Advise on Reaction or Viral

The good news is that her blister is healing. She probably did have a reaction to the Keflex. If it is in the same family as Amoxycillin that would make sense. What doesn't make sense is that she was given something related to a drug that gave her an allergic reaction. My daughter is allergic to Penicillin and they therefore assume to all "..cillin" drugs. She has also had a reaction to Cefxil/Ceflosporin (sp?) so she never gets anything in that family of drugs, either. When she needs an antibiotic she gets Zythromax or Biaxin. (Her pediatricians always pay close attention to her drug allergies.) Good luck.

Hi

Keflex is a sulfur based antibiotic, not penicillin based like amoxicilin. If there is a rash it may be an allergic reaction. Does the rash resemble hives? That is the first sign of an allergic reaction to a sulfur based antibiotic, it is also fairly common for children who are allergic to penicillin to be allergic to sulfur. The reaction can take a few days to manifest itself. Try giving her benedryl and see if it helps the rash. Hope this helps Jo

Hi ther,
Not sure if you'll get this. I just want to let you know that typicaly an allergic reaction increases with the number of doses someone gets. It also gets worse with each exposure. Not sure why your MD said it was stange and unlikly cause it's been a few days. That is actually very common. I work as an ER RN and see it all the time. Good luck, hope your baby feels better quickly.

While a rash is a common allergic reaction to antibiotics, it can also be the sign of a staph infection, especially accompanied by a fever. And since your child is being treated for staph, I would take this very seriously. I have a friend who just spent 5 days in the hospital with a Keflex resistant staph infection stemming from a cut.

You should get the answering service to have your Dr call you back right now, and if you cannot be seen immediately in the Dr.'s office, take your daughter to the ER, even if your Dr does not recommend it. I would be wary of a diagnosis of a virus, when staph is already present. Staph can be very serious, life threatening.

My son had fifths and I know he had the rash on his cheeks, but I think it also moved down his shoulders and arms. I don't think she would get a fever from an allergic reaction. My kids have had viruses before where they would have a fever and be sick for a day or two then they would break out in a rash. If I'm not mistaken I think that they had said that it can happen with viruses. The rash is the virus "leaving" the body. This was a few years back so I am not positive. Good luck!

Keflex is a very powerful antibiotic and does have GI stuff as side effects. The rash I would most definitly associate with the antibiotic. I suppose it is possible she has a viral infection, but I always look at most obvious first and since she already has a reaction to something in that family, that makes the most logical sense. Don't let the doctor poo-poo you. These reactions can get more and more serious over time.

As I started to read this I was kinda thinking Fifths or hand foot and mouth. There are blood tests for fifths, I got it as a adult. Let us know what the Dr says.

Hi P.,
I have a son who gets viral infections all the time. They can be misleading and uncomfortable. I feel for you. Keflex is the best medication out there for Staph. But you can use a few others. I would defiantley have a chat with your ped. Also, if the rash is still there - go in today and let the dr SEE it. My son once had a staph infection from head to toe!! They called it scaled skin - since his skin looked like it was burnt all over.
It could be a reaction as well. Any diarrhea??
I wish you luck today and answers!!
M.

I don't know if anyone below mentioned this but an allergic reaction ussually happens within MINUTES of being exposed to an allergin. As for the rash it is most likely part of the mono. Aveeno in the bath water is AWESO9ME! Jsut keep offering the fluids and what ever she will eat and keep down.
I hope she feels better soon :)

My son gets a rash everytime he gets sick. Its common w/ kids. If she had a fever and upset stomach it most likely wasn't the keflex. What does her rash look like. Most dr. office's will return your call at any hour even if they aren't opedn. You could call and speak to someone. If you describe the rash to them they would be able to give you an idea of what is going on. Fifth's disease generally has cold like symptoms and a fever then you develope a rash that starts on the cheeks and spreads over the rest of the body. If she looks real bad I would take her to the ER if your dr. isn't open today. Good luck

P. S.

I am always concerned when there is a rash involved. If your doctor schruggs it off, get a second opinion from another doctor (even in the same office). This just doesn't sound right to me. Best of Luck. N.

The rash for fifths disease, from what I understand, is just on the cheeks and has a "slapped face look". My daughter had roseola not that long ago which can cause a rash all over and starts with a fever. There is no medicine for that, it's just one of those things that goes away with time but we had a couple of homeopathic tinctures to boost her immune system to help her along. Being that my daughter is still very young, I couldn't tell you if she had an upset stomach as well. I know she wasn't eating, but with a fever like that, I wouldn't want to eat either.

Did you look on the "monograph" you get from the pharmacy that lists side effects & allergy warnings? It should tell you if those are reasons for keflex side effects or not. Or call your pharmacist they can tell you. Then notify your childs doctor of what happened.

I looked it up online and Keflex is not in the same family as amoxicillin. If your child is allergic to amoxicilling, she should never be given anything in that family and do make sure you remind the doctor of that allergy whenever they prescribe anything. I am allergic to all "cillin" drugs and all sulfa drugs so I know how often I need to remidn the doctor of these allergies. I do feel from my own experience that people allergic to one family of meds though often seem to be allergic to others as well so I would not dismiss the fact that it could be an allergy. If the doctor does not agree, still keep it in mind in the future if anyone goes to prescribe the med to her again tell them what happened and see what they say. Good luck -- those rashes are scary but usually look worse than they are.

My nephew -- same age group - broke out in a crazy rash head to toe this week too so maybe it is a virus going around!