Insulin Allergies

August 26, 2007 by Max Peykar

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Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that is needed for the breakup of glucose to produce energy. When adequate amounts of insulin is not produced by the body, the conversion of glucose does not happen to the desired extent and unused glucose gets piled up in the blood stream. This is the beginning of diabetes. To counter that, sometimes insulin has to be taken as an injectable to regulate the blood sugar levels. An allergic response to such injectables or insulin medications is called insulin allergy.

An allergic reaction to insulin, though rare, does occur in certain instances, when the human body or immune system mistakenly identifies the medication as a threat to the system and steps up its efforts to fight that threat. In that effort it produces special antibodies, which will later recognize the allergen.

Allergic reactions to insulin usually occur when the insulin administered is made from pork or beef. This is because this insulin is a little different from human insulin and at times also contains impurities and also bacteria, which the human body is capable of accepting Earlier, this type of insulin was used but this later made way for genetically engineered synthetic human insulin. This genetically engineered version is almost identical to the naturally produced insulin in the human body and thus makes it lesser likely for an allergic reaction to occur. Also the synthetic human insulin contains lesser or no impurities.

The allergy to insulin in human beings is manifested in two forms. Either it is a local allergy, where the skin becomes red and itchy around the place where the injection has been administered, or a systemic allergy, called anaphylaxis where two or more of the body systems may be affected. In such an allergy, red patches may be found all over the body, added to which, changes in the heart rate or the respiratory rate may be observed.

This condition becomes very painful and can be treated by administration of purified insulin or through desensitization therapy. In this process, the patient’s sensitivity to a particular allergen is reduced or removed. If anaphylaxis is not given immediate attention, then it turns to anaphylactic shock, which is clearly dangerous and life-threatening.

It is however, important to note that all reactions to insulin are not allergic reactions. At times there are certain side effects to the medication being given and does not involve the formation of any antibody.

Insulin allergies are very unpredictable. They can either occur at the time when insulin has been administered or just after it, or an allergic reaction to insulin may occur even after a week. For most people it is difficult to even detect an allergic reaction to insulin, until and unless they suffer from an allergic reaction.

There is no established system of prevention of an insulin allergy. However, patients are advised by their doctors to stop discontinuation of the insulin therapy as interrupted insulin therapy has been identified as one of the primary reasons for the onset of allergic reactions to insulin.

Posted in Insulin