Yes, penicillin allergies are real. Common symptoms include diarrhea and nausea and in rare cases, anaphylactic shock.
You might have had an abnormal reaction to a dose of penicillin when you were younger. You may be wary about taking any further penicillin-based shots. But chances are, your immune system has already outgrown it, or you never had the allergy in the first place. And avoiding penicillin shots unless you are ACTUALLY allergic can have severe consequences on your health.
The actual problem among the general populace is that most may not really know if they are actually allergic and if they still are. And their physicians are to blame, in part.
A new clinical study suggests worrying trends – many physicians who treat patients with “penicillin allergy” may not fully grasp its symptoms or diagnosis.
Many may not even be aware that the immune system would eliminate the allergy over time. And they generally don’t recommend allergy testing, or fully understand how to find out if the patient is still allergic.
What You Should Know
In a research study published in a lead medical journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), it was found that out of the 276 surveys completed by (non-allergist) physicians and their assistants, nurse practitioners and pharmacists, more than 80% of the general practitioners had a referral to an allergist for testing any reported case of penicillin allergy.
Despite that, these subjects had either never referred their patients to an allergist or did so less often.
The obvious part of the research was that the pharmacists, who were surveyed, owing to their education in pharmacology, had a better overall technical knowledge of the diagnosis of penicillin allergy.
78% of the pharmacists knew penicillin allergy can resolve over time. While only 55% of the non-allergist physicians did so.
Between 10-20% of Americans believe they have a penicillin allergy. While these numbers might be significantly lower in Asian groups as per previous studies documented in reputed journals.
Misconceptions & Risks
As per the medical organisations, nine out of ten people who think they have penicillin allergy are avoiding it for no reason. This is probably because they might have reported symptoms such as diarrhea and nausea when they were children, and wrongly attributed them to penicillin allergy whose diagnosis is similar. This could have lead to their parents or physicians recommending against taking further flu shots.
However, even in people with documented allergy to penicillin only 20%, as per the report, were still allergic ten years after their initial reaction.
Every bad medical decision accumulates into bigger consequences. People with penicillin reactions are often prescribed substitutes, which may have lethal side effects.
Conclusion
The research concludes that more than 90% with diagnosable penicillin allergy can tolerate penicillin-based antibiotics due to its low and waning potency.
An allergy specialist can identify a true drug allergy and determine what antibiotics are available for safe and effective treatment. If the patient isn’t allergic and the allergist finds that out, the patient can safely avoid any substitutes and lethal consequences apart from reducing costs.
It is necessary that general, non-allergist physicians are trained to diagnose and treat the allergy properly.
