Penicillin allergy?

Question

if one who is allergic to penicillin through oral route, will she get allergic symptoms if the penicillin in contact with skin?

Answer 1

Casual contact of penicillin on the skin is not absorbed into the body so even if you are allergic to pencillin when taken orally you will not react if there is limited exposure to penicillin on the skin.

Answer 2

Yes. I am also allergic to penicillin and how I found this out was: I was on a course of penicillin and I was with friends dancing in Vegas club. The palms of my hands started to itch (sure sign of allergy, know from experience). Every place I had sweat on turned into a hive, and I had to stop dancing and call it a night. If this happens, and you don't stop (exercise seems to speed up the reaction), it can get to the point where your airways swell up and cut off your air supply to the throat - this is call anaphylaxis and usually requires emergency treatment (Hospital ER). This doesn't necessarily happen to everyone who has an allergy to penicillin, but it's something to watch out for.

If a person develops an allergy to this extreme, the family doctor will recommend that you carry an epi-pen (epinephrine), a self-injecting syringe which you basically "stab" yourself in the leg to give you enough time to get to the ER should you get such a bad reaction. It is by prescription. People who have such reactions to getting stung by bees or wasps also carries this pen. I do and you have your doctor renew it every year even if you don't use it.

Answer 3

Yes. And since the penicillin will be inside the person in question, it won't be so easy to just wash it off either.