Penicillin Allergy Testing
Up to 20% of patients in the United States report a penicillin allergy, but less than 4% or less of these patients are allergic when tested. In addition, most recent allergy science shows that most patients will grow out of a penicillin allergy 10 years following the reaction. Penicillin allergy labels have been shown to reduce available treatment choices for infections, can increase infection treatment failures and can increase antibiotic resistance.
Amoxicillin Allergy Oral Challenge
A physician or nurse practitioner at the Student Health Center will evaluate your penicillin allergy history using a validated risk assessment tool. If your history indicates a low risk for future reaction to penicillin, you can participate in an oral penicillin challenge at Student Health. The oral challenge consists of receiving a single dose of amoxicillin while under the supervision of medical staff. The total visit time is about 1.5 hours. Provided no significant reaction occurs, you can feel confident taking penicillin in the future and we will remove the penicillin allergy label from your medical record. If you do have a reaction, the Student Health Center is fully equipped to manage complications.
To schedule an appointment to discuss history of penicillin allergy, please call 615-322-2427 or schedule on-line with Sandra Savage, NP.