Allergies - Somerset,NJ

My daughter's allergic to amoxicillin too. I didn't go to an allergist to find that out nor did I agree to give her anything for it. We just added it to the list of things she is allergic to and don't give it to her again.

She takes Omnicef for any ear infections or sinus infections. That works great.

Nanc

P.S. My family and I are allergic to Zyrtec, Flonases, and Claritin...lol.

Did he ever get water into his ears during a bath? Why don't you put small cotton balls into his ears with a shower cap big enough to cover his ear, pull over his head, to cover the other ear. Sometimes, when a small child develops a fever he would also get ear infection.

Hi C.,

My son had the same problem, so when I took him to the hospital they just gave him Benadryl. It was gone in minutes. I only see them when he take antibiotics which means he is alergic to some of them. (strong ones) I would ask your doctor, it should be fine. Good Luck! :)

Hi- Its not the antibiotics if its still happening. Get back to the allergist or get a new one. Just wanted to add that food allergies can occur (and usually do) even if the child has been having the food with no problems before. It did with us. My son was on Milk for a month before he developed a severe allergy to it- and then eggs. It sounds like a food allergy, an environmental allergy would be more likly to be seen where there was contact- if it was laundry detergent then it would be where the clothes touched his skin. Good luck, allergies are tricky to figure out!

i'd get him off of everything. if it was an allergic reaction to the meds, why zyrtec...that's for seasonal allergies, not for a reaction to meds. let it run it's course. the body should heal itself.

My daughter was sick with a high fever.. and I gave her Motrin.. well day 1 - she came and told me she felt funny.. I could'nt believe what I saw.. her face was all swollen, her lips and eyes where huge... she also developed hives. I went to the emergency room.. and they gave her a shot and put her on benedryl. In about 1 hour she was better. They told me no motrin or advil only tylenol. Well she was ok for a few days.. and then it happened again.. after she ate a grapefruit. I was flipping. This continued for about 2 months and I told the dr. .. he felt she would grow out of it.. that maybe she should just stay away from Motrin for the time being. He thought the fever caused the problem and it would go away on its own. Well she broke out every few weeks.. not consistently.. and Benedryl would work all the time.. but she was always tired from benedryl. I took her to an allergist to make sure.. and he did tests.. it turned out that it was due to her fever.. it messed up her body inside.. and it would right itselft on it's own. It took 1 year. It's been 2 years.. and she hasn't swelled up at all or had hives. So I guess - it will fix itself in time.. try Kids Benedryl.. you don't have to take it all the time.. only when you first see hives.. give him about 1/2 teas.. or whatever you dr. says.. it should help.. it also helps with naps.. they get very sleepy!! good luck

My son also got a rash with amoxicllin, but not augmentin which is another penicillin based drug. Allergies to penicllin often run in families, there is no way to test for sure anymore according to my son's pedi and allergist. I was also told that rashes can be a common side effect of amoxicilin. You may want to take your son to an allergist though, to test for other allergies, since the half life of antibiotics is not long and it should be mostly out of his system by now. Maybe it is related to something else and it was just coincidental to the last day of antibiotics when it started. My son has been on zyrtec on and off since the age of 2, but more recently the MD's want me to keep him on all the time it to prevent his asthmatic symptoms since allergies are a trigger. It is safe to keep taking, but it is a drying medication. Make sure you son drinks alot and eats plenty of fruits and veggies so he does not get constipated from it. I can't bathe him daily or his skin will get too dry and have to make sure I lotion his arms, legs and back.

Hello Cyerene,

Looks like your son is allergic to penicillin. He could also be allergic to something else. however I don't think you can do allergy testing while still taking the zyrtec. you may have to go a few more weeks. also, think about anything you might have changed around the time he got the allergic reaction. new foods, new cleaners, new shampoo, baby soap, etc. did you get a new perfume, etc. anything that comes in contact with him or with you. new lotion, etc. anything and everthing is a suspect now until you figure it out. by the way, my son got ver hyper when he was on zyrtec. he can't do that one. Good luck and keep looking until you figure out what its. ~Carmen~

This reaction can be from a million things. It could be from the Amoxicillin or something he is eating or something he comes in contact with. allergies are difficult to determine - it takes a bit. But I would try childrens Benedryl. Zyrtec is also a histime blocker, but see if the benedryl works. My daughter who is now 5 1/2 out of the blue became allergic to cold water and cold weather (at 3 1/2). It was so scary we were at a pool party, she was in a baby pool that was filled with hose water and she broke out in hundreds of hives. I was in a panic. I thought she got bit by something. I gave benedryl. 30 mins later gone. Then 1 week later we go to the beach - same thing happens. It's called Cold induced Uticaria. So if it's cold out whatever is exposed to the cold air gets hives. There is no blood test to determine this. It's trial and error. But in your sons case sounds like more of a food or contact related incident. If it was the amoxicillan it should be clear after 5 days of his last dose. I have a friend who has a daughter that is now 5 and everytime she has a cold or infections, within 2 days of it going away, she develops hives that last about a week. she had to keep a log to determine what the trigger was and the allergist said seems like her body reacts this way after having a cold or fever. I think you should avoid amoxicillian for him until you determine what this is. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but my point of all this is you should get food allergy testing if it comes out negative, then the rest is trial and error.

What is the allergic reaction too? If it was the amoxicillian then be warned the next time will most likely be worse. If you feel it was to the meds then don't give the meds again. The "siblings" of amox may also cause reactions. I wouls be concerned it was the meds. Sounds like what happened to me when I took Penicillian as a child. My reaction was VERY severe and I have never taken Penicillian or the "siblings" since. The doctors told my mom the next time could be life threating.

However, if you can find a different source of the allergic reaction then is it something that can be (re)moved, or is it seasonal? Talk to your pediatrician about the zyrtec and see what they suggest. A.

Hi C.,

I don't know about the hives and why they have persisted for so long, but I can tell you that MY almost-4 year old has been on a daily dose of Zyrtek for almost 3 years now. Poor little guy inherited allergies from both sides of the family! Doctors are SO careful about watching their own behinds to avoid lawsuits; I'm sure that if you were told to keep giving it the doctor is confident that it's OK to do so.

Poor baby! I hope he gets relief from those hives soon!

T.

Hi C., If your child has allergies in general, Zyrtec is helpful (my grandchildren take it) If it was just given to calm down the hives, I do not think he should keep taking it unless advised by the doctor. I think you need to go back to the doctor. My best, Grandma Mary

While I have not experienced the symptoms that you describe, my son is also taking Zyrtec for allergies. He started taking it at 11 months and has been on it everyday since (he is currently 3 1/2). We have talked about stopping him when he seems to not be bothered by his allergies, but they seem to be year round. As far as we have been told by the doctor, it isn't good to take it when you don't need to (ie. when your allergies aren't acting up) but it is ok to take as long as you need to.

If your son was on the antibiotic for 10 days before developing the rash, I highly doubt that it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic.! Also, if the rash is still coming back when you discontinue the Zyrtec, the antibiotic that he took probably has nothing whatever to do with it. Any antibiotic that he took would definitely be out of his system by now!

I have dealt with terrible allergies my whole life, both in myself and with my son, who is now grown. My guess would be that your son is allergic to something else in your home, or that he's eating, and the only way to clear up the rash while stopping the Zyrtec is to find out exactly what it is. Is there anything else that is new in your home that would have been brought in, or occurred around the same time that he started with the rash?

Have you used any new laundry detergent on his clothes, or different cleaning products, or things like that? Have you gotten a new pet? Or did you start him on any sort of different foods around that time. Even using a different brand of food could be suspect, as preservatives added to the food may be different.

If you can't narrow anything down as a possible cause, then I would take him back to the allergist, and tell the doctor that you want allergy tests done to determine the cause.

While Zyrtec may be perfectly safe for him to take long-term, it is only masking the problem, not getting rid of it, and the longer he is exposed to the allergen, the more allergic to it he will become.

Once allergy testing has determined the cause, hopefully it will be something easy to keep him away from, such as a cleaning product, detergent, or something that he's eating. But he could also have developed an allergy to an airborne allergen, such as dust or mold, and if that turns out to be the case, then allergy shots on a weekly basis will build up his immunity to the allergen, and the rash should go away.

This is not something that you should just continue to give him medication for and wait it out. Not doing something now will just allow the allergy to become much worse!

I, myself, have an allergy to mold, which developed in my 20's, and before I began taking the injections, I had hives all over me the size of apples. I itched constantly, even taking medications. Today, after having the injections for a period of time, the allergy is controlled and seldom bothers me, so I would highly recommend this plan as something that you should undertake as soon as possible.

Zyrtec is great but it usually stops working after a month or so anyway. For some reason your body doesn't respond to it after a while. That's what my daughters asthma doctor told her and boy was I disappointed when they were right.
You should find out if this was an allergic reaction to the antibiotic because you don't want him going through this again and he may not be able to get certain vaccines if this was an allergic reaction.

My daughter who was 7 at the time, had the same thing happen to her. She was sick and on amoxicillin. She was almost done with the antibiotic when she broke out in hives all over her body!! It turned out she was allergic to the amoxicillin!! She had the rash for probably 2 1/2 weeks before if finally all went away! But she had taken that antibiotic many times, and then finally I guess her body had enough and had a reaction! But I would definitely consider talking to your pediatrician about it. Next time it could be worse. Hope this helps.

My son has seasonal allergies and takes Zyrtec everyday. I can't tell as far as the hives go but the Zyrtec has been great relief for my son. Last year he was admitted to the hospital twice but since he's been on the Zyrtec what a change. Sorry I couldn't help more, just wanted you to know it's safe.