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Mayor's warning after penicillin reaction
1:00pm Tuesday 2nd September 2008
Comments (10)A NEW Forest mayor is urging patients to tell doctors and nurses if they have a penicillin allergy after he suffered a severe reaction.
Ringwood mayor Brian Terry has been out of action for a month after his limbs swelled up and his entire body was covered with blisters and peeling skin.
Cllr Terry knew he was allergic to the antibiotic but was allegedly administered it by a nurse before undergoing an investigation for prostate cancer at Salisbury District Hospital.
"I had the procedure on the Monday and on the Friday I had a phone call to tell me I hadn't got cancer, which was excellent. To me that was a great relief," he said.
But the bad news was that by then the allergic reaction had set in.
The tablets had been administered before the biopsy on August 4.
"There were no instructions with them, there was no paperwork and I didn't know what they were," he claimed.
It later turned out one was ciprofloxacin and the other was penicillin-based augmentin.
At no time was he asked if he had an allergic reaction to penicillin, he alleged.
He started to turn a bright red colour before the procedure.
"By the time I came home that evening my thighs were red raw and raging," he said.
After that it grew steadily worse, with his fingers and legs swelling and irritating water blisters everywhere.
He had to rub a paraffin-based gell onto the affected areas and wear a special protective suit.
"The worst part of it was feeling so dirty and uncomfortable," he said.
He has been unable to attend several mayoral engagements and has missed two important planning meetings because of his incapacity.
"I want to make sure people report their allergies or problems when they go to hospital because their doctor's notes don't always follow them.
"I wouldn't wish this on anybody, what I've gone through."
A Salisbury hospital spokesman said: "The trust is unable to comment on issues relating to an individual's care.
"To date, the trust has received no formal complaint on this matter. If a formal complaint is received, this will be fully investigated through the trust's normal policies and procedures."
Your Say YourBournemouth Echo
PokesdownMark, Pokesdown says...
4:31pm Tue 2 Sep 08
I don't think Mr Mayor was lacking any common sense at all.
peter woodley, says...
4:58pm Tue 2 Sep 08
PokesdownMark wrote:Also written on the wrist bands,red in my case.
Such an allergy would (should) be on front cover of notes in large red letters. It is not usual practice to expect patients to remember. They may not be able to think clearly due to other treatment or circumstances.
I don't think Mr Mayor was lacking any common sense at all.
silky, Bournemouth says...
6:16pm Tue 2 Sep 08
peter woodley wrote:Yep I'm with you guys. It's up to the medics to check before adminstering drugs especially something as commonly allergic as penicillin.
PokesdownMark wrote: Such an allergy would (should) be on front cover of notes in large red letters. It is not usual practice to expect patients to remember. They may not be able to think clearly due to other treatment or circumstances. I don't think Mr Mayor was lacking any common sense at all.Also written on the wrist bands,red in my case.
debbie2110, bournemouth says...
7:34pm Tue 2 Sep 08
The point is that every time I have had a procedure in hospital I have always had to complete a patient questionnaire. If this has not been done then Cllr Terry has been treated without the due diligence he deserved. Perhaps he should consider wearing an SOS bracelet as if he were taken into hospital unconscious the staff may very well administer penicillin depending on the circumstances of his admission?
Lets hope his problems are all behind him now and he is able to get on with a normal and healthy life.
2Much, New Forest says...
9:22am Wed 3 Sep 08
Jerry wrote:I'm kinda with you but kinda not...he obviously knew he was allergic to penicillin, but for the treatment he was receiving..why was he given it? Do they administer antibiotics as a precautionary measure, or just when there is an infection present?
Whatever happened to common sense???"There were no instructions with them, there was no paperwork and I didn't know what they were," he claimed.So he just took these tablets blindly without asking what they were, or what they were for?
Obviously I cannot comment on the exact circumstances because I wasn't there, but I'm sure that he would have been told the reason for being given tablets. If he had a known allergy to any medication, why didn't he state it before walking out of the place with these tablets?
Common sense, Mr Mayor!
If it's just precautionary, then no wonder we have so many viruses in hospitals!!
debbie2110, bournemouth says...
11:24am Wed 3 Sep 08
Do they administer antibiotics as a precautionary measure, or just when there is an infection present?
If someone has a heart problem the dangers of infection are such that it is standard procedure to administer an antibiotic prior to surgical treatment - including dental surgery. Even if just having a scale and polish dental procedure, because theres a chance of bleeding from the gums there is the potential risk of infection getting into the blood stream and therefore reaching the heart. If Mr Mayor has a heart complaint and his medical history was not taken prior to surgery that makes the whole issue even more serious!
debbie2110, bournemouth says...
11:24am Wed 3 Sep 08
Do they administer antibiotics as a precautionary measure, or just when there is an infection present?
If someone has a heart problem the dangers of infection are such that it is standard procedure to administer an antibiotic prior to surgical treatment - including dental surgery. Even if just having a scale and polish dental procedure, because theres a chance of bleeding from the gums there is the potential risk of infection getting into the blood stream and therefore reaching the heart. If Mr Mayor has a heart complaint and his medical history was not taken prior to surgery that makes the whole issue even more serious!
Wigie, Bournemouth says...
12:00pm Wed 3 Sep 08
We all make mistakes and yes, doctors and nurses should not, but they do. It's Mr Mayor's body and therefore, his own responsibility to look after it.
debbie2110, bournemouth says...
12:25pm Wed 3 Sep 08
100% with you and Cllr Terry and anyone with an allergy that might affect medical treatment would do well to spend a few quid on an SOS bracelet or pendant. I can still sympathise with him as he was probably pretty stressed about the procedure he was about to undergo and may have been preoccupied to the point that all else became unimportant.
I just hope if he takes action against the hospital (this appears to be the norm) that his own actions are taken into consideration and he is found equally if not more so to blame in this matter.
PAINFUL: Mayor Cllr Brian Terry shows his blistered arm after suffering a severe allergic reaction to penicillin
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Jerry, poole, dorset says...
3:05pm Tue 2 Sep 08
Obviously I cannot comment on the exact circumstances because I wasn't there, but I'm sure that he would have been told the reason for being given tablets. If he had a known allergy to any medication, why didn't he state it before walking out of the place with these tablets?
Common sense, Mr Mayor!