PENICILLIN ALLERGEY

PENICILLIN ALLERGEY Penicillin is an antibiotic which is taken in cases of skin rashes and other bacterial infections. It is not used in raw form; instead there are medicines in which penicillin is used as a sole ingredient. But there are seen cases where use of penicillin causes allergenic side effects. Penicillin allergy is caused when allergic reactions are seen due to the overreaction of the body’s immune system towards penicillin antibiotics

Symptoms
The allergic symptoms of penicillin intolerance are common to most allergies. They are listed below.

• Penicillin is used as an antibiotic for curing skin rashes, but sometimes penicillin allergy can itself cause rashes on the superficial skin.
• There are hives seen as side effect allergy of penicillin consumption.
• Along with skin deformities, the eyes and nose also suffer from signs of penicillin allergy. Eyes experience itchiness and burning. They go red. Nasal irritation and runny nose are also symptoms of penicillin allergy.
• If there is oral intake of medicines inclusive of penicillin, then symptoms of its allergy could show swelling in lips and tongue.
• There are red and itchy bumps developed on the facial front as a result of penicillin intolerance.
• The occurrences are rare, but there are cases of penicillin allergy when severities like anaphylaxis are seen. This means that the person has difficulty breathing.
• Symptoms of anaphylaxis include wheezing, dizziness, unconsciousness, weakening of pulse, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and so on.

What makes you more likely to have a severe allergic reaction to penicillin?
Severe allergic reactions to penicillin can be dangerous and life-threatening. You may be more likely to have this type of reaction if you have had:

• A positive skin test for penicillin allergy.
• Hives that appeared quickly after you took the penicillin.
• A previous anaphylactic reaction to penicillin.

If any of these apply to you, you should receive another antibiotic or undergo desensitization
therapy. In this type of therapy, you start taking small amounts of the penicillin and gradually increase how much you take. This lets your immune system "get used to" the medicine, and you may no longer have an allergic reaction. Desensitization may have to be repeated if you have to use the antibiotic again in the future (desensitization doesn't last long).
You are not likely to develop an anaphylactic reaction to penicillin if you have had a rash that looks like measles that appeared from a few hours to days after you took penicillin.

Causes
Allergy is overreaction of immune system to any foreign material. People who are more prone to penicillin allergy are ones belonging to any of the following categories:

• Having had a positive penicillin allergy skin test
• Having hives on the skin within one hour of penicillin consumption
• Having a previous record of penicillin intolerance

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Is penicillin allergy common?
· Penicillin antibiotics are the most common cause of drug allergies. Some people who are allergic to penicillin are also allergic to other closely related antibiotics, including cephalosporins, such as cephalexin, cefprozil, and cefuroxime. Ask your pharmacist or doctor about these antibiotics.
· Many people who believe that they have an allergy to penicillin do not. They currently may be less sensitive to penicillin than they once were, or they may have had an adverse reaction, such as a side effect, rather than an allergic reaction. A skin test is the best way to find out whether you have a penicillin allergy
 

Treatments

One treatment of penicillin allergy is immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is a technique in which those allergens are injected in small amount in the patient’s body, from which the patient suffers allergy. This is to make the immune system of the person to get habituated to this kind of material. Same thing could be done in case of penicillin allergy. Initially, small amounts of penicillin are taken and gradually the contents are increased, till the body becomes ignorant to moderate penicillin amounts. Also, epinephrine shots are also used to relieve the signs of penicillin allergies. When a height of discomfort is reached, which does not get cured by epinephrine, anti- histamines as well as corticosteroids can be used for intravenous injection. One can control mild symptoms of penicillin allergy by diluted anti- histamines which do not need to be prescribed. If one is a regular patient of penicillin allergy, then the allergy kit provided to them must be carried along if leaving the residence for a longer period. If conditions are very severe, a doctor must be seen soon.
If you use penicillin and then develop hives and trouble breathing or other symptoms of anaphylaxis, call emergency services immediately.
For emergency treatment, people typically get an epinephrine shot. If symptoms do not go away, you may need more shots. You may also have antihistamines and corticosteroids put directly into a vein (intravenously).
If you have a mild allergic reaction, you may control your symptoms with antihistamines that you can buy without a prescription. But you may need prescription medicine if those over-the-counter medicines don't help or if they cause bothersome side effects, such as drowsiness. If you have had a previous serious reaction to penicillin, you should carry and know how to use an allergy kit, which contains a shot of epinephrine.

Commonness of penicillin allergy
Penicillin is the most common element used in antibiotics. Along with this allergy, many people invite other drug allergies too – like allergies to cephalosporins. And always is the supposed penicillin allergy not what it seems from the symptoms. It may be a temporary reaction, but not penicillin allergy.

What helps?

Minimise the risk by taking great care and being vigilant. If you are food allergic, read labels like Sherlock Holmes: look for the "hidden" allergen. You can easily recognise a packet of peanuts but may miss the word "groundnuts" in tiny print on the side of a tin of curry sauce, or the Latin term arachis used to signify the presence of peanut in pharmaceutical products. If you are food-allergic, be assertive about asking for detailed information from manufacturers and supermarket staff. Be particularly careful in restaurants, where proprietors are under no obligation to list ingredients. Question staff very directly. It may be necessary to speak with a senior manager. Some restaurants have ingredient lists available for you to check. You may wish to telephone the restaurant in advance to ensure your allergy is taken seriously. Be alert to all symptoms and take them seriously. Reach for the adrenaline (epinephrine) if you think you are beginning to show signs of a severe reaction. Do not wait until you are sure. Even if adrenaline is administered, you will still need to get to hospital as soon as possible. Someone must call an ambulance. Make sure others in your family know how to administer the adrenaline kit - and when. Do not be frightened of adrenaline. It is a well-understood drug. The dose you will administer has very few side effects, which will pass quickly in any case. However, if you have heart difficulties, discuss these with your doctor. Develop a crisis plan for how to handle an emergency. Get your allergist or GP to help. Have this written out for family and friends - put it on the bulletin board at home; carry one in your pocket. If a child is the person at risk, make sure his teachers and friends' parents have a copy - along with the adrenaline. Make sure everyone knows where the adrenaline is when you go out, or when you are at home. Wear a Medic Alert talisman Be open about your allergy problem with your family, friends and colleagues. It's easy to avoid a Thai, Chinese or Indian restaurant if everyone knows you are allergic to peanuts.

Penicillin Allergy Is A Serious Problem
Many years ago, people routinely died with infections because penicillin had not been discovered and used by many doctors for their patients. Once this miracle drug was perfected for use by the medical professionals, people lived much longer on average. Most people have taken this medicine at some point in their lives, and they have probably given this to their children and other family members. Although many people benefited from this great drug, there are some people who cannot take this drug because they have a penicillin allergy. This helpful drug can be dangerous for those with a penicillin allergy.
Someone who takes this drug with a penicillin allergy might suddenly break out in a terrible rash because of the effects of the drug. Other people with a penicillin allergy could experience trouble breathing if they have a penicillin allergy. This reaction to a penicillin allergy could actually be a lethal reaction to this usually healing drug. A penicillin allergy is the most common drug allergy. The medical experts who study drugs have never found out why this drug could cause a reaction in some people. These experts do know that anyone with a penicillin allergy should almost never take this drug.
Patients With A Penicillin Allergy Must Use Alternative Drug Therapies
People with an allergy to the medicine would often end up in an emergency room if they took the drug before they knew that they had an allergy to the drug. This was a disadvantage for these people because of the great benefits of the drug. Penicillin has been a miracle drug that has saved many lives so it may seem worrisome at first that some people cannot take this drug. Fortunately, the same group of experts that came up with penicillin have also come up with alternative drug therapies that produce the same healing results without the adverse effects for those with a penicillin allergy.


People who are allergic to penicillin are not necessarily allergic to other drugs. Once people realize that they have an allergy to penicillin, they should enter this information in all of their medical records. Their doctors must know about this problem. The doctors will be able to prescribe other drugs for the people with the allergic reactions to penicillin. Sometimes penicillin must be given to those with an allergy to the drug. The doctors will then use the drug, but they will put the patient through a process to make sure that the patient will not have the allergic reaction. This must be done with careful and constant supervision by a qualified medical expert.
 
References
Archer GE, Polk RE (2005). Treatment and prophylaxis of bacterial infections. In DL Kasper et al., eds., Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 16th ed., pp. 789–806. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Dykewicz MS, Gray HC (2006). Drug allergies. In DC Dale, DD Federman, eds., ACP Medicine, section 6, chap. 14. New York: WebMD.
McNeil D (2007). Allergic reactions to drugs. In RE Rakel, ET Bope, eds., Conn's Current Therapy, pp. 908–911. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders.
Solensky R (2006). Drug hypersensitivity. Medical Clinics of North America, 90(1): 233–260.