If you're allergic to anything, you know avoid it at all costs. But can you actually grow out of an allergy?
Many people are allergic to penicillin, but a simple test is allowing many patients to safely use the popular antibiotic.
For more than 30 years, Jane Xu thought she was allergic to penicillin, but the new test told her that she had outgrown the allergy. Now she no longer has to rely on alternatives that made her dizzy. "In many medical cases you will always be treated with an antibiotic, and penicillin is the most effective drug. Now I can use it," Xu says.
The test also revealed that Hernando Rasay, who also thought he couldn't tolerate penicillin, can now take it. "I am very happy," Rasay says. "If I get sick again he can prescribe me that kind of medicine."
Dr. James Wolf, along with three other doctors, manufactures the Pre Pen test and hopes to turn a profit from it. He says the test gives patients a chance to benefit from penicillin and 40 other medications in the same class of drugs. "When a patient says that they're penicillin allergic and we need to use alternate drugs that are more expensive, potentially more toxic, and they create a problem of drug resistance," he says.
The test is considered 99 percent accurate. Read more about the test by clicking here.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a penicillin allergy is an overreaction by your immune system to penicillin and related antibiotics. Your reaction can range from a rash to anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening condition. It is the most common drug allergy.
You can learn more about the penicillin allergy, its symptoms, causes and risk factors for it here.
Are you allergic to any medications? Did you ever outgrow it? What kind of impact do you think this test will have? Leave your thoughts below.
This is today's Facebook Story of the Day. To help pick the story, click here.
