anybody know anything about reactions to antibiotics?

[democrat in Tallahassee]

Ok, here's the problem. I have a intense phobia about taking antibiotics; I'm afraid that I will have a bad reaction. I;ve been in therapy for about a year and I've made enough progress that I can now take the damned things but I am very nervous about it.
I'm now taking Ceftin (started on Monday) and my face has a few little bumps on it(which probably nobody but me can see) and is a little itchy.
The question is this: if you have a reaction to antibiotics would it be all over the body and is there a certain type of rash that tells a doctor that this is indeed a reaction to antibiotics?

[Maple]

1. Yes

possible side effects to all antibiotics are well known. Usually the doctor warns you ahead of time that you 'may or may not experience' these things, and then lists them....so you know what to ignore.

The side effects are usually minor...short-lived...and much better than the infection the antibiotic is for.

Relax.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

2. Usually allergic reactions to oral medications

start on the trunk and spread to the arms and legs

most of the time the rash consists of small red raised areas with fluid (blebs)

the little bumps on your face could be anything, or it could be the medication

I am not trying to make you paranoid about it, but you may want to call your doctor if you can

[ott]

3. Hope you don't eat meat or consume dairy

While medicine must act to slow the emergence of resistant bacteria, it is equally important to eliminate uses -- primarily agricultural -- whose benefits are economic, not therapeutic. About 25 million pounds of antibiotics are fed every year to livestock for growth promotion and disease prevention, almost eight times the amount given to humans to treat disease. Both the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization have called for an end to the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in agriculture that we depend on in human medicine.

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/antibiotic_resistance/index.cfm?pageID=10

My guess is your rash is psychosomatic. Relax, you're probably consuming no more than normal.

[Lars39]

4. There are reactions you could have besides a rash. Cheery, huh?

I'm having one right now, in fact. If I take any drug with sulfa in it, I get the *dizzies*. I woke up with my brain sliding around in my head. The sulfa passes my brain barrier, and wa la! I'm staggering
all over the place. About the rash... I've seen varying degrees of allergic reactions, but usually they are very hard to miss: huge welts and rashes just about everywhere, with horrendous itching, and worse. Tiny bumps on face? Don't know. Keep an eye on 'em, ask your doc. :shrug:

[librechik]

5. call your doctor or druggist--better safe than sorry

obviously it's NOT a 911 situation but antibiotics are a bit unpredictable and very powerful, especially Ceftin (a wide spectrum antibiotic). I took similar amoxicillin last year and had a severe lupuslike reaction. I wound up mainlining steroids for weeks just so I could eat (mouth blisters) It took months for the outbreak to go into remission. I couldn't talk for over a monthe (swelling) I still use steroids occasionally because once the (rare)autoimmune disorder I have is present it becomes chronic.

If you have EVER developed dermatitis or hives as a reaction to substances you should call your dr with the symptoms you describe having now. It might be nothing, but you certainly should find out, especially if the bumps persist or multiply.

[NicoleM]

6. I think it was Keflex

I had a bad reaction to Keflex once. It started with a little redness and fever. The next day I woke up covered in hives. I spent a week passed out from all the Benadryl they gave me to make the hives go away.

However, if you started taking the stuff on Monday and you've been taking it every day since then, I would think you would have had a reaction before now. Do you have an Ask-a-Nurse line where you live? I call them all the time. They can tell you if it's serious enough to go to the ER, or if you can wait for an office visit, or if it's normal.

[rustydog]

7. You need to contact your doctor...You might be having a reaction

Your doctor or your Pharmacist should be contacted.

[Nikia]

8. I had a reaction to an antibiotic

I was throwing up the first few days and had lose stools the whole time I took it, which was one month. I didn't call my doctor because even with insurance, the drug cost over one hundred dollars. You could always call your doctor if you are concerned. If you would have had any serious side effects though, they would have probably happened by now.