Drug Allergies
Medication Allergies Are Often Misdiagnosed
Allergies to medications can be challenging to diagnose and manage. It is often hard to determine whether a reaction is related to a medication, a condition for which the medication has been prescribed, or another problem entirely.
Common Drug Allergies Include:
Penicillin
Penicillin Related Drugs
(e.g. Augmentin, Amoxicillin, and Ampicillin)
Sulfa-based Drugs
(e.g. Bactrim, Pediazole, and Septra)
The Truth About Penicillin Allergies
For many years, people with possible penicillin allergies were told to avoid penicillin and all related antibiotics. However, many people with a history of a reaction to penicillin do not react to it in the future. In some cases, a previous reaction was not a penicillin allergy to begin with.
If you have been told that you are allergic to penicillin, you can be specifically tested for an accurate diagnosis. The first step is a skin test. If this test is negative, you will take an oral sample under your allergist's supervision.
Up to 90 percent of people who think they have a penicillin allergy find that they do not after testing. They can have this warning removed from their medical records and take a wider variety of antibiotics in the future.
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