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Accolate
Accolate is used in patients with asthma to help prevent asthma attacks. It is taken orally and is sold in tablet form.
Accolate reduces the frequency of asthma attacks in most patients, but should not be taken once an asthma attack begins. Once an asthma attack begins, patients need to use an inhaler or other medication to stop their symptoms. Accolate causes side effects such as headache, infection and nausea, and reacts with many other drugs. Tell your doctor about other medications you are taking to avoid harmful interactions.
Asthma occurs when the person’s airways become constricted and it becomes difficult to breathe. Asthma is a chronic illness, which means it is persistent and most likely permanent. Asthma affects a person’s lungs, which become inflamed and sensitive. Because the airways are sensitive, allergens and other air particles make the inflammation worse, which can lead to an asthma attack. Asthma attacks are very dangerous, and if the person doesn’t receive immediate treatment, the attack can lead to death. Attacks can close the airways completely, making breathing close to impossible.
Accolate is used to prevent these attacks. What is important for patients to remember is that Accolate cannot be used once an attack has begun. It will not stop the attack, and in some cases it could increase the symptoms.
Accolate works by blocking the molecules that lead to inflammation and sensitivity in the airways. By decreasing the inflammation and sensitivity, Accolate can prevent most attacks.
However, in 1997, the makers of Accolate sent a letter to doctors and hospitals with a warning that the drug had been linked to several serious illnesses, including:
- Eosinophilia, a condition in which there are an abnormally high amount of white blood cells, which can lead to damage of the heart or other organs
- Vasculitic rash, which is an inflammation of blood vessels that can lead to the damage of organs
- Worsening pulmonary symptoms, which means the patients lungs and airways become further constricted or damaged
- Cardiac complications, including heart damage, heart failure and heart attack
- Churg Strauss Syndrome, which begins with eosinophilia and affects small and medium size arteries and veins and can impair blood flow to organs and damage them permanently
If you develop any of these conditions while taking Accolate, contact your doctor immediately and then contact a personal injury attorney.