The symptoms that characterize serum sickness, such as redness of the skin and fever, usually only appear 7 to 14 days after the administration of a medication such as cefaclor or penicillin, or even when the patient ends its use, attacking the body's cells by mistake and causing an allergic reaction.
This disease causes symptoms similar to other diseases such as food allergy and, therefore, it is important to go to the doctor to make the correct diagnosis. Find out what the symptoms of an allergic reaction are at: Symptoms of the allergic reaction.
Thus, the main symptoms of the disease include:
- Redness and itching on the side of the fingers, hands and feet; Pellets on the skin; Fever; General malaise; Joint pain; Difficulty walking; Swelling of the tongue; Inflammation of the kidneys; Urine with blood; Swollen belly due to the increase in the size of the liver.
Generally, this sensitivity response of the organism to a substance harmful to the organism is delayed, appearing a few days after contact with the substance.
Treatment for serum sickness
Treatment for serum sickness should be guided by an infeciologist and includes stopping taking the medication that caused the allergic reaction and taking other remedies such as:
- Antiallergics like Antilerg to relieve signs of allergy; Algesics like Paracetamol for joint pain; Topical steroid application to treat skin changes.
Generally, the symptoms disappear completely within 7 to 20 days, the patient being cured, however, there are improvements after two days of treatment.
In more severe cases, it may be necessary to take medications through the vein and take corticosteroids to relieve symptoms more quickly, leaving no consequences on the affected individual's body.
Causes of serum sickness
Serum disease can be caused by various drugs such as antibiotics, antidepressants or antifungals, for example. Some medications that can lead to this disease can be:
| Penicillin | Minocycline | Propranolol | Streptokinase | Fluoxetine |
| Cephalosporin | Cefazolin | Cefuroxime | Ceftriaxone | Meropenem |
| Sulphonamides | Macrolids | Ciprofloxacin | Clopidogrel | Omalizumab |
| Rifampicin | Itraconazole | Bupropion | Griseofulvin | Phenylbutazone |
In addition, this disease can also be observed in patients treated with medicines with horse substances or vaccines with rabbit substances in its composition.
