Suggest Remedy For Itching On Palms And Soles Of Feet While On Ciprofloxacin

Posted on Fri, 18 Sep 2015

Question: I'm 51 yrs old was on Ciprofloxacin for an uti about 2 months ago. A couple of days after going off the cipro, I developed severe itching on the palms of my hands and soles of my feet. I started taking Benadryl for the itching and it went away. However, I then developed hive / rash like reactions on my skin whenever I leaned on some thing or if there was any type of pressure on my skin (pressure uticaria). Went to an allergist and she diagnosed dermatographia, pressure uticaria.... I also had episodes of swelling in my esophagus which she diagnosed as angiodema and I had some dysphagia. Allergist prescribed 180 mg of Allegra and 20 mg of Pepcid twice per day. The allegra got rid of the uticaria. She did blood testing to test for allergies. Found I'm allergic to cats and dogs. However, the blood work came back and showed that I am mildly anemic. My RBC was 3.72, Hemoglobin was 11.5, Hematocrit was 34.0. Also, my neutrophils were low, 39.7, lymphocytes were high, 44.3. Eosinophils were high, 6.4.
The pepcid did not alleviate my acid reflux / digestive issues. She is switching me to Omeprizole and sending me for an upper GI and then possibly for an endoscopy.
My concern is internal bleeding which I expressed to my allergist. She said while it is possible, the anemia is mild. All of the reading I've done, indicates these blood count numbers can be indicative of chronic disease. I'm just looking for some further insight into these readings.
The doctor said the uticaria and angiodema could be a delayed allergic reaction to the ciprofloxacin. She actually put me down as being allergic to cipro.
Can this in combination with being allergic to cats (which I never was up until now and had just gotten a new kitten), be a cause for the anemia?
Of course, my obvious concern is some type of cancer.

Answered by Dr. Drkaushal85 (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
No need to worry for cancer.

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your question on Health Care Magic.
I can understand your concern.
No need to worry for cancer. And no need to worry for anemia. Anemia is considered when hemoglobin is less than 10.
Better to get done serum IgE level. It is the marker of allergic disease.
And for internal bleeding, you need to get done stool microscopic examination for blood.
Your symptoms are mostly due to cat allergy.
So avoid cat exposure.
Also discuss about starting montelukast (anti allergic).
Hope I have solved your query.
I will be happy to help you further.
Wish you good health. Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Drkaushal85 (35 hours later)

Thank you so much for your answer, Dr. Bhavsar.

The IgE level on the blood test was 292.

So, because the hemoglobin was 11.5, I am not anemic?
My RBC was 3.72
The Mean Cell Volume was 91.4

Neutrophils were 39.7
Lymphocytes were 44.3
Eosinophils were 6.4

My understanding of your answer is basically, my numbers were off due to the allergic reaction?

Answered by Dr. Drkaushal85 (10 hours later)

Brief Answer:
No need to worry for anemia.

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for your follow up question on HCM.
I can understand your concern.
No, you are not having anemia.
And your symptoms are mostly due to allergy, though your blood reports are not suggestive of allergic disease. But this can happen.
So better to start antihistamines and anti allergic drugs combination.
Hope I have solved your query.
If you are not having further queries, then please close the conversation and rate my answer.
You can ask me directly on bit.ly/askdrkaushalbhavsar.
Wish you good health. Thanks.

Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad