cephalexin allergy

[sandi88]

my son just took cephalexin.  He now has swollen eyes and lots of redness.  Is this an allergy?  Now what?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Swollen and redness of eyes and skin immediately after taking cephalexin is a clear cut evidence of an allergic reaction to cephalexin.

Pls stop giving this medicine and give benadryl or Claritin to your child immediately and take your child to a doctor or your PCP as soon as possible.oral steroids are to be given and if symptoms become severe then I/V(intravenous)steroids may be needed.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep us posted on how your son is doing or if you have any additional queries.

[boomerbelle]

Yeas ago, my son (3 years at the time, 33 years ago) was sick with a bad cold.  The doctor put him on a penicillin type antiobiotic.  The next day he developed a rash, so the doctor thinking that it was an allergic reaction, changed his drug to erythromycin.

The next morning, my son had lots of redness and swollen eyes.  I rushed him to another doctor who immediately gave him a shot of a penicillin derivative and put him back on the penicillin type drug.  

My son had developed Scarlet Fever, which is Strep bacteria that has gotten into the blood stream.  Strep produces an erythrotoxin (red toxin) that causes the redness.  It may cause a rash, too.

I would take your child to a doctor immediately.