Symptoms of quinine allergy

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 405,000 people across the world lost their lives to malaria in 2018, with death rates dropping rapidly thanks to increased efforts to medicate this contagious illness properly.

The medication quinine sulfate is still widely used to cure malaria. Quinine is an effective and successful treatment for malaria as well as being a fever reducer and pain reliever, but there is a possibility that some reactions. As well as potential side effects, some people will also suffer from quinine allergies.

Quinine: Possible side effects

Even in people who are not allergic to quinine, side effects can occur. The side effects of quinine are collectively called cinchonism (after the cinchona tree, from which quinine is derived).

The many symptoms pointing to quinine side effects include:

Diarrhea
Nausea and vomiting
Abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal symptoms.
Vertigo.
Tinniutus (ringing in the ears) and even hearing loss.

These side effects can strike people who do not have allergic reactions, but a quinine allergy is the most serious side effect of quinine.

What are the symptoms of a quinine allergy?

An allergic reaction to quinine can become a medical emergency very rapidly.

Besides the side effects also seen in people without quinine allergies, lots of patients have cardiovascular and respiratory side effects such as wheezing while breathing, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath, coughing, and heart palpitations. Other patients experience psychological or neurological symptoms like confusion, fainting, anxiety. Also other possibilities are redness and swelling, itching and swelling of the face.

There are some situations when quinine allergy may become great risk. Losing consciousness or even anaphylactic shock because of the reaction is true danger. An the inflammation of extremities and throat, angioedema, may occur. Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a very serious and life-threatening skin disease may be the result in some patients.

Additional symptoms of this skin reaction contain red patches where skin is gone and flash can be seen, also high fever and skin rash all over genitals. The treatment for a quinine allergy contains actions of giving the shot of epinephrine to stop the reaction of the immune system. Activated charcoal is controlled and after pumping of the stomach diuretics could be consumed to eliminate quinine from your body.

In cases of allergic reaction to mefloquine, a very big possibility is that there is allergic reaction to quinine also. At the end if deficiency of white blood cells, hemolytic-uremic syndrome or Blackwater fever as long as you are using mefloquine occur you are facing allergic reaction to the quinine.

In some cases, even multiple organ failure has been reported as a result of an allergic reaction to quinine — the liver and kidneys may go into acute failure at the same time. It is even possible to fall into a coma, and a quinine allergy potentially has a fatal outcome.

Because tonic water contains quinine, people who already know they are allergic to quinine should avoid this beverage. When using quinine or its derived medications in therapeutic doses as prescribed by your doctor, seek medical attention if you notice side effects.