Hives

[Elizabeth86]

My 11 year old broke out in hives yesterday. I’m worried it might be the amoxicillin he is taking. This was the first antibiotic he ever had. However he was on day 7 when the hives popped up. Would it take this long before a reaction? Should I take him to the doctor? The other cause may be that he is taking swim lessons in a pool treated with bromine which I understand can cause a rash. It didn’t cause a rash last time he was there, but it could be the bromine was stronger this time?

[Katy]

Yes, an allergy can develop at any time. I get a rash in response to bromine too, but it doesn’t look like hives. It looks more like folliculitis, but it’s itchy. The skin around each hair follicle gets raised and red. 

I’d call the doctor and not give him the medicine again until you talk to at least a nurse. 

[fairfarmhand]

Yes it could be the prescription. Call the doc and don’t give it again til you’ve heard back.

[Spryte]

Yes, amoxicillin can do that — toward the end of the Rx. Call the doc. Take pics of the hives for documentation.

Benadryl for relief.

[scholastica]

Yes. It can even happen when you’ve had the medicine several times with no issues. When oldest was a toddler and getting ear infections, he had an allergic reaction to amoxicillin the fifth time he was on it.

[Bambam]

I took my dd to the doctor when it was possible she was having a reaction to amoxicillin. They took blood to check for histamines (? I think), but they did not say that she was definitely allergic but to avoid amoxicillin. They switched her antibiotic. 

Fast forward ~12 years, and I realize after she needed antibiotics again (just two scripts in her life so far) and the cost was $100+, that we needed to get the allergy question resolved. Visiting an allergy doctor, he said most outgrow the allergy (like 75% of the folks), more talking, etc, but he did recommend testing her to be sure (which is what I wanted!). One entire morning spent at their office and like $600 later, we found out she was not allergic.  But now she can get cheap antibiotics should she ever need them again. 

Edited July 25 by Bambam

[HazelAnne]

Agreeing with the others to see the doctor. We have an amoxicillin allergy in the family. The first time the person took it she was fine for the duration. Second time it was prescribed, she had a serious rash. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Yes, I got an allergy rash from sulfa on day 9 of a 10 day course.  Don’t give her any more.

[Melanie32]

Yes. My daughter had a reaction to an antibiotic after being on it for 2 weeks. The prescribing dr and the ER drs all said it couldn’t be the antibiotic since she had been on it for two weeks. She had a terrible reaction and we were in and out of the ER that week. Took an allergist to diagnose her with Serum Sickness Like Reaction. She was very sick and it all Started with hives and then progressed to horrible painful and swollen joints-she could hardly walk and her whole body swelled up and all of her muscles became inflamed and painful. It was awful!

 

Only sharing so you can know to argue with the drs if they say it can’t be the meds. If we would have listened to them and kept her on the antibiotic, I don’t know what would have happened!

[Arcadia]

@Bambam my doctors say to take note of the manufacturer as well when it comes to antibiotics (as well as other medications).  I don’t remember having issues with amoxicillin in red & yellow capsule form but tablets are a hit or miss in terms of sensitivity. I also react to penicillin tablet. My aunt nearly died from penicillin so as a precaution my family doctors avoid prescribing me the penicillin family of antibiotics. 
 

@Elizabeth86 my swim rash starts off being itchy and hives may appear later. I would assume it is the antibiotics in your case. My swim rash is almost immediate.

[wathe]

The problem with urticaria is that it can be caused by just about anything.

Antibiotic can cause it.

Other medications can cause it.  NSAIDs like ibuprofen are common offenders.

Viral illness itself can cause it.

Bacterial illness itself can cause it.

Food can cause it.

Environmental exposures can cause it.

And sometimes it just happens for no apparent reason.

It's often impossible to figure out.  

People are generally very quick to blame antibiotics:  Of adults who claim penicillin allergies (which is a a lot, about 5-10% of the population) , it turns out that when challenged with testing, only 5-10% of those who claim penecillin allergy actually have penicillin allergies, and  90% of those who claim PEN allergies actually test neg and go on to tolerate PEN.  Some were probably legit allergies that have desensitized over time ("outgrown"), but it's likely that a great many were never allergic to PEN in the first place --- had a viral illness that caused urticaria and were also on abx (that they didn't actually need) and the abx got blamed.

It's also common for drug reactions to erupt later in the course of a drug.  Nobody is ever allergic to anything on their very first exposrue: allergic reactions involve the body recognizing and allergen that it's seen before and decided it doesn't like.

Curious:  Is this the child with tonsillitis and a negative strep test?  Rather than switching to another antibiotic, it might be worth checking in with your doc to see if abx are actually needed at all.

 

Edited July 25 by wathe