ExciIQ's origin story
In May 2026, my wife had three emergencies and spent six days in intensive care on an epinephrine drip. The first came on her fifth day taking a new H2 blocker. The third came on her third day in intensive care, after she was given a generic antihistamine. At her bedside, I started reading the inactive ingredients of both medications on my phone. That work became ExciIQ.
Before
My wife was getting ready for dental surgery. Beforehand, an H2 blocker was added to her medicines.
For three days she took it without trouble. Like most people, we assumed any problem from a pill would come from the drug itself.
What happened
My wife and I talked about this on The POTScast, Episode 324: When “Inactive” Ingredients Aren’t: The ICU stay that inspired ExciIQ, with Nicole & Jeff Allen and Mike Brook (Standing Up to POTS, 2026-08-23).
The labels
Film-coated · yellow · added before dental surgery
Given in intensive care on day 3
Illustration. Example labels for this story, not the actual products.
Ferric oxide red and ferric oxide yellow. The two medicines had different active ingredients. Both of her actual medicines listed the same two iron oxide color additives.
The story most of us tell ourselves
When a reaction follows a new medicine, that's the natural conclusion. People then avoid that medicine, and sometimes others like it.
But one drug comes in many versions. Each manufacturer chooses its own inactive ingredients. Sometimes the active ingredient isn't the problem at all.
Her story involves two color additives. Researchers have studied many other inactive ingredients. One 2019 study tracked 38 that are reported to cause allergic symptoms. Iron oxides were not among them.
92.8%
of 42,052 oral solid dosage forms studied contained at least one of 38 inactive ingredients reported to cause allergic symptoms after oral exposure.
Most people don't react to inactive ingredients. For the people who do, the details on the label matter.
What changed
Before
We assumed she was allergic to the H2 blocker.
After
Her care team's working explanation was the iron oxide color additives.
My wife decided, with her care team, to avoid all color additives in her medicines, iron oxides included. That decision is hers.
ExciIQ played no part in it. ExciIQ did not exist yet.
Why I built it
ExciIQ didn't exist before May 2026. I've spent more than 25 years curating data solutions and building enterprise-class applications. For more than 7 of those years, I worked closely with pharmacy and medical claims data. Even so, I had to piece this together by hand, on a phone, in a hospital room.
That shouldn't be how anyone learns what a label lists. The clinicians caring for patients like my wife should be able to see it first, long before a crisis.
So I built ExciIQ. ExciIQ makes the inactive ingredients in every FDA-labeled human medication visible, comparable, and searchable. It is built for licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and registered dietitians.
Professional use only — not for patient diagnosis or treatment decisions.
For licensed, certified, or registered healthcare professionals. Supports — does not replace — professional judgment. Not for time-critical use. Review the basis and current FDA label.
Jeff Allen, founder of ExciIQ · Ohio
Where to go from here
For healthcare professionals
ExciIQ shows what each medication's FDA label lists, including the inactive ingredients, and lets you compare products side by side. It is built for licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and registered dietitians.
Professional use only — not for patient diagnosis or treatment decisions.
For licensed, certified, or registered healthcare professionals. Supports — does not replace — professional judgment. Not for time-critical use. Review the basis and current FDA label.
For patients and families
WhatsInYourMeds shows you the ingredients your medication's FDA label lists. That includes the "inactive" ingredients, called excipients.
For a provider who doesn’t use ExciIQ, you can download a PDF of your list and give it to them.
In private preview. Invitation-only for now.
WhatsInYourMeds shows what the labels of your medicines and supplements list, and lets you share that list with your care team. It does not diagnose, recommend, or tell you whether a medicine or supplement is right for you.
For information and education only — not medical advice. Never stop, start, or change a medication without talking to your prescriber.