Should I Continue To Avoid Penicillin Allergy As An Adult?

I Was Told That I Had A Penicillin Allergy As A Baby. Should I Continue To Avoid It As An Adult?

At least 10% of people in the United States believe they are allergic to penicillin based on reports from their parents that they had reactions as infants. While many of these patients did have rashes while taking some form of penicillin as a baby, particularly amoxicillin, much of the time the rash was due to the virus they were infected with rather than the drug. Therefore, these patients were never truly penicillin-allergic to begin with and were mislabeled from an early age. Some of the patients with rashes after taking a penicillin derivative, particularly those with rapid-onset hives, were truly allergic to penicillin.

However, as  time passes, allergic sensitization to drugs tends to wane, and, in the case of penicillin, 80% of patients are no longer allergic 10 years after having had an initial bona fide allergic reaction. In most cases, physicians will opt to treat patients with a childhood history of penicillin allergy with alternative antibiotics. However, in some cases, patients believe they have become allergic to multiple types of antibiotics, including penicillin, and do not feel comfortable taking any antibiotic. In these cases, the best thing to do is seek consultation with an allergist for consideration of penicillin skin testing. If the tests are negative, patients should be able to take penicillin or a derivative with a minimal risk of a systemic reaction.