Drug Allergy

Whenever you see a doctor, and they asked, 'Do you have any drug allergy?' I would wonder... how would I know? Why does Singapore not have a centralised database of past medical records? Is it that hard to maintain a DB like that?

I had a drug allergy reaction towards a type of antibiotic many years back. I wrote down the drug name on the appointment card with the clinic's address. It was not the clinic that I frequent because I was sick at work and had to see a doctor immediately. Later on, I lost the card and I lost the name too.

So everytime I was asked that question, I would tell the doctor this and he would say, this is not helping.

Last weekend, I had my 2nd drug allergy case. I was out with friends after work to have dinner and birthday celebrations. I left my workplace with a migraine... That migraine stuck to me throughout the dinner and I was getting very irritated by it. In most cases, I wouldn't have take any medication. But it was so bad I had to ask around if anyone had panadol to cure it. My friend gave me her paracetamol and told me the dosage is different as it contained muscle relaxant. I took it nonetheless. Little did I know, I am allergic to that.

My eyes became swollen and I felt like I've drank alcohol. The migraine was cured but I felt like I'm drunk on paracetamol.

It's funny.

This time round, I will remember to inform my family doctor the drug name so that my records are complete.