Penicillan reaction

Ninny123

A lot of people have been diagnosed with an allergy due to a rash with penicillin, unfortunately this is incorrect.
Penicillin is a cheap & effective drug , if anyone has underlying illnesses it would be wise to be tested at an NHS allergy dept . There they can correctly diagnose, if you had side effects or the rash was due to the illness you were experiencing at the time.
I’m a retired allergy nurse x

Well, my father's was diagnosed by a GP but they recorded it on the wrong medical notes, consequently he had a far more severe reaction when he was in hospital for something else entirely. He was very ill with that, not the reason why he went in.

Luckily, my mother realised what the rash was when she visited and asked the staff if they had given him penicillin. They had and said it wasn't on his notes.

I am intolerant to penicillin, so no point it taking as it runs straight through. If you have upset bowels then the effectiveness will be less too, so you need to report and change. There are topical antibiotics for boils etc, so your GP has been a bit lazy, unless he thought the boil was part of an ongoing UTI problem.
Please be aware that UTIs can make you vague, disoriented and even downright crazy, showing with dementia like symptoms.

A lot of people have been diagnosed with an allergy due to a rash with penicillin, unfortunately this is incorrect.
Penicillin is a cheap & effective drug , if anyone has underlying illnesses it would be wise to be tested at an NHS allergy dept . There they can correctly diagnose, if you had side effects or the rash was due to the illness you were experiencing at the time.
I’m a retired allergy nurse x

My late father had severe allergic reaction to penicillin. He developed an angry, red and very irritating rash all over his body which took several weeks to settle down. I bought him a medical alert talisman which he wore round his neck.

Those are the ones that made me so ill very rapidly, glammagran.
It was quite scary.

Every May for the last 3 out of 4 years I’ve developed a rash on my lower back. In the past it was treated with Fucibet, but this year it didn’t work and I developed cellulitis as I’d scratched it to ribbons with huge black bruises. I was prescribed antibiotics for the first time in 16 years - Flucloxacillin 500g 4x daily. Boy, did they make me feel ill. I had the upset stomach from hell and stopped with one day to go but they did work. I then took a probiotic, Optibac for a couple weeks which did help. Took me a while to get back to normal and I lost weight. My DD2 is allergic to penicillin but it’s the first time I’d had such a reaction to an antibiotic.

In my early 20s I developed a rash from penicillin and then from Septrim so have had neither since - it's on my medical records. Brufen also caused a rash. I've never needed any of these three since then apart from mastitis when breastfeeding when I was prescribed something else (can't remember what) to clear it up.

I had a reaction to penicillin last year for the first time ever. My lips swelled alarmingly. Dentist replaced them with a different, stronger antibiotic. They made me hallucinate....very odd. I thought I was looking around through closed eyelids, which had little lenses poking out from the middle. I had to keep touching my eyes to check if they were open or closed. And I could see things in my sitting room (eg piles of clothes) that were simply not there. It was a private prescription from the dentist, so not on my NHS app, and I can't remember what it was called now. (Ought to check with the dental surgery!)

My brother was allergic to penicillin too. The skin on his hands and feet would peel off alarmingly. I hope you feel better soon OP.

I am allegic to penicillin, I came out with huge red swirls all over my body. There is an alternative which was fine for me.

Franbern

Interesting to read all your comments Cannot believe how much better I am now feeling just over 24 hours after I stopped taking these tabs. I have told my GP, and told him that I have not finished the course due to my reaction. So it should be there in my notes.

I will never, ever take them again.

That is such good news Franbern. You did the sensible thing and 6 days was plenty long enough. There are many penicillin antibiotics and they all end in illin

Now rest and build your immune system up, ready to enjoy your active lifestyle once again. Your body will tell you what it needs, I am glad you took note

'Conclusions
Contrary to what has been widely accepted since the 1970s, the results of this study indicate that taking flucloxacillin with food may not compromise effective flucloxacillin plasma concentrations in most circumstances. Other potential advantages of taking flucloxacillin with food include convenience, improved compliance and reduction in adverse effects such as nausea. Rather than focusing on administration on an empty stomach, it is more important that dosing is individualized according to known or suspected susceptibility to flucloxacillin, illness severity, and host characteristics. The findings of this study have significant implications for dosing of oral flucloxacillin worldwide.'

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6042703/

This is from a peer reviewed study in the US 2018

'Dosage and how to take flucloxacillin
Dosage
The usual dose of flucloxacillin is 250mg to 500mg, taken 4 times a day. For children, the dose may be lower.

Try to space your doses evenly throughout the day. For example, you could take it first thing in the morning (before breakfast), at around midday (before lunch), late in the afternoon (before your evening meal) and at bedtime.

How to take it
It's best to take flucloxacillin on an empty stomach to help improve how much is absorbed. That means taking it at least 60 minutes before a meal or snack, or at least 2 hours after.

To reduce the risk of pain in your food pipe (oesophagus) swallow flucloxacillin capsules whole with a full glass of water (250ml). Do not chew or break capsules. If you are taking liquid flucloxacillin, drink a full glass of water after taking the dose. Do not lie down immediately after taking capsules or liquid.

Liquid flucloxacillin will usually be made up for you or your child by a pharmacist. The medicine will come with a plastic oral syringe or spoon to help you take the right amount.

If you do not have an oral syringe or spoon, ask your pharmacist for one. Do not use a kitchen teaspoon because it will not measure the right amount.

Find out more about giving flucloxacillin to children on the Medicines for Children website.

How long to take it for
Carry on taking flucloxacillin until you've completed the course, even if you feel better. If you stop your treatment early, the infection could come back.

If you do not start feeling better after taking flucloxacillin for 3 to 5 days, or you start to feel worse at any point, tell your doctor.'

From NHS web-site

Interesting to read all your comments Cannot believe how much better I am now feeling just over 24 hours after I stopped taking these tabs. I have told my GP, and told him that I have not finished the course due to my reaction. So it should be there in my notes.

I will never, ever take them again.

You might not be allergic to Penicillin ..As we age our bodies react violently to being ill and infections can cause confusion.
Please make your doctor aware of your reaction .
I was thought to be allergic to Penicillin and ot has turned out that I'm not .

The instructions are different with different antibiotics.

Some should be taken an hour before meals, others with meals. Always read the instructions on the packet and the leaflet inside if they are a new medication to you.

Franbern

*keepingquiet*, these Flucioxacillin tabs specically state to be taken on an empty stomach either two hours after a meal or one our before.

4 times a day, difficult as I have just three meals (brekkie 8.00, lunch midday, evening meal 5 pm)

So I was taken one at about 10 am, a second 2pm a third at 3 pm and then the last one at 8 pm.

It is impossible to contact our GP surgery over the weekend. My daughter told me to stop taking them on Saturday as I was so unwell, but I did try to finish course. Sent a askmyGP message this morning (Tuesday) explaining that I was stopping it due to side effects. Have only not taken 4 of the 28 tablets.

Have made a note of the name of these tabs, will never taken them again.

Yes, I noticed it said that when I was on some recently for an infected bite.

However, this advice is new and I'm not sure what the thinking is behind it. I may do some more research. I only know that when I worked at a hospital and complained about feeling ill after taking some anti-biotics that I was told never to take them on an empty stomach.

I always make sure I have a small bite at least now either before or with them.

I would still finish the course!!

Make sure they put this upon your medical notes, Franberbpn.

My father was allergic to penicillin, the Surgery wrote this on my brother's notes instead, Father was prescribed penicillin again, luckily my Mum visited him in hospital and it was she who recognised the rash! This was many years ago before Computers.
Now medical records are digitised it will be easier for all concerned to be aware.

Hope the infection has gone and you feel better.

Flucioxacillin tabs
I can't take those, the only time I was given them I was in hospital, luckily, and my mouth and tongue started swelling alarmingly! They put the cannula back in quickly and put me on a drip!
Make sure it goes on your notes!

Penicillin brings me out in a rash just like stinging nettle rash.

You have been unwell, and it is taking time for your body to recover. Resting and sleeping are good ways for your body to restore itself. Do please rest.
This is not an allergy to penicillin that you are describing; a change in bowel function may be due to the ABs because this medication upsets the flora within you bowel.
These ABs do not need to be taken with a full meal; you can take them with a snack, a yoghurt, a piece of cake, a couple of biscuits etc.

Allergy is mostly exhibited by a rash, localised or all over your body; raised, severe nettle type rash, or mild redness; itchy or not, severe or less so; an extreme allergy is swelling of face mouth, lips, tongue, difficulty in breathing etc. This can happen when you take the first couple of doses of any new medication.

keepingquiet, these Flucioxacillin tabs specically state to be taken on an empty stomach either two hours after a meal or one our before.

4 times a day, difficult as I have just three meals (brekkie 8.00, lunch midday, evening meal 5 pm)

So I was taken one at about 10 am, a second 2pm a third at 3 pm and then the last one at 8 pm.

It is impossible to contact our GP surgery over the weekend. My daughter told me to stop taking them on Saturday as I was so unwell, but I did try to finish course. Sent a askmyGP message this morning (Tuesday) explaining that I was stopping it due to side effects. Have only not taken 4 of the 28 tablets.

Have made a note of the name of these tabs, will never taken them again.

It doesn’t sound like you’re allergic, but that you can’t tolerate the other side effects caused by penicillin.
Did you tell Gp how you felt? He could
Have changed them.

First sign of a penicillin allergy was, for me, a rash. I knew then that it was an allergy, due to having too much through childhood and pregnancies. I informed doctor and dentist etc

Your microbiome is struggling Franbern, broad spectrum antibiotics wipe out most good bacteria, the ones that you need for your health and to live happily day to day and a healthy microbiome is also responsible for 70% of your immune system

These good bacteria don`t come back on their own, they need to be introduced by you, starting with something easily available like actimel, this is L shirota, live yoghurt is L bulgaricus plus S thermophillus. Then you could add bacteria from kefir, kombucha and so on

Six days is plenty Franbern and now you need to rest and mend. I used to get similar side effects then the rash was the last time I took penicillin. A severe allergy to penicillin can well follow the rash and could be life threatening

Make a note and ask for non-penicillin anti-biotics in future- your GP should make a note of it on your records.

I hope you are taking them with food, because you shouldn't take them on an empty stomach as this may make you feel unwell. Even a small biscuit is better than nothing.

Also you really should finish the course, even if you reduce the daily dose and stretch it out a little.

Also, your body is fighting an infection and it sounds as if your immune system is under a lot of stress- check Vit C and D levels and also Hg as you could be anaemic.

Whatever I hope you are feeling better very soon.

Oh poor you, what a wretched time you've been having. I do hope all goes well from now.
My husband cannot take penicillin in any of its forms. He has terrible headaches and develops thrush in his mouth. There is a note on file at our medical centre about this. When he needs a broad spectrum antibiotic he usually is given a tetracycline of some sort, not as effective as amoxycillin, and he often needs two courses, but it cures him.