I don’t usually write much about my own health, mostly because I usually think that it’s a boring subject. Not this past weekend, though. Last Saturday, the first day of the first weekend I’d had to myself in 2 weeks, I was sitting right where I am right now, at my computer. I was itching a little on my hands after I had just washed them. I looked down and the sight that I saw was not pleasant. My arms had what I thought were hives; nasty red bumps, the kind you get from an allergic reaction. It got worse with each hour. Now, a day later, from my head to my toes and everywhere in between, I’m covered with an angry red rash, and it itches like crazy. I could barely sleep Saturday or last night from the itching (it seemed to move around, like a forest fire).
The culprit, it turns out, was penicillin (or rather, Amoxicillin, in the same family of antibiotics) The Friday before last week I made a follow-up visit to my dentist, after root canal work the preceding Monday. I didn’t write about it here because aside from the discomfort, it wasn’t all that notable. In order to head off a possible abscess, I’d been taking 3 Amoxicillin a day for about a week. All of the sudden, on day 10, this rash hits.
The clinic was closed on Sunday, but this morning I went in and saw a doctor, who prescribed some antihistamine and Cortisone lotion. Hopefully in a few days I should be better. In the meantime, I look like a disaster (not being able to shower or shave for 3 days doesn’t help either). No photos are necessary, believe me.
I’m now wondering if I’m going to have to wear a Medicalert Bracelet. Being allergic to a raft of foods like my friend Matt would be one thing, but being allergic to Penicillin seems a bit scarier, even though these days the ‘wonder drugs’ are less effective on all of these new super-germs than they used to be. At least this new discovery is not something that will bother me day-to-day (I hope). As I try to keep from scratching and releasing new histamines into my bloodstream, I also try to think of that.
David,
Take it easy and pretend you have chicken pox.
Get the Medic Alert item of your choice. Its worth the price. The next drug reaction could be worse. If you end up in the hospital and can’t talk.…
Cheers,
Al
oh, how grim! I hope the antihistamine etc. do their work soon. And thankfully, there’s the interweb until you’re ready to make your public appearances again 😉
Thanks for the sympathy, Al and Nancy.
I guess a MedicAlert is the order of the day. At least some of them look nice. Something else to take off at the airport security scan, eh?
I’m out in public now. Still itchy, but only slightly spotted, at least if you don’t look closely…
My brother wore one when we were kids but I don’t think he does as an adult.
At least put a note in your wallet. I don’t know how many emergency situations would have someone giving you penicillin?
There is a skin test for it, I think, if you’re not totally sure.
Hi Bethany,
I’ll definitely do the wallet thing, to start with. As for the skin test, the strange thing is that in preparation for the root canal, I went to an allergist to see if I was allergic to… novocaine . I always had experienced unpleasant reactions to the freezing, especially right as they injected the stuff. I’m not allergic to it. It turns out it’s the epinephrine, a hormone that’s added to the cocktail in order to dilate the blood vessels, spread the anesthetic and make it last longer, that can cause nausea and vertigo as the blood rushes from the brain to the vessels being dilated. Some people react to that (including me, I guess). Add that to the psychological discomfort of someone sticking a large hypodermic into your gum or soft palate, and it doesn’t take an immune system to make me toss my breakfast up on the napkin.
I thought the Allergist tested for the more common drugs like the penicillin family while I was there, but apparently he didn’t. Looks like I’ll be making another trip to him to make sure.