Penicillin allergy? Any advice please...

[oneyummymummy]

I seem to be posting on here a lot lately, but It's such a good way to get the info you need.....

Ok this is quite long...sorry

Anyway, my DD has had a cold/chest infection something for which the doctor prescribed that awful bright yellow penicillin stuff, I did ask the doctor if this was OK as I, myself have an allergy to penicillin and so does my mum. However she seemed to be ok with it. After three days, I noticed this big sore patch in her wrist...it looked like a burn, very red with a definate outline, and slightly raised. I tried to thinck of how she might have burnt/hurt it, but nothing came to mind. The next morning I noticed it had gone down, so assumed she must have injured it at home at some point. However after her next dose of penicillin it came up again, just like it had the day before, like it was 'new' again. Again it went down and after her last dose that day I noticed it had gone bright red and 'burn' like again, only then did I realise that it was everytime I was giving her the medicine that it was flaring back up, so stopped the medicine immediatly. Inbetween being red it went down and looked a little like ezema (sp?) (but definatly not ezema).

Took her to docs today to ask them and the doctor seemed really not interested about it, she said it could be but shes not sure and that next time she needs such medicine we should try her again. She said she couldnt be sure as it looked ok now, I explained that I had stopped the medicine the day before and it had not flared up since and I showed her a picture that I had taken on my mobile. She agreed that it looked quite aggressive, but wouldnt put any notes on her file to say that there was apossible allergy.

Is this right, or am I right in thinking that she should have put a note on the system? She also said that penicillin allergies dont normally come out like this (ive researched the internet and all the info ive seen seems to contradict this).

This doctor also said that she doesnt need any cream for a patch of ringworm that she has,it will go away on its own, but doctors in the past have always given me cream for it.

Sorry this is so long

As far as the possible penicillin allergy is concerned my dd had a possible reaction at 9 months (raised spots on her face) and it is on her notes and she hasn't been prescribed it since. I'm not entirely convinced that it was a reaction to the penicillin as she has had similar spots since but the gp said that, although I might be right, it wasn't worth risking it.

As far as I know, the first reaction is likely to be mild, and if an allergy is present it is second or subsequent exposure that is likely to be severe.

Next time penecillin is offered, I'd just mention the reaction again and ask for a different AB.

I always say I have a penecillin allergy (my mum told me I have) - I have no idea if it has ever made it as far as my notes!

kiddiz that was exactly my thoughts....is it worth the risk? NO, of corse it is not!

captainkarvol that is what i was told by the allergy clinic that even tho my reaction was mild if I was to expose myself to (nuts as it were then) then I could risk having a full blown anaphalactic (sp??) reaction.

I think they dont take you seriously if you go in knowing what you are talking about (as much as possible, obviously Im not the doctor) and they almost want to prove you wrong.

From the research I have done, it also says that most cases in childhood the child will 'grow out' of them, so in later life they can be 'tried' again. But personally I dont want to 'try again' next time she needs AB, as she will most probably still be very young.

I'm allergic to penicillin myself. I had my first reaction aged 20 when I was prescribed it for tonsilitus which actually turned out to be glandular fever. Just as I was beginning to feel a little better from the glandular fever I developed a huge allergic reaction. I am so allergic to penicillin now that even if I get it on my skin I come up in a rash almost immediately. I am also allergic to cephalexin.
Interestingly I wasn't allergic as a child.

My DS had abs for a chest infection in December. He had previously had them before but after a few days he came up in a rash which came and went. It was on his face and arms and red and blotchy and it then spread onto his body. There are two things that might be useful for you. First, DS is on the leap study and I called them about it. The doctor I spoke to said that penicillin allergy would more likely show up all over and not just in one place. In our case, it was just on his arms and face at the time but I am sure the same would be true for your DD's reaction which sounds extremely localised. However, when it spread, I did take him to A&E and they changed his meds and made a note on his record. Even though I am convinced it was a virul rash not an allergy, the GP has avoided the same type of penicillin since, so I think you are right that it is sensible to be cautious unless it can be ruled out.

HTH

I had a reaction to penicillin when i was about 3yo, and since then have just told medical people that i am alergic and they don't give it to me i've never had any problems with takign a different antibiotic when necessary. if i were you i'd just say she is allergic to any subsequent doctors as it's safer that way (second and subsequent reactions can be severe even if hte first one wasn't).

kiddiz I developed it after I had glandular fever too this is getting a little freaky! I was a little younger than you when I got it though. But I also developed a nut allergy too. They said it is very common to get allergies after a bout of glandular fever as it is so damaging to your immune system, that it can take years for your body to fully recover. But they did also say that as this was the cause I would most likely not be allergic for ever, and that soon my body would fully recover. I still havnt taken it since though. The other medicine you mentioned, has penicillin in it im sure. You have to be careful as there are many other medicines with smaller ammounts of penicillin in them, but doctors will still prescribe them for you. They have done it to me before with 'Keflex' even when I have told them I have an allergy to it! There is a really good allergy website (sorry I dont know the link) where it lists all reactions and also all medicines that contain penicillin and their names.

That's interesting yummymummy. It was about 10 years later that I was prescribed cephalexin and had a second allergic reaction. Gp told me that a good percentage of people who are allergic to penicillin are also allergic to cephalexin. Did make me wonder then why they prescribed it but going by what you were told they could have been guessing that I may have got over the allergy.
Ds2 suffered badly with tonsilitus and was quite often on penicillin. I used to wear latex gloves to give it to him or get dh to do it because if I got it on my hands I got an itchy rash. I forgot once and rinsed the empty bottle out before putting it in the recycling. My hands swelled up and were covered in a rash!