Rash from Amoxicillin

I recently went to the doctor to find out that I had mono and strep throat. The doctor had given me amoxicillin which is the reason I had to change doctors. Not only did the amoxicillin make my throat close up to the point where I could barely breath, I broke out in "the rash from hell" from head to toe. I am currently on steroids and benadryl but both seem to not be doing anything because my rash gets worse every day. I have tried all sorts of anti-itch creams and none of them work either. I have been told it's because it was a drug induced rash and therefore no cream will help anyways. I would much rather still have strep throat than to have to live with this most itchy rash I have ever encountered. If there is anyone that knows how I can get rid of this horrible rash, please let me know!

[who_is_this]

I should die down in a couple of weeks.  When I developed a penicillin allergy, I had the same thing.  I took Benadryl around the clock for weeks until it went away.  Very important to take the Benadryl religiously every 4 hours, day and night if you want the best symptomatic relief.  It will eventually get better.

[cooper892]

Although Benadryl can be very affective it will cause you to sleep all day if you take it ever four hours.

[Nay1415]

I used to be alleric to amoxicillin and everything in the cillin family plus all the other antibiotics. I wasw once hospitalized for the doctors assistant who accidently forgot to look at my chart and gave me amoxicillin on accident. I had rashes all over my body and I swelled up like a balloon.

[georgeofarmer]

My 12 year old has been taking Amox for a week for a sinus infection, had t once this evening and now has rashes and itching all over.  He came home from a field trip and was red in his face when we picked him up at school, which was before he had taked the antibotic (antibiotic) today.  Now he is red in hands and feet.  Is this related to the AMOX perhaps since it hasn't been taken correctly...parents fault I guess???  Could be a change in laundry detergent?

[Cerise]

Sounds like you are allergic to penicillin. Welcome to the club. Just stop taking the drug, and the symptoms will die down over time.

[ureallyannoyme]

Knowing that it will die down over time doesn't help when it itches like hell and you can't sleep and nothing makes it stop and you want to peel your skin off. Antibiotics saved my life - literally - but the rash was worse than the sepsis it was treating.

[Harisuthan]

We the Grand Parents and the parents had the most harrowing Christmas when our two and half year old grandson had the worst allergic reaction to Amoxicillin. That little baby had severe rash and swelling all over the body and he could barely stand or sit. We spend the whole of Christmas eve and the Christmas day praying to God help us and our grandson get over this nightmare of agony. We rushed him twice to the emergency (once on the Christmas eve and the second time on the Christmas day ) only to realize that not much can be done to get rid of the allergy or sooth the child who was feeling itchy all over. I am sending you all this message at 4.42 am watching my grandson shivering and complaining that he is not feeling well. We sit in prayers wondering why couldn't there be a system to warn the parents and especially the Doctors about the potential allergy issues so that they can watch out for any symptoms and to stop the administration of the medicine in good time and get the necessary medical help before the hell break loose. I feel the responsibility of warning the world lays more with the Drug manufacturer more than any one else. Apparently since the complaints about this drug has been in existence for over an year,  I earnestly wish some one with a good legal background take up this issue so that many a children and their parents could be saved of this agony.

[GAPilot]

My 8 yr old daughter just had a reaction to Amoxicillin after 8 days of use for the treatment of Strep.  I took her to our family physician and he gave her a steroid shot.  The rash dissapeared within 4 hours of the shot.  He also suggested, which we have followed, administer over the counter Claritin for children during the day; and Benydryl for children at night time.

[kloklo]

My dentist prescribed me the drug for my left third molars and after 5 days I feel a bit itchy all over... I take one pill every 8 hours (1g) and I'll have to take them for 3 more days.

Anyway I called to my dentist and he said that I'm not allergic (I felt like I was paranoid for a moment)  yet that damn rash is still killing me. My cousin on the other hand, who's a doctor, told me that I probably am...

[purplejojo73]

My 14 month old has just finished amoxicilin on monday for a chest infection (he has had amoxicilin 3 times before with no problems) and Wednesday he started with a few spots, my husband took him to the docs who thought it may be the start of chicken pox, but to keep an eye on him and that he was fine to go to nursery. Nursery rang later that day to say that we had better go get him as he was getting worse. When my husband picked him up he looked a mess, big red patches everywhere. the doc said that is was an alergic (allergic) reation and to get him some periton. this morning, he looks worse than ever, his face is swollen and red and he sounds like he is getting a cold.  The doctors cant see him till this afternoon, its a nightmare. I dont understand how after he has had the medicine 3 times before only now he has a reaction.

[Dark_Bloody_Fallen_Angel666]

I went to the after hours clinic cause i had a fever of 103.9 and i couldn't breathe and i was freezing and coughing and my throat was swollen and...... anyways, they prescribed me amoxicillin. That was the day before yesterday. Last night i started getting this red,... speckled bloody looking rash on my thighs. It had moved up my hips, stomach, chest, and now my neck by this morning. Am i allergic? I can breathe just fine now. The swelling in my throat is going down. My fever broke. I'm only a litle itchy and kinda sore. Does that mean i'm allergic?

[BridgeGuy]

Same rash symptons here.  It is horrific!  Only it was from Clyndamycin. Another Penecillin derivative.  Stopped the cycle and the rash continues 3 weeks later.  Doctor essentially said that my body will bounce back, but that it will take months.  The only thing that seems to help is a healthy diet and no booze. lots of water, fish, vitamins, fish oil tabs and a multi.  It flares up when I drink booze or eat a poor diet for even just one day.  Probably a silver lining somewhere there.

[Kaganh]

An amoxicillin rash is NOT an allergic reaction. A penicillin allergy is extreme and can be deadly.  It will have other symptoms associated with it, and often requires an emergency room visit at the least.  What most of you seem to be referring to is a common amoxicillin rash.  It is a side effect, not an allergic reaction.  You should ALWAYS get it checked out, but it seems many of you are jumping to conclusions and using a layman's diagnosis.  Again, Amoxicillin rashes appear in as many as 10% of people taking the medication.  It dissapears in a few days, and in most all cases, will not recur with future use.  I'd hate to see people jumping to conclusions and not properly treating bacterial infections because of misinformation.  The infection itself is significantly more dangerous to health.

[alfons]

Re the rash from amoxycillan: I took a course of these tabs for a toothe abcess (abscess)...I was on 3 x 500mg a day. I had taken a course of 3x250mg a day about a month earlier. I got the second course from a family member who had been given them for a chest infection that cleared up on its own about a week earlier. On about day 5, I woke up with a very itchy spot on my shoulder..within a couple of hours it had spread over most of my body. I took some anti histamines. Over the next few days i was basically goin through the worst thing i have ever encountered! My hands and feet were very sore..i coudnt put much pressure on either...they felt bruised. I felt as if i was burning up and the rash had spread all over my body...i was up several nights scratching and could feel lumps like pebbles under my skin at the back of my legs...i started to get these hives all over...they would come in clusters...like circular things...horrible. I got no sleep at all for around a week...felt like my skin was on fire. I would have half my body out the quilt and half in. I had to alternate...as the parts that were out became cold and the parts that were in felt like they were burnin...I took anti histamnines for around a week...which seemed to help. I also took cool baths which helped aswell. I eventually cut all my finger nails off too. I read somewhere on the net that the rash had something to the amox killing my bodys good as well as bad bacteria...The post i read suggested eating some pro biotic food while takin amox. I got my mum to get me some activia yoghurts from the shop and ate 2 of them...I can honestly say that the rash started to fade within a couple of hours! Whether this was because of these yogurts or the fact that it had run its course i don't know. alls i can say is that i never want to go through that again...it was horrible! If anyone has got this problem it will pass...but it doesnt seem that way when you have it...I hope this helps. PS. I am also a type 2 diabetic.

[nogossipzone]

Sounds like you are allergic to penicillin. I had the identical reaction, scared the crap out of me but it passed. I now tell Dr's when I see them that I am allergic to  penicillin.  No big thing.

[CT2069]

i had this issue and turns out i was wrongly diagnosed with a sinus issue when i actually had glandular fever, which causes a terrible rash and reaction when treated with Amoxicillin. Turns out my doctor didn't check my records and notice i was allergic to all Penicillin medication as well. i ended up in A+E after my rash spread rapidly (about an hour) from where it started on the tops of my arms to over my entire body. my face was swelling, and throat closing. it took several injections of Steroids and Quortozone to stabilise me. not to mention my cocktail of tablets i have to now take daily to keep my reaction down. its quite common for this to happen, just not this severe, so i'd recommend going and getting looked over again by a doctor, just in case your taking something that is actually going to make you worse.

[Caine2000]

actually your wrong i got bumps all over my arms and legs and the doctor said it was an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin

[luke259]

we both have a connection. I have a rash to. And it is in cause to amoxicilin. The reason why was a year ago i got strep throat and my glands in my neck started to swell. I got an antibiotic to clear it up from my doctor. But she found that i had an ear infection and gave me another antibiotic. In the Morning when i took it i went to school and when i was righting an essay my hands had a rash on it and then my face. By the time i went home and i looked in the mirror, my whole body was covered with it. I couldn't go to school the next day and i visited my doctor. She said that the rash was not from her antibiotic. The next day i was rushed to the emergency room. And to my suprise the reason why i got this rash was because of mono. Mono is a virus passed down from person to person from mouth and touch contact. The reason why you have this rash is because of the Mixture between AMOXICILIN AND MONO CAN CAUSE A DRUG RASH. My suggestion is get plenty of rest go to hospital and get checked for mono. Though after you take the steroid and benadryl get rest. Then get outside and play. Play sports, your rash is NOT CONTAGIOUS BY CONTACT. SO tell your friends that. Also don't share food drinks or put anything in your mouth that anyone else touched before you.

[marrigold]

took antibotics for water infection ( only 2 ) and next day my hards r swollen and burning , and my feet r the same with the redness getting worse going further up the foot , can hardlly walk on then so sore . like pins in hands and feet . any one know how long it lasts please? thanks tracy

[maggie0505]

About two months my pcp prescribed ciprofloxacin hcl 500 mg (antibiotic) for 14 days, because I had a urinary tract infection.  About 5 days after completing the antibiotic prescribed for me, I decided to make sure the infection was gone, so I took amox-clav that was prescribed for my mother.  That was the worse mistake I made because it never occurred it was penicillin related.  Mind you, I am allergic to penicillin.  About 2 days later I am trying to figure out why I am short of breath, raspy voice, a few bumps were on my arms, unexplained bruising on my arm and leg. I finally went to the doctor because the rash got worse and then spread over my stomach; thought it was some kind of insects bites at first, and dr told me it was an allergic reaction to something(?) so she wrote me a prescription for hydroxyzine hcl 25 mg to take at bedtime as needed.  I called the dr two days later to tell her I remembered that I had taken amox-clav and Iam allergic to penicillin.  She told me to continue taking the meds, benadry about very 6 hours but not more than 3 a day.  It is one week later and the rash has gotten worse and about to drive me crazy.  My pcp told me to drink plenty of water and it would have to wear out of my system.  I talked to my friend today who is a nurse and she told me that I need to go back to the doctor. I will never do this again; just was not thinking and I know I am not supposed to take someone else's meds. It has cost me dearly.