Danielle Penick believed she had been allergic to penicillin since she was a young child. When her paediatrician recommended the antibiotic to treat an ear infection, she experienced a terrible reaction and avoided taking it for decades.
But the alleged allergy became a problem when she developed a sinus infection while pregnant in her early 30s.
Penick, now 38, remembers that the doctor told her that her options were restricted because penicillin is one of the safest medications for expectant mothers.
Penick claims that when she needed an allergy test the most, she was unable to obtain one. Because she would have been exposed to the medicine as part of the test to gauge her immune system’s reaction, doing so might have put her unborn child at risk. A negative reaction, such as her airways closing and preventing her from breathing, could be dangerous for her and result in her unborn child not receiving enough oxygen.
Many people who experience a drug reaction as children do not get further testing, according to experts. However, the initial, negative reaction is frequently not even an allergy. Sometimes the reaction is a sign of the infection or a negative reaction to the medication.
About half of people who are actually sensitive to penicillin will lose their sensitivity or entirely outgrow the allergy within 5 years. After ten years, even more people will overcome their allergy.
According to Zachary Rubin, MD, a paediatrician who specialises in allergy and immunology at Oak Brook Allergists in Chicago, penicillin is the medication allergy that is most frequently reported. However, tests to determine if people are indeed allergic have shown that, on average, nine out of ten persons who claim to be allergic aren’t.
According to Rubin, there are various grounds to reevaluate a penicillin allergy.
The affordable, efficient antibiotic is typically tolerated well. Additionally, studies show that patients with penicillin allergies spend more time in hospitals and are more likely to get sick from germs that are resistant to antibiotics, making it more difficult for treatments to be effective.
Doctors recommend alternative medicines when patients report having an allergy to penicillin. According to studies, those other medications—which are beneficial if you need them—can be more expensive, less efficient, and more likely to result in negative side effects than penicillin.
People can outgrow allergies other than those to penicillin.
According to Payel Gupta, MD, an assistant clinical professor at State University of New York Downstate Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City, food allergies, particularly those to egg and milk, are even more frequently outgrown than drug allergies.
How allergens function
Aside from drugs, other things that people can be allergic to include foods, insect venom, trees, cats, dogs, cosmetics, and more.
Antibodies, which are made by the immune system to help fight infections and keep you healthy, are involved in allergic reactions. Allergens and antibodies respond in the similar ways, however not all allergens are hazardous.
When someone is allergic, their body reacts abnormally to a foreign chemical, such as penicillin or peanuts. Immunoglobulin E, or IgE, is an antibody made by the immune system.
The symptoms of allergies, such as congestion, itchy eyes, hives, wheezing, difficulty breathing, and swelling of the eyes, lips, or tongue, are brought on by the body’s IgE antibodies, according to Gupta.
In essence, the immune system responds to the body’s perception of these allergens as a threat by producing symptoms.
Some allergic reactions are more severe than others, necessitating the carrying of an EpiPen or another epinephrine delivery system. In the event of an anaphylactic reaction, epinephrine, sometimes referred to as adrenaline, helps to relax the muscles of the airways.
According to Rubin, there are numerous reasons why people outgrow their allergies, some of which are still being researched.
With food allergies, the body frequently gradually creates less IgE or reduces the immunological response to the allergen.
How to get evaluated and when
Rubin advises patients to recall the most recent time they were exposed to the allergy in issue. Keep away from it if it happened a month ago. A trip to the doctor might be necessary, though, if the issue started months or years ago.
In particular, if the most recent allergic reaction occurred more than ten years ago, Gupta concurs.
This is especially true for female patients with penicillin allergies who are considering getting pregnant, she adds.
After giving birth to her daughter, Penick scheduled a consultation with her allergist to see whether or not she could safely take penicillin.
Within an hour, she had the answer to her query: She wasn’t medication allergic.
Penick claims that she is now inspired to undergo testing for additional allergens.
She may also be allergic to lidocaine, a numbing chemical used frequently in epidurals and dental treatment. When she shattered her arm in her 20s, she once experienced a negative reaction, but she was never certain if the anaesthesia was to blame.
Knowing that I can obtain some answers has altered the way I think, she claims.
