Allergic Reaction to Amoxicillan?

My girlfriends son had an allergic reaction to amoxicillan and it did take some time for the meds to leave his body completely and the reaction to go away eventhough he stopped taking the meds. I want to say it took about a week or so. hang in there. If the symptoms aren't gone after a week has pasted I would call my doctor again.

My son had an allergic reaction to amoxicillan. However, as soon as we took him off the medicine and gave him benadryl, the spots cleared up. It took about a day.

My son is allergic to anything in the "cillin" family, which we found out after haiving a similar rash- appeared out of no where, and fast! He now takes other medications when he is ill- most of them you haave to take much longer than you would with a "cillian", and like other other posters mentioned, not the best tasting or smelling, but way worth it iver the reaction. Best of luck to you and hope you little one feels better soon!

Dear S.,

I personally have an allergy to all the cillins - including omxycillin and penicillen. The allergy has been that sudden and severe for me in the past (when I was younger, like between 12 months and 12 years, I haven't had cillins for a long time now) just like your daughter - hives and swelling all over. The only thing that helped me was using natural remedies to support my immune system so it could flush the "toxin" out. There is a nutritionist in Highland Park named Dr. Timothy Voll - he does nutrition response testing that is VERY effective. I would call him and see if he can help. It takes me 45 minutes to get to his office and I don't care, it's totally worth it because whatever I have going on, he is able to figure out very quickly and with supplements I see a difference VERY quickly.

My daughter did the same thing with penicillin. She went from the hives to the welts. My ped changed the antibiotics to Bioxin (the most foul tasting stuff ever, but works well), and I think she took a steroid for a week or so to bring the welts down. The welts lasted a number of days before the steroid brought them down and red blotches covered her skin where the welts were for about 2 weeks if I remember right. We have made note at the pharmacy that she is to never have penicillin and it flags any medicine that is related so we don't accidently get it again. Ask for a steroid in addition to the Benadryl if she is not improving, that should help a lot.

Could your daughter be having a reaction to the Red 40 which is in both medicines? I know my daughter will get the same way anytime I give her anything with Red40 or Yellow6 in it. (She has Mastocytosis) I have to make sure I am giving her the dye free Benedryl because of this.

As for being uncomfortable I would try a WONDERFUL recipe that you can find at www.Mastokids.org . On the left hand side of the page you will see a link to Magic Masto Lotion. This is easy to make and it stops the itchies! We use it on my daugher for a lot of her reactions to the unknowns and I also use it anytime she gets a diaper rash. I have used it on myself for a reaction to Sulfa drugs as well as on my Gma for the same thing. My Gma was actually in the hospital from a reaction because of the areas where she scratched raw got infected. I talked to her Derm and General Dr and suggested this and they both agreed. It worked better than the steriods and it is safer! It does not make the welts go away right away but will take the itchiness away almost immediately! Also wonderful for insect bites!

Good luck and many blessings to you and yours! I hope your daughter is feeling better real soon!

Both of my girls are allergic to that. My second one, had the welts/rash for several days till meds out of her system. Was there anything else new you gave to her during that time that could be exacerbating the problem? When do the welts appear, when she is warmer than normal from playing, just where her clothes are, some of that played a role in my daughter's. I would say by today you should be seeing some clearing, if not, I would definitely get another opinion. Anything associated with that antibiotic, my girls cannot have.

Hi S.,

I can say first hand that yes, it IS an allergic reaction to amoxicillin. I know, because I have the allergy and your daughters symptoms are exactly what happened to me as a teenager - right in first period in high school - what a nice look - hives all over - LOL! I later swelled up like a balloon all over and got a high fever. So i don't think a second opinion is neccessary, but if it makes you feel better, get one! Good luck!

Sounds like she is getting worse and not better. I would take her in again to the MD if she is not getting better. An antibiotic reaction can take a while to dissapate, but with steriods and antihistimines it should be getting better and not worse.

Hi S......This happened to my son when he was 2. He is now 9. He has now outgrew the allergic reaction to amoxicillian and can now take it.. But one time he got sick and the Dr gave him this and he started getting hives. We started giving him benadryl, Which didnt help. I called the dr and he said he could be allergic to the meds even though he had, had them before and to keep watching him and to keep giving him the benadryl.. Within an hour his body was covered in hives. We called the dr and he told us to take him to the er and the gave him all kids of shots and call our peds dr and the next thing we new they where admitting him into the hospital and hooking him up iv's and meds. He stayed there for 1 week, with hives. It was unreal. They would come and go. I would def get another opioion. It takes awhile to get the amoxicillan out of your childs system. Good luck to you and your child.

Once your child has a reaction like this it is your job to save their life next time. Call the places where you get her presciptions and notify them. There are other medication that my have similar compounds in them.

Make sure you have them record it in her medical file and keep on top of the file. Keep a record of it for yourself.

She my react to other things as well. I would start a medical diary. I also suggest a little family history check as well.

We have a sever medical history in our family. But there is an odd thing as well. On my mother's side of the family there is a history of a missing tooth. A family member kept a diary of who did not have that tooth. This helped when I had the premature tooth and my brother's tooth was missing. The other disease is visible in facial features. Knowing what you react to is half the battle.

I would also research the chemical make up of amoxicilin and other possible drugs. I know the pharmacy will help.

Hi S.,
I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's problem. I'm a second year pharmacy student, and some things about your situation seem worth checking. First, the dosing for both drugs should have been based on weight, not age. It's unclear from your e-mail if this was calculated correctly. It's worth checking these. If you send me your daughter's weight, I can check the dosing for you (also the dose of antibiotic that was prescribed). Did anyone check the medication to make sure it was amoxicillin? Also, in cases of anaphalaxis, Epipen is often administered along with the Benadryl. Was this ever discussed with you. I would definitely recommend consulting your family doctor and/or getting a second opinion. Your pharmacist may also be able to help.

I wouldn't worry about a second opinion. Yes, she is allergic to the amoxicillin and yes, this is a normal reaction. And although the doctor who said not to worry unless she stops breathing might have sounded flippant, he's right. It's an allergic reaction and aside from the breathing part, it's horribly uncomfortable but not dangerous. My sister and I are also allergic, and this is exactly what happened to us. It gets worse before it gets better, and it is MISERABLE - I would rather have a thousand babies than go through that again. It takes a while for it to go away. It should be more tolerable within a week of the hive outbreak. Poor baby!!! Just keep her comfortable as much as you can. I hope the doctors told you that she should never take amoxicillin or penicillin again, and I've also heard that people with these allergies should stay away from bleu cheese.

S.,

Did you mean 6.25mg instead of 6.25ml??? As a pharmacist, I'm alarmed at that dose! My kids are 2 (25lbs) and they only get 1.25 - 2.5 mls of benadryl at a time max. I understand that your daughter is very uncomfortable from the welts, but this dose could be making her even more uncomfortable because of the side effects. Please talk to another physician about that Benadryl dose and also about using a liquid steroid for 3 days that could help with the swelling and inflammation. Good luck!

We were told it takes at least 10 days for the allergen to be completely out of the body. I would call an allergist and get their opinion. We found out that our daughter had side effects from too much Vit. C even though everyone kept telling us that was not possible. As soon as I took her off foods high in Vit. C she started feeling better.

Hi S.,

It seems your daughter is allergic to penicillin & its derivatives. From now on you should note that to any doctor she sees. However, I believe with all this benadryl & with stopping the amoxicillin since Thursday night, things shouldn't have gotten worse. Honestly, I would go for a second opinion on that one. You don't want to keep giving her benadryl either. Also, are you using any ointments e.g. hydrocortizone to relief the reddeness &/or itchiness? you may want to try that.
My son had an allergic reaction the first time he was on amoxicillin for the same reason (ear infection), but it cleared in less than 48 hours. So check for a second opinion. Better safe than sorry.

Good luck!

My 2 1/2 year old son is allergic to penicillin. He had a rash that sounds exactly like the one you described. We stopped giving him the penicillin immediately, but the rash came and went for a week or so after that. He still had little blotches 2 weeks later. His pediatrician said it was normal the reaction to reoccur even though he was off the medicine. Trust your gut though...if it doesn't feel right to you, go back to the doctor. But my son was fine after about 2 weeks.

I just dealt with this SAME exact thing not even a month ago. My 19 month old had an ear infection and was given Amoxicillan (which he's had a few times in the past) and about a week into him taking it he got what looked like Chicken Pox at first. He had red bumps all over his arms and trunk. I even had a few friends and family members verify that it was indeed Chicken Pox. It got worse and by the next day covered almost his whole body. So I called the dr and the told me to bring him in right away. They told me then it was a reaction to the antibiodic and gave me a prescription for a steroid for him. He was on a high dosage since it was a severe reaction, he was on Pediapred. 3 tsp twice a day for 3 days, then 2 tsp twice a day for 3 days, then 1 tsp twice a day for 3 days.

This is how it looked the day it started...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/mbaby1/IMG_0278.jpg

and the next day...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v28/mbaby1/IMG_0315.jpg

it got worse then that too.

I cannot believe all they told you was to give her Benedryl...that's just rediculous! You need to get another opinion or something. My doctor is very laid back but he even ordered blood work just to check his white blood cells (I think that's what they did) She shouldn't sill be dealing with this...like I said, you need to bring her to someone else asap.

Hi S.,

Last year, we had an experience with our 2 year old grandson, whom we were watching while his parents were out of town. It was an allergic reaction to amoxicillin. He began to improve after a couple of days on the benedryl. My suggestion to you is this: if you do consult another doc, go to a dermatologist! They can determine rashes causes usually by looking at them. One case was my Dad. The dermatologist walked into the room and (not knowing he had been taking any antibiotics) said, "How long have you been allergic to penicillin?", which was the med he was taking. Not to be insulting to other docs, but whenever you have something affecting the skin, you are better off to consult a dermatologist, as that is what they do! I hope this helps. Good luck.

I did not read the other responses so forgive me if I am duplicating them. Every drug has a "half-life" which means how long it takes for your body to get rid of half of it. I recently had a stress test with adenosine and the half-life was 30 seconds (good thing since it changes your heart rate), but have had drugs that the half life is very long. When you are allergic most docs give you the Medrol dose pack that lasts 5 days when you have an allergy to drugs. Take your daughter to an allergist. And may I add, GET RID OF THE DOCTOR THAT SAY NOT TO WORRY UNTIL SHE STOPS BREATHING. He is malpractice waiting to happen and not concerned about your child at all. Good luck.

This happened to me when I was younger.... It will last about a week before the welts start to go away... best thing to do is to keep up with the benadryl and AVOID warm baths or showers.. it makes the welts worse. For now, I would suggest sponge bathing until they get better. I know she's uncomfortable, so maybe try some calamine lotion on the most troublesome spots if they are itchy.

This might be a long shot but there are cases where people are allergic to benedryl. Skip a dose and see what happens (ask your ped first). Continue to follow up - it should be getting better...the amoxi should be out of her system by now.

My daughter had her 1st allergic reaction to amoxicillin when she was older than your daughter. Hers actually started on her feet, and the doctor put her on a steriod the next morning. Her reaction lasted a few days. My youngest son had the same reaction a few years later. I am allergic to penicillian, as is my father and other family members. My 2 children are not allowed to have any pencillian based medications, and because my mother is so allergic my doctor will not give me any sulfur based medications. These reactions really seem to be in my family, and my children know to watch any reaction whenever they try a new medication.

But the good news is that both my kids reactions were maybe a week long at the most. It's not fun, but now you know to watch for any reaction with any medication. It gets easier!!!

Good luck

Of course go for another a opinion. there is stronger medicine they can give. take it from me you have to question and seek help until you get results.always let them know when your child isn't better even the next day. you have to look out for you and your child

My husband is allergic to amoxicillin and broke out the same way. you have to give the Benadryl time to work on the current symptoms as the antibiotic will remain in her system for a few days even if she stopped taking it, so new hives/welts will appear once the benadryl starts to wear off. Hope this helps some.

Switch to Zyrtec. I had the same problem with my daughter (then 7 months) but she is NOT allergic to amoxicillin. She had been on it, so that was the original theory, but later determined not to be the case. She did not respond to Benedryl at all, so the allergist prescribed Zyrtec (back then was by Rx only) She is 17 months old now and still gets mysterious hives head to toe-hasn't had amoxicillin in over 10 months. Take her to an allergist if you don't feel that your ped. is giving you enough answers. Or, just make the switch. FYI though-my daughter has been thru a series of allergy tests (food, airborne and animal-you name it) and shows no signes of an allergy. Diagnosis-Chronic Urticaria. After doing some research, found this is the answer when there is none, and is becoming more and more common.

Good luck!

My 4 month old son was taking amoxicillan for an ear infection and turned up with bumps and rashy areas. We took him in to the doctor, but they seemed relatively unconcerned and said it was probably an allergy to the medicine and that the bumps and rash may continue to come and go for up to two weeks after we stopped the medication. Anytime he got hot, cried, had baths and such, you could see little areas reappearing. Although his wasn't nearly as bad as your daughter's reaction sounds. Hope it clears up soon!

sounds like a bad reaction. you did stop giving her the amoxicillian too right? our older son was allergic to bactrim as a child and broke out quite badly, but it cleared up when we figured out what was wrong. just make sure that you never let her have any amox. again.

Our daughter has food allergies, and w/ her reaction for that she went for over a week with break outs of hives off and on that completely covered her body as well, has to work it's way out of their system. I know it's so scary/makes you second guess it, it's hard. She was put on rounds of steroids for almost a week along with the benadryl, and that seemed to help a lot. As long as she is ok with her breathing your daughter is ok, but just keep a close eye on that. Hang in there, I know it's hard to watch her go through, it just has to work it's way out of her system and it is "normal" for it to go on for days. I hope she gets better very soon!

my son had the same exact thing at 9 months old. He had what they called 'Target Lesions" huge, red welts all over his whole body in his hair too. They gave him steroids in the hospital and he got better in I would say a week it took for all the welts to go away. The wierd thing was, he was on the penicillin (amoxicillin) for 7 days before this appeared. It was for an ear infection. He was miserable. I even took pictures of it, because my husband was out of town and I knew he wouldn't believe it. It sounds wierd, but it was so severe, I almost couldn't believe it. Beware, my son later developed food allergies too. Milk, nuts, eggs, and wheat. He is also very susspectable to catching the "croup" cough. These are all related to allergies and asthma. He also had pretty severe eczema (skin dryness and red patches too) which we later realized was due to the food allergies- I think wheat- once we changed his diet, it improved. Good luck with this... it is very scary I know, but I will go away.

As you can see this is a common reaction to amoxicillan! My son also had it and it was awful! The other moms are right-don't let them give him any form of penicillin again. I don't even know why the prescribe it anymore...cause it's cheap I guess.

I am an adult and get hives often did they give you solumedrol iv that always works for me however I am an adult.

I had a similar reaction to taking sulfa drugs. I recovered from the reaction by taking benadryl too. I was on the drug the full 10 days before I got the reaction, and it was pretty severe. It took a little time for it to go away with treatment, but not several days. I would continue to keep a very close eye on her and if you do not see improvement I would get her more medical attention a immediately. It does take some time to recover, and maybe she just needs a little more time, but she should be getting better and having at least some relief by now.

My daughter had anaphlactic shock to her second dose of ceclor (erythromycin and sulfa) Her joints swelled up, she became listless. I suppose if a Dr said wait til she stops breathing I'd find a new one. She was 4 yo and we had her in the ER 3 times to deal with this, finally they admitted her as the allergic response became worse. It was complicated by the fact she also had chicken pox, so Benadryl was not an option, as it would have suppressed her immune response to the chicken pox. Doctors refused to Diagnose her as allergic to anti-biotics; that's a fairly big deal, but so is this allergic reaction. It was interesting that no Dr ever wanted to prescribe them for her again either!!!

Facing a childhood without antibiotics is what pushed us to look into and ultimately switch our family to homeopathic medicine. It's not common here, but is the most common approach in Europe. (Later, my son used homeopathy in place of the shots etc for a mexico trip. He was the only one that didn't come home sick.) If you want more info on homeopathy, contact me.

Now my daughter is 20. She has never again had an anti-biotic; altho she came close last spring when she came home from her first year of college with pneumonia and mono. Her system is much stronger as a result of having to avoid these powerful and over used drugs. Wish I could say the same for myself.

Hi S.~

My son is also allergic to amoxicillan (Which is a form of Penicillin). We usually get something else..and I'm not sure how to spell it (It starts with an Omn...)

I would consult another Ped Dr.....that is to scarey to have your child break out in hives.

Those allergic reactions could be deadly! (especially if their throats start to close up)

HI S. - scary, isn't it? She'll be better in no time :) Our daughter had the same reaction, 2 days into the meds after being prescribed the second time. It took about a week for them to quit showing up and go away. We gave her oatmeal baths a few times a day, which seemed to help relieve the itch.
Our doc said it could be life threatening if she gets anything in the penicillin family again, so I ordered her an emergency bracelet.

I am allergic to everything related to amoxicillan. Hives/rashes are a very common reaction to it. Don't worry about the long road...there are many other antibiotics out there. You need to tell every doctor she sees that she had a reaction to this drug. There are drugs related to it that will also give her a reaction if they don't know. I am very surprised by the doc's reaction to this. Make sure you check in with her pediatrician when you get home. Go with your mommy gut instinct. If you feel you need to see someone today, do it. No one knows her better than you do.

Good luck!
A.

Yes!!! This same thing happened to my daughter. We took her for her 18 month physical. There she got her MMR shot and the MD thought she may have an ear infection on-set so they put her on amoxicillian. The rash started on the 11th day AFTER receiving both the shot and her first dose of the Amoxicilan. Because she recevied both, and allergic reaction to either would have on-set in the same timeframe- the MD couldn't quite pin point whether it was an allergy to Amox or the MMR shot. The MD stated that if it were his daughter, he'd never give her penicillan/amox again, and give her an alternative (which there are a ton of other alternatives). Yes, benadryl was administered for 7 days before we began to see the rash go away. We gave her Aveeno baths and used aveeno anti itch lotion. She didn't seem bothered by it, but the rash was all over her body and under the skin and it was as if her blood vessels were bursting under the skin because she turned a bluish color from the all of the rash. Hang in there a few more days and then seek another opinion if you are uncomfortalbe. I am a working mom witha 2 year old girl and baby boy on the way.

My son also had an allergic reaction to amoxicillan. Welts were followed by swelling of joints and feet.Our doctor gave us an epipen to have on hand. Our son also had this type of reaction to Omnicef which is in the same family of antibiotics - you might want to avoid that one as well. Our doctor advised us to take our son to an allergist when he was well to determine which antibiotics are safe for him to use. This, at least, brings peace of mind.

I had an allergic reaction to an anti-seizure drug that I was on for 11 days. I had to get an injection and I was also put on prednisone. I was also taking Benadryl around the clock and using a cortisone cream. (Doctor approved!) The rash didn't go away for a solid week at least. I'd imagine that it would get better with time, but if you're not comfortable I would definitely get another opinion. I hope your little one is feeling better soon!

hi S. sorry thats not fun. the same thing happened to my daughter after a virus and i guess it is common after a virus and at times it gets blamed on an allergy to meds when it isn't they diagnosed it as gianotti crosti (google it take it to your dr. or someone to give you a second opinion. i would think if it were an allergic reaction with all that bendryl and esp. since you've stopped taking the amox. there shouldn't be any more welts. with the g.crosti the welts/hives lasted 1.5 to 2 weeks. good luck.

My daughter is allergic to Amoxicillan. I know how you are feeling, but once you stop taking the medicine, the welts and swelling will not go down right away sorry to tell you that. Like any allergic reaction the welts and swelling might take 3 to 5 days to go away! Yes scarry especally since it looks bad and you want your baby to be better. All you need to know is that your baby is now NEVER to get any cillans. Make sure that your family knows that and when she is older she needs to know that she is also! My daughter is now 8 years old and knows that she is allergic and can tell someone if she is sick and gets taken to the hospital without me. Good luck!

Have you talked to the pharmacist or an allergist? My brother has an allergy to amoxicillin...or an cillin for that matter and I'm allergic to keflex which is a type of penicillin. Neither of us keeps with the symptoms after we were treated the first time. That is strange. Is it a rash or welts? If it is a rash then they may want to check for other things....

Hi S.,
Two of my boys had allergic reactions to amoxicillan, and it wasn't even the first time they ever took it. One of my boys didn't have the reaction until day 9 of the antibiotic. He developed the hives and swollen lips and eyes. Then another one of my sons had the same thing while taking amoxicillan for strep throat last winter. He developed hives and it lasted for about a week and a half. There were days that he seemed to have been done with the hives, he'd be clear for over 24 hours and then he'd break out with them again. I think it just has to run its course. Benedryl worked well for temporary relief for my sons. Good Luck and God Bless.

S.,

My son took just about every kind of antibiotic available about a year ago when he first started day care. While he did have a reaction to amoxicillan (it was minor rash the first time he took it, and then he's not had a problem with it since then), it was Omnicef that caused him the kind of reaction your daughter is experiencing. We immediately stopped giving him that antibiotic, and we also gave him Benadryl. I remember it took just under a week for the rash to completely go away. But I thought the hives were gone within a day or two. It does take a little while for the antibiotic to work it's way through their systems, but I'd say if your daughter still has nasty hives and it's been 4 days, you need to have her checked out again. She may be allergic to something else that she has continued to receive over the past few days and you certainly want to try to pinpoint what's causing it so you can get her on the road to recovery.
Good luck! I hope your daughter feels better soon!

As a child I had a very similar reaction to penicillan. My doctor actually kept me in the hospital overnight. That was 40 years ago and I think it was much more common to advise hospital stays. My mom says that the rash did take a while to go away. My doctor strongly recommended that I never be given anything in the penicillan family again because the next reaction could be even more severe. Make sure that everyone is advised that she is allergic to penicillan drugs. I even carry a card in my wallet that states such. Also, sometimes a sulfa drug allergy goes along with one to penicillan. I'd suggest staying away from those too. Because my husband and I both had reactions to penicillan as children, my girls will never even try it on the recommendation of our pediatrician. I hope your little one feels better really soon.

Hi S.,

I can imagine how freightened you must have been...it happened to my daughter too. She was on the ninth day of a ten day antibiotic regimen when she broke out in hives. She was taking amoxicillin for an ear infection. I would imagine that the reaction (hives) could still be appearing on your baby since the antibiotic can remain in your body for up to ten days after you stop taking it. Just make sure that the baby does not have any trouble breathing (a.k.a. her airway is closing off). Periodically check in with the pediatrician's office and ask them how long they want you to wait for the hives to disappear before you call them or bring her into the office. I hope that your little angel feels better soon. Hang in there, I know that it can be rough to watch your baby go through this.

my husband & daughter are both allergic to amoxicillan and they got hives but with meds they improved. i also am allergic to septra...i was so sick they put me on steriods and shortly after i was feeling better and the hives went away. if your daughter is gettig worse instead of better...you did stop the amoxicillin right? then she should be getting better...i would go for a second opinion. i pray that she feels better soon. keep us posted.

There's nothing wrong with getting a 2nd opinion....but my 2nd son had hives once and it took so long for them to stop. I was feeling the same as you....when was this going to end. I didn't feel like the Benadryl was doing anything at first. If you want peace of mind, take her to antoher doctor. The problem with her is she's so young she can't tell you if her throat is closing. Good luck, I'm sure she will be fine.