Flashback Friday: Strep Throat

Spring 1998--Spencer has a fever that won't go away.  We take him to the doctor.
Diagnosis:  Strep Throat
Treatment:  10 day course of amoxicillin
9 days into treatment (on his 3rd birthday):  he wakes up covered head to toe in an itchy rash

Diagnosis:  Spencer is allergic to penicillin

Flash forward 12 years without a single episode of strep throat....

Spring 2010--Ellie has a fever that won't go away.  We take her to the doctor.
Diagnosis:  Strep Throat (with Scarlet Fever rash)
Treatment:  10 day course of amoxicillin
9 days into treatment (a couple of days before 5th birthday):  she wakes up covered head to toe in an itchy rash (with swollen lips)
Diagnosis:  major déjà vu 
  

RANDOM FACTS ABOUT MEDICINAL ALLERGIES:  According to our pediatrician (and online research) an allergy to a medicine can show up at any time while taking it.  The most severe allergies often occur within a few hours of beginning it, but it is very common for it to take several days of exposure before reacting.  This was Ellie's first time ever needing antibiotics and her reaction was much more severe than Spencer's including swollen lips and face. It was Spencer's third or fourth time taking penicillin before he reacted.  Once somebody has reacted to a medicine, the likelihood of a more serious reaction in the future is much more likely.  Therefore Spencer and Ellie have doctor's orders to avoid penicillin for the rest of their lives. They estimate that up to 10% of the population is allergic to penicillin. 

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