Penicillin allergy ... anyone else? Help please .

This is just a shot in the dark, Sheena, by any chance are you on biophosphates for osteoporosis?

They can cause a condition called Jaw necrosis, which is more common after an extraction.
However, it is very rare.
My GP was worried I had it a few months ago, but my problem was actually caused by an allergic reaction to heart medication, which caused dreadful mouth ulcer.☹️

Don't suffer in silence, pester your dentist until you get a solution.

I am also allergic to penicillin and have recently had a suspected dental infection. My dentist prescribed another antibiotic, Metronidazole (no alcohol for a week!). This has helped a bit but it's not entirely OK yet. The dentist says I should keep using salt water rinses after eating (as I've been doing throughout), and says salt water is often as effective as antibiotics.

I'm also allergic to penicillin which is recorded on doctor's and dentist's files as well as on files in two hospitals. In hospital, I also get a red wristband as well as my name band. So they do take every precaution against anaphylaxis and I don't think you need to worry about that. The pain sounds like a nerve pain and I wonder if the dentist removed the nerve when she did the root canal.

Sussexborn .. I too have chronic nerve pain since 2007 and my first surgery and no painkiller touches it. They do say nerve pain is the hardest to treat.

M0nica ... I don't think the Corosdyl is the problem, as I have used the toothpaste for years with no problem, and this pain after the extraction started before I used the Corsodyl mouthwash.

Marydoll .. I will ask my dentist re a maxfax surgeon.

Fennel... I do have a very bad reaction to penicillin .. not just a rash . The worst I had lasted 12 weeks and I thought I wasn't going to make it.

Again, thank you everyone for your replies .. very much appreciated

GrannyLaine when I suggested talking to a pharmacist I did not mean that the pharmacist could or should prescribe antibiotics.

I meant that he/she should be able to give some idea of what alternatives are available so that Sheena would know what to ask for and which antibiotics to refuse in future.

I have regularly been asked what allergies I have and it is recorded on all notes that I am allergic to penicillin.
Other antibiotics have always been available. So you don’t need to worry on that score.
It may be that there is no infection and Corsodyl or rinsing with warm salt water will be sufficient, but I would go back anyway - don’t worry!

I'm allergic to a few antibiotics but there are still others that I can take. Nerve damage can hurt a lot sometimes. Also, I'd see my GP about a jaw xray - just in case you have a fracture!

@agnurse as I understand it, no antibiotics were prescribed as there were no equivocal signs of infection, just antiseptic mouthwash advised, which hasn't helped. This clinical picture is outside the remit of a pharmacist and needs review by dentist or GP who would re-examine and review treatment plan.

I am allergic to penicillin and Septrin. I have Bronchiestasis and always have Doxycycline to hand. Other infections are usually treated with Erythromycin. There is always another antibiotic that doctors and dentists can prescribe.

I'm allergic to penicillin and multiple other antibiotics but I'm still alive and kicking. Your dentist and GP will come up with something you can take.

ps to my post.
There are some people who have a very strong reaction against penicillin. Even life threatening.
It needs to be taken very seriously.

Sheena how awful for you. Please go back and see your dentist ASAP, you shouldn't have to suffer this.

I had similar pain after root canal treatment and wanted to bang my head off a wall to relieve the pain. I was backwards and forwards to the dentist and prescribed antibiotics, all to no avail.
I was eventually referred to a maxillofacial surgeon, who discovered I needed lateral root canal treatment, the bone had become spongy. Not all dentists pick up on this.
This was probably caused by my osteoporosis.
The pain was indescribable, but disappeared eventually after treatment and antibiotics.

I'm allergic to penicillin and Flagyl, but my GP and dentist have been able to prescribe suitable alternatives, so you shouldn't be worrying about that. You have enough to contend with.

My pharmacist always insists I go back and speak to my GP for a new prescription, as I often experience more minor side effects from other medication.
My pharmacist will not prescribe an alternative.

My husband is allergic to penicillin.
When he needs antibiotics, he is usually prescribed tetracycline or it's derivatives.

Don't worry Sheena. There are now many alternatives to penicillin.
When first used it was a major lifesaver. And probably still is in some parts of the world.
I'm allergic to it too, brings me out in a rash.

GrannyLaine

While not all pharmacists can prescribe, they should be able to contact the provider and explain that this prescription doesn't work for this patient as there is an allergy, and what would the prescriber recommend instead?

Thanks everyone for your replies.

agnurse I do have an internal chronic pain problem as a result of surgery years ago , so understand that, and no painkillers help with that at all.

The dentist only x rayed before she took the tooth out , not since.

I also have a horrid pain/itch in a top molar which is getting worse. Now, she has x rayed that, and again can see no reason for my pain there.

To have pain both top and bottom is just the pits.

I guess I'll have to go back and see her, and take whatever antibiotics she recommends ( she knows about the penicillin allergy) and just hope and pray that
1) they agree with me and
2) that they get ride of this wretched pain.

I kid you not, this is a good way to lose weight.. as I can only eat on one side, and very very slowly, and also much smaller portions !!

I have been allergic to penicillin for over 50 years. There has never been any problem prescribing suitable antibiotics when needed. There are probably hundreds of different anti biotics they can give you other than pennicillin

Although given the information you give I do not see why you need them anyway, you make it clear that it is unlikely that the cause of your pain is a bacterial infection. Probably pain killers are what is needed.

Also consider the possibility that the problem is caused by an allergic reaction to the Cosordyl. I was told to use this during treatment for an implant. My face swelled up like a football and I had brusing all along my jaw. Someone thought I was a victim of domestic violence ( I wasn't). I had to be taken off it immediately. It took 4 days for the effects to fade completely

@Sheena if you are in the UK there is no point in going to a pharmacist as they don't have full prescribing rights. You either need to return to your dentist or see a GP to obtain antibiotics if they are required.

Note of caution: OH queried the prescription he was given and it was penicillin under another name. Always best to speak up rather than wish you had later.

Both of our daughters are allergic to penicillin as well as OH. I am allergic to Septrim but it’s not used much these days. Our son isn’t allergic to any medication so far.

I have had nerve pain since my first surgery in 2001 and it can be very restrictive and overwhelming.

When I had unexplained pain an X-ray showed up a pocket of infection has she done an X-ray ?

I agree - talk to your pharmacist. Penicillin is the #1 drug known to cause anaphylaxis. I advise my nursing students that before they give ANYBODY a dose of penicillin, they should be asking if the patient has an allergy. There's about a 10% risk of a cross-allergy to cephalosporins if you're allergic to penicillins; this is because they're based on the same chemical structure.

Pharmacists will be the most familiar with what would work for you.

There's also a possibility that it may not be an infection at all, but sadly a chronic pain problem. In about 30% of people, for reasons we don't fully understand, the pain system doesn't switch "off" once tissue healing begins. Anatomically, there's no infection, there's no visible damage, and the tissue is healing, but the nerves aren't working properly and they're generating a pain signal in the absence of tissue damage. Usually, though, it takes about 3 months for pain to be defined as "chronic". Your provider will be able to determine whether this is an infection or a chronic pain issue, and will be able to determine what medications would work for you if it is chronic pain.

Any GP will know of the correct antibiotic to give someone who is allergic to penicillin. This is often the case and an alternative can be found.

If your dentist is unable to suggest something and believes an infection is present, then phone your GP.

I leave it to the prescriber to sort out what I'm going to have. Its their job.

Usually, for dental problems, I end up having two different ones to take together.

Talk to a pharmacist. They should know what the options are and then you will be informed both for this occasion and for the future.

I have ' allergic to penicillin" on all medical notes plus dentist.
I am just given something more suitable if I need it . Major surgery and tooth extraction etc. have never been a problem