allergy to penicillin!!!?

Question

We just found out that my dad has a penicillin allergy. Is this serious?? What can we do to comfort him??

he came out with a rash just last night. when will this go away??

Answer 1

Home remedies to make your dad more comfortable:
• To relieve pain, apply cool compression on the affected area. It will also help to get rid of itching.
• Apply a paste of 2 cups of oatmeal and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch for 15-30 minutes.
• Take some milk of magnesia and apply it on the red patches. This alkaline solution will help a great deal in removing itching.
• Take 2 tsp of turmeric powder in a cup of water daily.
• Take an ice cold shower or bath and sit in front of a fan on high for about five minutes.
• Apply some plain, non-scented baby oil on the hives.
You can also have him take an antihistamine like Benadryl, apply a hydrocortisone cream, plus take vitamin C, vitamin E, and zinc to help heal.

Answer 2

From personal experience, I have known that an allergy to penicillin is really quite common.

Thankfully, there are many alternatives to penicillin which people can opt for in the event of a drug allergy. Be sure to tell your doctor (or your father's doctor) about the allergy whenever he prescribes something directly correlated to or derived from penicillin, so that an alternative medicine can be selected and no adverse allergic reactions (like bodily rash) can occur.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

This is actually quite common. In it's mildest form (which I have) penicillin makes you throw up or causes diarrhoea which is no big deal except that usually the penicillin doesn't do much for you in terms of treating the infection.

In more serious cases taking penicillin can result in what is known as Anaphylactic Shock (or Anaphylaxis). When this happens massive amounts of histamine are released into the blood stream from certain cells called Mast Cells. The result is massive swelling of the limbs, mouth and respiratory system and can cause death by constriction of the airways or by a heart attack due to the sudden drop in blood pressure.

Treatment has to be fairly rapid and usually involves a massive injection of adrenaline.

Many sufferers wear a "Medic Alert" bracelet or wrist band so that if they are taken unconcious to a hospital, for example, they are not given penicillin as part of their treatment.

Other than that, life is fairly normal because sufferers are unlikely to encounter penicillin in their everyday lives (unlike nut allergy sufferers who face the same dangers every single day). If your dad needs anti-biotics there are plenty of alternatives to penicillin which are entirely safe for him to take.

UPDATE: If he's developed a rash then he should report it to the doctor who can then decide whether your dad should be taken off the Penicillin and a different anti-biotic given instead - but there's no need to panic!

Answer 4

There's other alternatives. One of my brothers had a knee injury, was given penicillin, and had to go into hospital because his knee became worse and he wasn't feeling to great in himself. After 4 days of pumping him full of the drug, the doctors finally decided he was allergic to it. He made a good recovery and if anti-biotics are needed now, he's given one of the alternatives. Your dad will be fine, but maybe he should carry a card, stating his allergy

Answer 5

It's a pretty common thing, not to worry. I am allergic to all 'cillins' plus erythomycin. His doctor will prescribe other antibiotics, depending on the type of infection, such as zithromax, cephalex, and bactrim. Zithromax was cool though, cuz I only had to take one a day for five or ten days, and bam, I was done! So, in a way, its kinda better, and that is a comfort.

Answer 6

No, it's not serious at all. It just means he cannot take penicillin for medication. There are other alternatives. He just needs to make sure medical personnel is aware of his allergy when being prescribed medicine.

Answer 7

Common question in the Dr office. some docs won't prescribe penicillin if they don't know if you're allergic

Answer 8

no, its not bad. penicillin allergies are pretty common, and its very easy to avoid. just make sure his doctors know.

Answer 9

Comfort him? Did he have an anaphylactic reaction? Then he should be in the hospital until he is better. Since you don't mention any details, I don't know what to tell you.

Answer 10

THE RASH WILL GO AWAY
HE MUST MAKE SURE THAT HE NEVER AGAIN TAKES
ANTIBIOTICS REMOTELY RELATED TO PENICILLIN........ASK
THE PHARMACIST - HE KNOWS MORE THAN THE DOCTOR