Woman almost dies after taking cough medicine: "I flatlined completely"
<p>It’s the over-the-counter product that so many of have taken to help alleviate a cold. But for some, the combination of cough syrups and aesthetics can be potentially fatal.</p>
<p>After Australian woman Narelle Campbell, 52, was given a general anaesthetic during an operation for an aneurism, she had a catastrophic allergic reaction after taking a cough medicine prior, reports <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/10/02/19/18/calls-for-cough-medicine-ingredient-to-be-banned-over-the-counter" target="_blank">9News</a></em>. Doctors had to break four ribs to bring her back to life.</p>
<p>“I flatlined completely – I was gone,” Campbell said in an interview with <em>9News</em>.</p>
<p>“The thing that surprises me is I went in there to have an operation for an aneurism and I actually died on the table because of cough medicine.”</p>
<p>It happened because of the active ingredient pholcodine, an antitussive or cough-suppressing compound which <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nps.org.au/australian-prescriber/articles/anaphylaxis-and-anaesthesia-can-treating-a-cough-kill" target="_blank">NPS Medicine Wise</a></em> says has been used in cough medicines since the 1950s. <span>It is banned in the US but alarmingly, it can be found in over 50 products in Australia, including household names like Benadryl, Difflam and Duro-Truss.</span></p>
<p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7821108/cough-medicine-products.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/49b2a1697fd14a3f8d56ff8c5e163ee2" /></p>
<p>In 2015, Dr Michael Rose, Chairman of the Australian and New Zealand Anaesthetic Allergy Group (ANZAAG), told <a rel="noopener" href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-29/anaesthetists-call-for-cough-medicine-restrictions/6055304" target="_blank"><em>ABC NEWS</em> </a>that the group was calling for products with the chemical to be made prescription-only.</p>
<p>He said that some studies have found that pholcodine could create an antibody in a small proportion of people that causes an allergic reaction to some anaesthetics because of the muscle relaxants contained in them.</p>
<p>Dr Paul McAleer of ANZAAG told <em>9News</em> that surgical anaphylaxis during anaesthesia causes over seven deaths every three years.</p>
<p>“We believe pholcodine plays a part in de-sensitising some people to the effects of muscle relaxants in anaesthesia,” he said.</p>
<p>Despite the deaths, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) believes there isn’t sufficient evidence to ban the chemical, after anaesthetists made the case to have cough medicines with pholcodine made prescription-only or banned altogether, in submissions in 2013 and 2015. After this latest case, they continue to lobby for tighter restrictions.</p>
<p>The most compelling case for banning the drug was in Scandinavia, according to <em>ABC News</em>, with the startling contrast between surgical anaphylaxis between Norway and Sweden. Norway’s rate a decade ago was 10 times higher than Sweden’s. The use of pholcodine was high in Norway, but in Sweden it was banned.</p>
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<p>"In 2007 the drug company that was manufacturing pholcodine in Norway voluntarily removed it from the market," explained Dr Rose.</p>
<p>"And since that time the rate of allergic reactions to muscle relaxants has fallen and the rate of antibodies in the population has also fallen."</p>
<p>Dr McAleer advises consumers to avoid products with pholcodine if they can.</p>
<p>And if you’re having surgery, be sure to let the anaesthetist overseeing you know if you’ve had any antitussives leading up to admission to hospital.</p>
<p>Do you have any of these cough syrups in your medicine cabinet at home? Tell us in the comments below. </p>
