When patients reported an “allergy” to a medicine on their intake form, I followed up and asked questions to determine whether it was truly an allergy. Sometimes, the patient actually had an “intolerance.” The difference matters.
Allergy: Your immune system overreacts when exposed to a drug. Depending on how severe the allergy, symptoms vary from unpleasant itchiness to life-threatening anaphylaxis.
Intolerance: Your body has a lower threshold to a side effect of a drug causing, say, vertigo or stomach cramps. The immune system is not involved.
Your healthcare team needs to know your allergies, especially given the risk of worse reactions from repeated exposure.
Your healthcare team needs to know your drug intolerances, too. Alerted doctors can prescribe (1) different drugs when available, (2) lower-than-usual doses of the drug, or (3) the drug plus additional therapies to offset side effects.
Here’s the problem: Most medical forms ask about drug allergies, but not drug intolerances. Should you include drugs that cause significant side effects that interfere with normal functioning, even though you know you are not, technically, allergic?
A practical answer is “yes.” List significant intolerances along with the allergies. Doctors will be alerted, and then they can discuss the issue with you and make the best treatment decisions for your situation.
Medical forms communicate important information. Until forms routinely ask for drug intolerances, using the “drug allergy” section to alert clinicians to significant drug intolerances makes sense.
