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Original poster

Penicillin allergies

13 replies

aStarInStrangeways · 06/09/2011 09:57

Just wondering if any of you knowledgeable types has any thoughts on this. I am apparently allergic to penicillin; I say apparently because it's always been on my medical records for as long as I can remember, so presumably whatever reaction I had must have happened when I was very small. No one in my family can remember anything about it and there is no detail about what happens when I take penicillin.

In recent years when I've mentioned this to healthcare professionals, they have asked me for more details about it and obviously I don't have any. Yesterday my GP suggested that at some point I 'try some penicillin' to see what happens, which I am a little Hmm about. He also said it was very unlikely that I would have a reaction now if my original one was so long ago, and he prescribed me an antibiotic that has a 10% crossover rate with penicillin. But I recently read in the medical column of Good Housekeeping that if you're allergic to one type of penicillin, you will be allergic to all of them for life and should avoid them for life.

Does anyone have any experience of this sort of thing? Penicillin is a fairly common allergen, isn't it? Is there likely to be a scenario in which being allergic will be a problem for me?

OP posts:
Tonksforthememories · 06/09/2011 10:01

I'm allergic to Penicillin, not in any major way but it brings me out in hives.

Is it the same stuff that they give children? I didn't have a reaction till i was about 15!

Iamseeingstars · 06/09/2011 11:32

just been through exactly the same with my doctors. Many many years I had a reaction to ampicillin, but was ok with penicillin. A few years ago (recent) I had severe rash with penicillin and was told to avoid all the Cillin family.

In a separate situation I had a serious allergic reaction to medication I had taken previously, and was told that allergic reactions build up, so first, second, third time you don't react, but maybe fourth time you do, and each time after that the reaction gets worse.

my specialists talked about trying me with some sort of artificial penicillin because penicillin is set treatment for specific conditions, but they bailed out and used another family of ABs.

The doctors kept asking me how severe the reaction was but like you it was so long go, but I am not prepared to risk it, especially having gone through a different medical allergy. The doctors have also decided not to risk it.

If you do take the AB keep a very close eye on side effects, monitor your temperature throughout the day and check for skin reactions. You might very well b e Ok but don't assume you definitely will be just because the doctor said so.

controlpantsandgladrags · 06/09/2011 15:59

I'm allergic to penicillin too. Apparently I developed a rash when i took it for the first time as a small child. I've been told by my doctor that I should avoid it and not try to take it again. There are plenty of other antibiotics you can take so I'm not sure why your doctor would be so keen for you to try penicillin again!

Original poster
aStarInStrangeways · 06/09/2011 16:03

That's what I thought controlpants. Easy for him to say, it's not him taking the risk!

OP posts:
BigBadBear · 06/09/2011 16:13

Sounds like your GP is prescribing a different type of antibiotic called a cephalosporin. There is a 4-7 per cent chance of being allergic to it if - and I stress if - you are allergic to penicillin. Around 1 - 10 per cent of people are truly allergic.

Many people think they are allergic to penicillin when they experience a common side effect such as a stomach upset. A true allergy would manifest as a major rash or breathing problems, and this would definitely be documented on your medical record and be remembered by your parents.

I suspect the reason your GP is being a bit pushy is because of the problem of resistance. Many bacteria are now resistant to several antibiotics (the most high profile being MRSA), and to prevent this problem worsening (so infections remain treatable) there are prescribing policies in place recommending use of certain antibiotics for certain infections. Doctors are reluctant to use a different antibiotic because doing this increases the chance of the bacteria becoming resistant to another antibiotic.

Hope that makes sense. I'm a pharmacist, by the way, so it's not random spouting!

GalaxyGuzzler · 06/09/2011 16:17

I am also in this situation. Everytime I have anything vaguely medical DM pipes up with 'don't forget you're allergic to penacillin!' But can't actully give me any more details than that! :o

DeWe · 06/09/2011 16:18

My Dgranny was very allergic to penicillin. She always wore a SOS necklance for this. One of the problems is that every time she had it she reacted worse, so it was very important she didn't get any. She had rash/breathing problems and swelling.

lazydog · 06/09/2011 20:09

I'm in a similar situation. I'm "officially" allergic to penicillin (on my notes, and I had a very rapid, severe and itchy rash as the reaction) but I actually had undiagnosed gladular fever at the time (blood test confirmed it a couple of weeks later) and have since discovered that that can cause the same reaction to penicillin as I experienced, so now not sure whether to as the GP if it's worth risking trying it again if I need antibiotics in the future...?

Original poster
aStarInStrangeways · 06/09/2011 20:42

BigBadBear, thanks for that. It is a cephalosporin that he prescribed (Cephalexin). I have always assumed that my original reaction was something rashlike and probably not too serious. The only thing that makes me slightly wary is that my mum is dead and my dad wasn't around for much of my childhood, so if it was something more serious he wouldn't necessarily know (I have asked, he has no recollection).

OP posts:
Iamseeingstars · 06/09/2011 23:10

I think if a reaction is a major one, your records would highlight this. I am seriously allergic to something and this is highlighted on every page the doctor accesses.

Mind you, they still ignore it. I have to remind them every time I speak to a doctor and they then notice it on the screen

mercibucket · 06/09/2011 23:14

you would love the test they did at the paed hosp for ds1. he had a rash the same time he took penicillin so suspected allergy but it became inconvenient as he reacted badly to a lot of other antibiotics as well so we pushed for testing
they just gave him some and sat him in the waiting room
apparently if he'd had a terrible reaction, they could administer whatever it is they need to
he was fine
it was good, cos now he can take most standard antibiotics instead of messing round with other ones

Iamseeingstars · 06/09/2011 23:20

During my recent hospital visit (when they really wanted to see my reaction to penicillin) they opted for another family but gave me tiny doses every hour to see if I would react to them. Eventually they decided I was fine, but the doctors were being extremely cautious.

The AB is one used as an alternative to penicillin allergies, but sometimes other ABs can cause similar reactions.

childandparentadvocate · 23/05/2012 20:36

I read your post and wanted you to know that as a nurse I have treated many penicillin allergies. I also had a son who developed one. From what I know many people will continue to react to penicillin throughout life, although some do tend to grow out of this allergy. I've written about this extensively in this article if you are interested in reading more kelleyward.hubpages.com/_3u47dtkr7xqut/hub/Symptoms-of-An-Allergic-Reaction-To-Antibiotics

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