Xolair is prescribed to patients whose allergic asthma symptoms are not controlled with inhaled medication. Xolair should always be injected by a doctor because there is high risk of anaphylaxis after the injection. Your doctor should monitor you for some time in the office after administering the injection. You should contact your doctor immediately if you notice signs of anaphylaxis.
What are some important things I should know about Xolair?
Anaphylaxis can occur after a Xolair injection. Anaphylaxis can happen immediately after the injection or up to a few hours after the injection. Anaphylaxis can occur even if you have received many Xolair injections without incident before.
Xolair if for people age 12 years or older who have allergic asthma and do not respond to other treatments such as inhalants. Your doctor will determine whether you have allergic asthma by conducting a simple test. Xolair is administered via an injection every two to four weeks.
Allergic asthma occurs when allergens cause a person’s airways to become inflamed, making very difficult to breathe. Some allergic asthma attacks can be deadly.
Xolair can cause anaphylaxis, which can be deadly. You should not use Xolair again if you experience anaphylaxis. Xolair can also react with other medications, and it can cause hypersensitivity reactions in some patients.
Some patients also experience injection site reactions after receiving Xolair. These are usually mild, and are characterized by redness, bruising, warmth, itching, pain and inflammation. Site reactions usually go away within a few days, and subsequent injections usually demonstrate fewer reactions.
Contact your doctor immediately if you notice signs of anaphylaxis. This includes:
- wheezing
- shortness of breath
- low blood pressure
- dizziness
- itching
- swelling of the throat and tongue
- difficulty breathing
- hives
- rash
- anxiety
- change in heartbeat