Infectious urticaria

Infectious urticaria. This is commonly seen with viral illnesses, such as the common cold. It usually appears three to five days after the cold has started, and sometimes even a few days after the cold has resolved. 

Serious, acute hypersensitivity reactions, such as urticaria, angioedema, broncho-constriction, and anaphylaxis, may occur. Other rare reactions include pancreatitis, colitis, endocrine disorders (e.g., diabetes mellitus), hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, ophthalmologic, neuropsychiatric, autoimmune, ischemic, infectious, and pulmonary disorders. 

Cold urticaria can be idiopathic or the primary manifestation of numerous associated diseases, including allergic, infectious, autoimmune and malignant diseases, as well as complement defects and primary cryoglobulinemia (Henz et al. 1997). Abnormal serum proteins probably play a pathogenetic role in all cases. 

Leenutaphong V (1993) Solar urticaria induced by UVA and inhibited by visible light. J Am Acad Dermatol 29 337-340 Lemanske RF, Bush RK (1982) Cold urticaria in infectious mononucleosis JAMA 247 1604... 

Tyson CJ, Czarny D (1981) Cold-induced urticaria in infectious mononucleosis. Med J Aust 1 33-35 Villas-Martinez F, Contreras FJ, Lopez-Cazana JM, Lopez-Serrano MC, Martinez-Alzamora F (1992) A comparison of new nonsedating and classical antihistamines in the treatment of primary acquired cold urticaria (AUC). J Invest Allergol Clin Immunol 2 258-262... 

Amoxycillin differs only in one hydroxyl group from ampicillin. It is absorbed about twice as efficiently as the latter antibiotic. Evidence is accumulating that the incidence of skin eruptions is about half that reported for ampicillin (28 —31 ). The overall incidence of skin rash and/or urticaria reported in studies involving over 4000 patients has been 3% (29 ). It is also obvious from the literature cited here that the incidence of diarrhoea with amoxycillin (2—4%) is lower than with ampicillin (11%) (SED VllI, p. 563). However, a very recent report does describe a case in which a typical (and histologically verified) pseudomembranous colitis occurred in a boy aged 10 shortly after a brief course of treatment with amoxycillin (250 mg 3 times daily). No other apparent causal factor was in evidence (80 ). Two cases have been described of rash after amoxycillin in patients with infectious mononucleosis (32 ). 

---