When Joshua was a little over two years old, he got his first ear infection. When he was nearly finished with his dose of penicillin, I (Rachel) noticed he had a light rash all over his body. Unusually, I took him back into doctor, who said that he just had a minor reaction to one of the inactive ingredients.
Six months later, Joshua was sick again and was given another prescription for penicillin (well, amoxicillin, but not too different). Again, when the infection was cleared up, his body got a rash. This time it was a bold and bright pattern all over his skin, he was puffy, and itched. Since it was the weekend (and we had a brand new baby in the house), I took him into the Urgent Care facility. The doctor there (who, I think was more competent than our regular pediatrician) said he had a classic allergic reaction and gave him some medicine to help with the itch.
Throughout, Joshua was cheerful and aside from scratching a bit and telling us it hurt, gave no indication that he was at all uncomfortable. Since there was no problem, we decided to take him to nursery the next day. What an uproar he caused. He looked awful, and the teachers and parents were understandably concerned that the nasty rash was contagious. After a few days, the rash cleared up and we've been careful to make sure he doesn't have penicillin since then, on the one occasion he's had an infection. Given the rapid escalation of his reaction, I don't want to see what more exposures would do!
When Joshua was a little over two years old, he got his first ear infection. When he was nearly finished with his dose of penicillin, I (Rachel) noticed he had a light rash all over his body. Unusually, I took him back into doctor, who said that he just had a minor reaction to one of the inactive ingredients.
Throughout, Joshua was cheerful and aside from scratching a bit and telling us it hurt, gave no indication that he was at all uncomfortable. Since there was no problem, we decided to take him to nursery the next day. What an uproar he caused. He looked awful, and the teachers and parents were understandably concerned that the nasty rash was contagious. After a few days, the rash cleared up and we've been careful to make sure he doesn't have penicillin since then, on the one occasion he's had an infection. Given the rapid escalation of his reaction, I don't want to see what more exposures would do!
