Angioedema is a life-threatening form of an allergic reaction. It causes major swelling of the tissues. That swelling is usually of the face and lips in a mild reaction, but in a more severe reaction, it causes swelling of the vocal cords to the point where the person is unable to breathe and dies of suffocation. Such a reaction is termed anaphylactic and is potentially life-threatening. Therefore, when anyone has angioedema from taking a drug, that drug is considered absolutely contraindicated. This means that drug and any drugs that are in the same or similar class should never again be taken by that person for the rest of their lives. Once a patient has an initial such allergic reaction, the body’s immune system becomes hypersensitized, meaning that a subsequent exposure will trigger an even greater immune system response.
Allergic reaction medical expert witness specialties include allergy/immunology, internal medicine, pediatrics, hospitalist medicine, pediatric hospitalist medicine, urgent care medicine, emergency medicine, and anaesthesiology.