Have you experienced an amoxicillin rash?

Hives and antibiotics probably means you had a reaction.

Talk to Dr Now

Stop taking antibiotics and get some Benedryl into you.

But contact Dr and have someone else monitor you for any other symptoms. It can be life threatening.

Any rash from medication is cause to stop taking that medicine immediately. Rash can be extremely serious. If you still have medication left, call your doctor and have him prescribe something else. This is no joke. It can be an emergency.

You need to avoid amoxicillin for life, and you need to be cautious about all penicillins. That does not mean you gave to worry about all antibiotics, just all penicillins. Amox is in the penicillin family.

No but..I just came of a dose of Amoxi-Clav and it just sucked the life force right out of my body. extreme fatigue and tiredness. Septra makes my tongue sore, that’s a nasty one.

I had to stop my amoxicillin right away and go in and get a different sort. The rash was really really uncomfortable. Took closer to two weeks to go away. I can never take that type of antibiotic again.

To be extra clear, rash with any medication is serious. It can be Tylenol. People can have a TENS or other type of serious skin reaction to any drug.

@cazzie Never any antibiotic? Why? You’re allergic to sulfa drugs, and the tetracycline family, and quinolones?

I just don’t want the OP to think this rules out all “antibiotics.”

Yep, a rash all over. Takes a week+ to clear.
I understand that it is a common side effect of this drug.

On the surface, a rash seems more like an inconvenience than a life threatening occurence.

But the rash indicates swelling and can also involve your throat. If it swells too much it can cut off your airway and prevent breathing. It can turn deadly quite suddenly.

An anaphylactic reaction is nothing to regard lightly. You really should be seen by an MD ASAP. go to the ER if necessary.

@cazzie I must have misread what you wrote. I see now you said that type of antibiotic.

Thank you, everyone, for your very helpful information and advice. I’d finished the amoxicillin yesterday morning, some hours before the rash became apparent. So, I don’t have any more pills and certainly won’t be taking any more.

There was no rash at all for nearly 11 days. How interesting that a reaction could take so long to manifest.

@Tropical_Willie, I took a (generic) Benadryl pill, and it worked wonders. Thank you for the tip. I’m still very swollen but no longer being driven mad by itching. @2davidc8, a week, huh? Ugh… @Buttonstc, you’re right about this not being something to take lightly; I’ll seek some medical help tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m hoping the Benadryl suggestion will keep my throat from swelling.

^^Did you start any other medicine?

^^^ Nope, no other or additional medicine.

I’m assuming the Bevadryl you tiook is the typical 25mg. tabs available OTC so don’t hesitate to double up if needed.

It’s a med which has been around for ages and has a wide margin of safety. ( I regularly take a total of 75 mg. in a typical day for my sinuses just as an example.)

About the worst that can happen from a little bit too much Bemadryl is a dry mouth, which is still preferable to ones throat closing up :)

Anyhow, I hope you’re ok and it looks like the last time you’re taking any drug in this family.

^^It’s not just the possibility of ones throat closing up. TENS is when the skin lifts away. The person winds up on the burn unit at the hospital, and a high percentage of people die who get the reaction.

I’m not worried that the OP has it, the OP didn’t mention their skin peeling, but “rash” can mean so many things, and people should know it can be very serious just in terms of what it does to the skin, not just anaphylaxis.

@Love_my_doggie Yep, a week + . Funny thing is, the rash doesn’t start until you’ve finished or just about finished with the pills.

How are you doing? Is the rash any better?

^^^ It’s much better today. I’m guessing that’s because I doubled-up on the antihistamine, not because I’m truly recovering. Thank you for caring and asking.