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Home :: Family Health :: Serum Sickness Serum Sickness - Serum Sickness symptom, treatment, causesSerum Sickness is an allergic reaction that cam occur 7 to 12 days after a patient has been give foreign serum (such as horse serum used in the preparation of products to counteract diphtheria toxin or venomous spider and snake bites). Drugs such as penicillin can have the same effect in susceptible people. The reaction is due to production of antibodies to the serum or drug, and if a substance that has caused serum sickness is administered a second time, symptoms will begin much earlier than before and will be more severe. They inalude hives, pain and swelling in joints, mild fever and swollen lymph glands. On subsequent administration. ANAPHYLAXIS (a life-threatening allergic reaction) may develop. Treatment is by relief of symptoms until the reaction settles down, Patients ,with severe reactions may need admission to hospital for intensive care. Every effort is made to identify the cause, or the reaction so that it can be avoided. People who have had serum sickness are advised to carry a card stating their allergy. If future administration is essential to save life, allergic DESENSITISATION may be attempted. Serum sickness is a type III hypersensitivity reaction that results from the injection of heterologous or foreign protein or serum. First described by von Pirquet and Schick in 1905 they see rash, fever, lymphadenopathy and arthralgia in recipients of horse serum for diphtheria. The condition is named for the serum taken from horses or other animals immunized against a particular disease, e.g., tetanus or diphtheria. Such serum, which contains antibodies against the disease toxins , was formerly widely used to temporarily immunize humans. However, the antibodies from the animal serum are also foreign proteins that can act as antigens when injected into humans. The recipient's body responds by producing, within 8 to 12 days, antibodies that react against the animal serum proteins; the reaction causes injury to blood vessel walls and such allergic symptoms as rash, itching, and swelling of the lymph nodes. Fever, joint pain, spleen enlargement, and even shock may occur (see allergy hypersensitivity ). The reaction subsides as continued production of antibodies removes foreign protein from circulation. A person who has once had a serum injection is sensitized to the serum antigens, and a second injection can bring on the acute reactions typical of anaphylaxis . Today, serum preparations are rarely used. Instead, inoculations of tetanus and diphtheria toxoids are given in childhood they confer active immunity against those diseases. Serum sickness may occur in response to proteins other than those found in serum. Causes of Serum SicknessThe common Causes of Serum Sickness :
Symptoms of Serum SicknessSome common Serum Sickness :
Treatment of Serum Sickness
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