Learn about Albuterol Sulfate Allergy

Learn about Albuterol Sulfate Allergy
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What is Albuterol Sulfate?

Albuterol is a short-acting beta agonist to ease and relax muscles in the airways within minutes. It also prevents bronchial spasms that narrow the airway resulting from asthma and exercise. Albuterol can function as a bronchodilator to increase airflow to the lungs. If your doctor recommends taking this medication, avoid exceeding the dose because it may aggravate symptoms of asthma. In addition, you may not take this medication once you have an allergic reaction to albuterol such as rash and hives.

When your doctor suggests that you take this, please let him know first about any prescription and over-the-counter drugs, herbal treatments, and supplements you are taking. You need to discuss your medical records with your doctor, especially if you have diabetes, abnormal heartbeat, abnormal thyroid gland, or hypertension. There are several types of albuterol sulfate, including inhalation aerosol, inhalation solution, syrup, tablets, and extended-release tablets.

Symptoms

Albuterol sulfate allergy might occur once you have taken this medicine including several common signs and symptoms below:

  • Rash
  • Skin reddening
  • Hives
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Swollen face, mouth, lips, tongue, or throat
  • Itching

Risks and Side Effects

If you are sensitive to albuterol, but you have already taken this medicine, it can lead to risks and side effects you cannot live with. If you apply a metered-dose inhaler (an MDI), you can always have less systemic effects compared with higher dosages taken by a nebulizer, which administers inhaled medication through a mouthpiece in the form of a mist. The following are some serious side effects of the medication you have to recognize:

Nervous system

Side effects of nervous systems involve anxiety, tension, nervousness, insomnia, and irritability.

Cardiovascular effects

Taking albuterol orally can result in abnormal heartbeats and increased or decreased blood pressure. Keep in mind that 0.18mg of albuterol might result in changes in heart rate about 20%. Moreover, a higher dose of albuterol might exacerbate angina, which means chest pain occurring when an area of the heart muscle is deprived of oxygen. Pregnant women should be aware of pulmonary edema after taking this medication. Pulmonary edema is fluid accumulation in the lungs leading to difficulty breathing.

Respiratory effects

Albuterol sulfate syrup might cause paradoxical bronchospasm characterized by trouble breathing, chest tightness, and gasping. Quit taking this medication once those conditions have occurred because they are life threatening.

Musculoskeletal effects

Higher doses might result in tremor and severe muscle cramping.

Psychiatric effects

Higher doses of the medication can lead to persecutory delusions and auditory hallucinations. Persecutory delusion is a frequent condition that makes you believe wrongly that other people are going to persecute or harm you. Auditory hallucination is a condition when you frequently hear voices or someone talking to you although none is there.

Alternatives to the Medication

All medications can pose risks and side effects. If you are allergic to albuterol, your doctor might recommend taking terbutaline or pirbuterol instead. They would be effective medications to relieve symptoms of asthma if you cannot tolerate albuterol.

References

PDRhealth.com: Albuterol Sulfate - https://www.pdrhealth.com/drugs/rx/rx-mono.aspx?contentFileName=ALB1789.html&contentName=Albuterol+Sulfate&contentId=677

Drugs.com: Albuterol Side Effects - https://www.drugs.com/sfx/albuterol-side-effects.html

Dailymed.nlm.nih.gov: Albuterol - https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=9087