blood Dose-related reactions are usually not serious but are relatively common.

Allergic drug reactions are not dose-related but require prior exposure to a drug. Allergic reactions develop when the body's immune system develops an inappropriate reaction to a drug (sometimes referred to as sensitization). After a person is sensitized, later exposures to the drug produce one of several different types of allergic reaction. Sometimes doctors do skin rest to help predict allergic drug reactions.

Idiosyncratic adverse drug reactions result from mechanisms that are not currently understood. This type of adverse drug reaction is largely unpredictable. Examples of such adverse drug reactions include rashes, jaundice, anemia, a decrease in the white blood cell count, kidney damage, and nerve injury that may impair vision or hearing. These reactions tend to be more serious but typically occur in a very small number of people. Affected people may have genetic differences in the way their body metabolizes or responds to drugs.

Some adverse drug reactions are not related to the drug's therapeutic effect but are usually predictable, because the mechanisms involved are largely understood. For example, stomach irritation and bleeding often occur in people who regularly use aspirin or other non-steroidal anti -inflammatory drugs. The reason is that these drugs reduce the production of prostaglandins, which help protect the digestive tract from stomach acid.

When to see the doctor
When you’re taking any medicine, it’s important to be aware of changes in your body. Tell your doctor if something uncommon happens.
It may be hard to know if an adverse reaction is caused by an illness or by your medicine. Tell your doctor when your symptoms started and whether they are different from other symptoms you have had before. Be sure to remind your doctor of all the medicines you take. Symptoms of adverse drug reactions include:
skin rash
bruising
bleeding
swelling
dizziness
severe nausea and vomiting
diarrhea
constipation
confusion
trouble breathing
abnormal heartbeat.
Contact your doctor if you have any of these symptoms. They likely will have you stop taking the medicine to see if the symptoms go away. The doctor may prescribe another medicine to treat the reaction. If your adverse reaction is severe, you might have to go to a hospital. Never stop taking a medicine on your own; always talk with your doctor first.

Common drugs that causes Adverse Drug Reactions
Any medication can trigger an allergic reaction . That said, some are more likely to cause these types of problems than others:
Antibiotics -- amoxicillin,ampicillin, penicillin , tetracycline and others
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen
Aspirin
Sulfa drugs
Chemotherapy drugs
Monoclonal antibody therapy -- cetuximab, rituximab, and others
HIV drugs -- abacavir, nevirapine, and others
Insulin
Antiseizure drugs -- carbamezapine ,phenytoin, and others
Muscle relaxers given by IV -- atracurium, succinylcholine, or vecuronium
So peps once you react to the above drugs, or any other drug. Ensure you report to the medical doctor and make sure you don't take the drugs again as the resultant effect maybe fatal��.