Penicillin is one of the most widely prescribed drugs for treating a host of bacterial infections. Since its discovery in 1928, it has saved the lives of millions of people and helped alter the approach to treating infectious diseases.
Penicillin is an antibiotic that is used to treat illnesses and diseases ranging from pneumonia to scarlet fever to syphilis; it is administered in several different ways. The World Health Organization had identified it as one of the most important medications. However, not everyone can take penicillin, as allergic reactions have been known to occur, sometimes with serious consequences.
While every precaution is taken to ensure that healthcare providers are properly identifying those who are allergic to this drug, a story from NBC News finds that some penicillin allergies might have been misdiagnosed.
According to the report, millions who have been told that they are allergic to penicillin may not be. Some of those who were diagnosed as children may have outgrown their penicillin allergies. For others, the diagnosis may have simply been wrong. In either event, retesting may be in order, particularly if the individual has a condition that their healthcare provider could treat with penicillin.
How Doctors Test for Penicillin Allergies
Identifying someone as penicillin-allergic happens out of an abundance of caution. If a rash or other symptom appears after taking the drug, the doctor will take their patient off it and enter an allergic reaction diagnosis in his or her record. The flaw in this approach is that it often fails to account for other factors that may have caused the reaction. As such, millions face a dilemma when they have an illness and are not permitted to take penicillin. They either have to take a less effective drug or risk taking one with side effects that are more severe.
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| Doctors can use a skin test to determine whether a patient is truly allergic to penicillin. Source: medlineplus.gov |
Fortunately, there is a simple and easy solution. Those who have been identified as allergic to penicillin should request a skin test to make sure the diagnosis was correct. If it comes back as negative, then low doses of the drug can be administered, under medical supervision, to verify the penicillin skin test results. If there are no side effects, the penicillin-allergic label can be removed, clearing the way for a greater range of treatment options.
For a process that only takes about three hours, the life-saving rewards make it time well spent.
