Penicillin allergy (or not)

Family, Education, Health and Pets
1

Something that may be of interest.

I got treated with Penicillin as a kid when I cut my foot on rusty wire when wading through Estuary mud and came out with a rash all over.
The Doctor said I was allergic to penicillin and should not have it and ask for other antibiotics if needed.

Which I did - I think only once.

Fast forward to last week and I read an article in a paper which said that most people grow out of penicillin allergies and an allergy to it is much rarer than previously though.

Penicillin and its derivatives are actually the best performing for many infections and the only one that can treat syphilis.

The same week I got a tooth infection (this story is not going down the VD route), and decided to say that I was not allergic to penicillin and to see what would happen - a rash, anaphylaxis, or nothing.

Nothing happened so if you were diagnosed with an allergy to penicillin as a child, it may be worth getting tested as an adult to see whether you still are (rather than doing what I did).

2

I’d recommend getting checked anyway, the antibiotics you were given may not have been penicillin.
Or you may not have been allergic in the first place, a rash is a common side effect of certain antibiotics.

3

The reaction I had last year to some antibiotics were more than a rash, my face/eyes were swollen shut, luckily my airway was not affected.

4

Well, now you’re safe…

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