COMMONLY USED ANTIBIOTIC SOMETIMES CAUSES BRAIN SWELLING
Posted on April 2, 2009, under General health.
Tetracycline, the antibiotic taken by thousands of teenagers for acne, is a rare but well-known cause of brain swelling in infants, making the soft, non-bony parts of their heads (the fontanelles) bulge outward. This side effect usually disappears within a day or two if the tetracycline is discontinued right away.
For about 25 years, tetracycline-associated brain swelling was regarded as a problem peculiar to infancy, but now, according to the British Medical Journal (262:19), it has also been discovered in adults. Since, unlike babies, adults have no soft parts in the skull, there is no tell-tale bulging of the head to help diagnose this condition after infancy. Adults, do, however, have headache, blurred vision, nausea, and vomiting.
Alarming, but not serious, this swelling subsides just as promptly in adults as it does in babies after tetracycline is discontinued. To date, there has been no suggestion of tetra-cycline-associated brain damage, but, just to make sure, stop taking the drug, and consult your physician right away for an alternative antibiotic if you develop a headache while on tetracycline.
*111\143\2*
