Any medical people about?

[droitwichmummy]

My DS(8yo) has been on co-amoxiclav (250) since Monday night. He has never had anti-biotics before and has no known allergies/illnesses apart from his current UTI.
This evening we noticed a rash across his abdomen. He says it is not ichy and seems otherwise fine, he says the pain from the infection is a little better.
The information leaflet suggests that if he develops a rash we should immediately contact a doctor. NHS Direct have a 4 hour wait for a call back. He did take 2 doses within less than 4 hours as both he and DH forgot to give him a dose when he got home from school.
My inclination is to wait until the morning to see if it has gone, and if it has not then I will call the out of hours GP. Am I ok to do this or should I contact the GP now?
TIA

bump

Not a medic, but from memory it clearly states that in case of overdose you have to seek medical advice immediately. 2 doses within less than 4 hours is an overdose. I would contact GP straight away and say it is urgent as it is a possible overdose in an 8 year old (so hopefully you will be given the highest priority). Don't wait.

Thank you

Just spoken to NHS Direct. As he is otherwise well and had no other symptoms which cause them concern, I have been advised to pop into the locl pharmacy tomorrow for the pharmacist to take a look.

Thank you for the nudge dikkertjedap :) We are usually blessed with excellent health in my family so I was not sure if I was being too laid back about this or not.

Just checked on several medical sites, it seems that a co-amoxiclav overdose is seldom serious. However, he does have the rash (which is not necessarily serious in itself as it is a known but less common side effect). Still better safe than sorry I would think and better seek medical advice.

X-post. Good that NHS Direct has reassured you and to get it checked out tomorrow. Good night.

Anti biotic reactions don't come out on first day but normally take 5-12 days to appear. I would suggest you don't give him any more and get done to GP first thing. I'd he continues to receive the meds the reaction can increase.
If you have priorton in the house you might want to give him some.
Dd2 came out in massive hives over her tummy and legs and GP has written on her notes allergic to penicillin!

According to various medical sites, skin rashes are quite common with Co-Amoxiclav (1 in 10 people).

Co-Amoxiclav can cause minor stomach upsets and a blotchy skin rash, a common unwanted effect, which is not necessarily an indication of an allergic reaction. Should you develop a skin rash, you should however consult your doctor to rule out the possibility of allergy. A penicillin allergy may lead to fever, swelling of the mouth and tongue, itching and associated breathing difficulties.

In your dc case the skin rash isn't itching which is a good sign and he has no other side effects. Still good to see pharmacist though, I would not stop medication unless pharmacist tells you to. If unsure, better to see OOH GP and they can always put him on different anti-biotics.

One of my DC had a rash while on antibiotics. The doctor insisted on seeing her, not because it was likely to be serious, but because you don't want any question over whether they're allergic to antibiotics as then they can't have that type ever again. If pharmacist can't help you it's worth try to get him seen by OH GP today, just so you know where you stand.

FWIW DD wasn't allergic to the antibiotic in the end, think it was fllucloxacillin.

Thank you all for your help. DS has no rash at all this morning so I think it likely that it was a case of having 2 doses too close together. I'm keeping a close eye on him (thankfully he doesn't like wearing many clothes in the house so that's not difficult!)
I gave him a dose at 10am and he hadn't had one since 9pm last night. If it comes back I'll whip him straight to the pharmacist.

Thank you again

To prevent potential overdose in future, I really think it helps to draw up a chart with dates/days/times of day to give the anti-biotics and tick each time off once it has been given. Especially also helps if you have to give a number of different medications. Pleased that he is okay, must be such a relief.