Tuesday, March 29, 2011

About Allergies: Do You Need to Take Penicillin?

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From Daniel More, MD, your Guide to Allergies
Approximately 10% of all people list penicillin as a medication allergy. For many people, this came about as a result of developing some sort of rash after taking penicillin as a young child, many decades in the past. The details for most are vague, and did not typically result in a dangerous reaction, yet they were told to avoid penicillin anyway. For most of their lives, these people now need to take non-penicillin antibiotics that cost more, are more powerful, have more side effects and cause more antibiotic resistance than penicillin-based antibiotics. And yet most of these people aren't even truly allergic to penicillin. Allergy testing is now available in order to confirm or rule out the presence of penicillin allergy. This is a simple procedure that can be performed in an allergist's office. Only an allergist can decide, after a careful evaluation of a person's penicillin allergy history and penicillin allergy testing, if a person is truly allergic to penicillin. In many cases, a significant number of people that thought they were allergic to penicillin can safely take this cost-effective class of antibiotics.

How Penicillin Allergy Testing is Done
Penicillin allergy testing involves the use of various skin testing techniques, including prick skin testing (also called epicutaneous) and intradermal skin testing, to penicillin and penicillin metabolites... Read more

All About Penicillin Allergy
Penicillins and cephalosporins are also the most common causes of drug allergy. About 10% of Americans report an allergy to penicillin or a related antibiotic. While penicillin allergy most commonly occurs in young adults, reactions can occur at any age. Women appear to be at higher risk than men... Read more
See More About:  allergies  allergist  allergy testing

Cephalosporins and Penicillin Cross-Reactivity
Penicillins and cephalosporins are also the most common causes of drug allergy. About 10% of all Americans report an allergy to penicillin or a related antibiotic. Since penicillins and cephalosporins are related structurally, people with a history of penicillin allergy are often not given cephalosporins for concern that these will also cause an allergic reaction... Read more



 


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Daniel More, MD
Allergies Guide
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