toddler allergic to medicine

[tinapastina]

my so nis allergic to PENICILLIN> i took him to the dr tuesday and he had a double ear infrceion. she put him on CEFDINIR and said there was a 5% chance hed have  reation and wednesday (after 3 doses) he broke out in an awful rash. just like he did when he was 11 months old from the penicillin,. he is 2 and a half now. I took him to the dr and we stopped the medicine and i began the 4-6 hrs of benadryl
i just want to know how long will he continue to break out? he goes between 6-8 hours and then will break out. its not nearly as bad as it was wednesday becuase we havent given him that med since wed am.
thank you for your input

[Dr Rajput]

Hi, welcome to the forum, adverse cutaneous reactions to drugs are common encountered now a days esp. if the person has an allergic past history. It is quite evident that your son is allergic to penicillins. Such allergy is seen in as high as 10% of patient ranging from mild rash to severe reactions and depends on the body's magnitude of sensitization to such drugs.

Patients who are allergic to penicillins should avoid all penicillins. Other groups of antibiotics that contain a beta-lactam structure similar to that of amoxicillin or ampicillin, include the cephalosporins, carbapenems, and monobactams. As your son has been given Cefdinir which is a Cephalosporin (Third Generation) and can cause such allergic reaction (cross reactivity).

The allergic reaction keeps on worsening unless the offending drug is discontinued.

Hence, the line of management would be-
- Discontinue the Cefdinir (as already done) - This will subside the reaction within a week.
- Adding of oral anti histamine and corticosteroids against prescription will help subside the allergic reaction
- Avoid future use of above mentioned antibiotics

I suggest you to consult pediatrician. Take care and regards.

[SageStar]

it may take a while for the reaction to go away. as long as it's getting better don't worry too much about it.