{"id":37895,"date":"2025-07-25T07:00:43","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T07:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=37895"},"modified":"2025-07-23T20:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T20:04:10","slug":"is-your-child-actually-allergic-to-penicillin-and-similar-antibiotics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/is-your-child-actually-allergic-to-penicillin-and-similar-antibiotics\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your child actually allergic to penicillin and similar antibiotics?","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

When McKenzie Welch was 3 years old, she was prescribed amoxicillin for an infection. Amoxicillin is a penicillin-like antibiotic.<\/p>\n

Shortly after taking the medication, McKenzie developed hives all over her body. Ever since, she has been labeled as allergic to amoxicillin \u2014 and other antibiotics in the penicillin family \u2014 in her medical record.<\/p>\n

McKenzie, now 12, is far from alone. Up to 20 percent of the U.S. population<\/a> carries a penicillin\/amoxicillin allergy label, yet very few \u2014 less than 5 percent \u2014 are truly allergic. Many people lose their sensitivity to these antibiotics over time, while others may be mislabeled as allergic from the start.<\/p>\n

Through MultiCare Mary Bridge Children\u2019s, pediatric patients like McKenzie can now take a dose of amoxicillin under medical supervision to determine if they are truly allergic. This process is called an oral challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw a real need for this service in the community,\u201d says Mary Fairchok, MD, an infectious disease specialist<\/a> at Mary Bridge Children\u2019s Hospital<\/a>. \u201cAn oral challenge to rule out penicillin\/amoxicillin allergy can be safely done in our clinic in low-risk patients, without the need for costly and time-consuming desensitization. Removing this label can be very beneficial for kids who qualify.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penicillin\/amoxicillin allergy labels often start with a rash<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Like McKenzie, most people deemed allergic to penicillin\/amoxicillin get that label after developing a skin rash the first time they take it. The concern is that if someone is truly allergic, they could experience a more severe allergic reaction if they were to take the same antibiotic again.<\/p>\n

But people get rashes for a variety of reasons, and rashes don\u2019t always indicate a dangerous allergy.<\/p>\n

\u201cRashes are a common side effect of medications, and even some supplements, and they can also be caused by the infection itself,\u201d Dr. Fairchok says. \u201cHives, a type of rash, are a common bodily response to infection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes people are mislabeled as allergic to penicillin\/amoxicillin if they experience typical side effects of this type of medication, such as diarrhea or nausea. While unpleasant, these side effects do not indicate an allergy.<\/p>\n

Once a person is considered allergic to penicillin\/amoxicillin, it\u2019s a label that\u2019s likely to follow them for the rest of their lives.<\/p>\n

Why does a penicillin\/amoxicillin allergy label matter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On the surface, being labeled as allergic to penicillin\/amoxicillin may not seem like a big deal, but it can have negative consequences. One problem is that it reduces the number of treatment options available for infections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a person is labeled allergic to this class of antibiotics, providers have no choice but to prescribe non-penicillin alternatives, which may not be the first-line treatment,\u201d Dr. Fairchok says. \u201cThese alternatives may be less effective, are often more expensive and they tend to come with increased potential for side effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Studies show<\/a> that people who have a documented penicillin\/amoxicillin allergy tend to have worse health outcomes \u2014 such as infections that resist treatment \u2014 than those who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

New option for challenging the penicillin\/amoxicillin allergy label<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Traditionally, if you wanted to determine whether you were truly allergic to penicillin\/amoxicillin, you\u2019d need a referral to an allergy specialist for skin testing and desensitization, a lengthy and difficult process. During desensitization, a person receives gradually increasing doses of the antibiotic over time to improve their ability to tolerate it.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the Infectious Disease Society of America and other health organizations have developed recommendations to safely test people at low risk for this allergy through an oral challenge \u2014 where a person takes a dose of penicillin\/amoxicillin in a safe, supervised setting.<\/p>\n

This service is now available (by referral) through our pediatric infectious disease specialists at Mary Bridge Children\u2019s Outpatient Center – Tacoma<\/a>. Patients ages 2-21 are eligible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen our pediatrician told us about this option, we were very interested for McKenzie,\u201d says her mother, Erin Welch. \u201cIt was scary when she developed hives as a little girl, so we steered clear of amoxicillin after that, but sometimes that\u2019s the best remedy. We thought it would be good for her in the long run to find out for certain if she was actually allergic.\u201d<\/p>\n

How a penicillin\/amoxicillin allergy oral challenge works<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once patients are referred for a penicillin\/amoxicillin allergy oral challenge, they\u2019ll undergo an initial screening appointment (typically virtual\/telehealth) to determine if they\u2019re a good candidate for this process.<\/p>\n

Patients who are eligible will go on to receive an oral dose of amoxicillin during an in-person appointment at the clinic while under supervision of medical staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost allergic reactions to penicillin\/amoxicillin occur within an hour of taking the medication, so we monitor patients for that length of time,\u201d Dr. Fairchok says. \u201cIf there is no reaction, we can de-label them as allergic. If there is a reaction, we have the tools to respond and safely care for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rarely, people can experience delayed reactions to these antibiotics, so parents must be available to monitor their children in the 24 hours following the oral challenge appointment, Dr. Fairchok shares.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a good one-on-one conversation with Dr. Fairchok about what was going to happen during this process, and it all went smoothly,\u201d Erin says. \u201cIt turned out that McKenzie had no reaction at all to amoxicillin, so we got to take that label off her medical record. I\u2019ve been telling everyone I know about this option for testing.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in scheduling a penicillin\/amoxicillin allergy oral challenge appointment, ask your child\u2019s health care provider to send a referral to Mary Bridge Children\u2019s Pediatric Infectious Disease Clinic. Visit our Pediatric Infectious Disease page<\/a> to learn more about this medical specialty and the referral process.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When McKenzie Welch was 3 years old, she was prescribed amoxicillin for an infection. Amoxicillin is a penicillin-like antibiotic. Shortly after taking the medication, McKenzie developed hives all over her body. Ever since, she has been labeled as allergic to amoxicillin \u2014 and other antibiotics in the penicillin family \u2014 in her medical record. McKenzie, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":367,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-living","category-kids-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs your child actually allergic to penicillin and similar antibiotics? - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mary Bridge Children\u2019s offers oral challenge appointments to safety and easily assess kids for penicillin\/amoxicillin allergies.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/is-your-child-actually-allergic-to-penicillin-and-similar-antibiotics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is your child actually allergic to penicillin and similar antibiotics? 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