You Are Probably Not Allergic to Penicillin After All.
For most of my life, I thought I was allergic to penicillin. As a child, I had hives with a dose of this substance, and a family member who also has allergies taught me to look for the allergy section on every medical form I filled out and be sure to write “penicillin” on the line.
But the reason I’m telling you this story is because, as it turns out, I’m not allergic to it. About 10 percent of us are allergic to penicillin on charts, but less than 1 percent of us have legal allergies related to it . And if you can eliminate this fake allergy from your schedule, you will probably find it easier and cheaper in all your future relationships with the medical system.
The real allergy that should remain on your schedule is IgE antibody-related allergy. But most of us who developed a rash after taking penicillin actually had a different reaction, which is linked to IgG antibodies, and which is unlikely to happen if we take the medication again.
Therefore, when I turned to an allergist for another reason and mentioned my possible allergy to penicillin, she ordered a skin test for penicillin. The nurse injected a small amount of penicillin under my skin, and even after 15 minutes of waiting, my skin did not react in any way. This means I have to take home an envelope with a couple of penicillin pills for what is called an oral sample. On the first day, I cut off one of the tablets and pour the resulting dust onto my tongue. The next day I took a third of the pill, the next day two-thirds, and today I will take the full pill. So far, I have not had any reaction, which means that I will most likely be able to eliminate allergies from my schedule.
Why You Should Know If You Really Have Allergies
Penicillin is the best choice for treating many infections, so if you don’t have penicillin, you often end up with something less effective or with more side effects. Many common antibiotics are broad-spectrum, which means they kill many different types of bacteria, but this is usually not what you want. In most cases, it is best to take penicillin because it can kill the insect that is bothering you without disrupting many of the beneficial bacteria in your body.
Alternative antibiotics can also be expensive. One recent study found that if you don’t have penicillin, you are likely to pay $ 14–193 more for prescriptions and $ 1145–4254 more for your hospital stay. Your total costs include both the price of the drug and any medical care associated with side effects or other necessary treatments.
But if you don’t have good insurance, you might be wondering if getting tested at all is worth it. Visiting an allergist is not cheap, and a study from Massachusetts General Hospital found that a penicillin allergy test cost an average of $ 220. It is probably worth it in the long run given the increased life cycle costs, but whether or not to test is up to you.