#this is actually a rant against health professionals for not explaining stuff aren't allergies but also

[bisexualspace]

something that bothers me every day at work are medication 'allergies' that just aren't true allergies

And i don't blame the patient's because its just poor education on our part on what classifies an allergy (probably should avoid the drug in future) vs a side effect/adverse reaction (we can use the drug in future unless theres an equally effective alternative with some supportive meds)

nausea/vomiting/diarrhea after taking a medication is almost certainly not an allergy, especially with antibiotics (antibiotics of all sorts are known to cause this as a side effect!)

the reason it bothers me is because so many people get slapped with 'penicillin allergy' which means you can have THE most effective antibiotics for several conditions (skin infections, chest infections, meningitis, gut infections are often in part treated with penicillins). Us using an alternative is possible but largely far less effective! And just because someone hasn't sat down and explained that its not an allergy!!

#this is actually a rant against health professionals for not explaining stuff aren't allergies but also #health professionals for recording these things as allergies bc they didnt take 2 seconds to explore the reaction #literally if a patient tells me 'i have a penicillin allergy!' #i just ask - what happens when you have it (which is important even if it is an allergy bc there are cross reactions in anaphylaxis) #and if its 'nausea/vomiting/diarrhea' i just politely say #that it isn't an allergy. its a side effect. and while we can try to avoid this medication it will mean you have worse treatment #or risk worse outcomes #and usually patients are very receptive #and i totally get you dont want to vomit! i can help with that #but also if you have a skin infection which is severe i need to give you penicillins first line!!! #so you dont die! #anyways this was a bad weekend of night shifts lol #trying to like. give antibiotics to dying patients when people are arguing they have an 'allergy' to it #when they dont and even if they had a mild allergy i would risk it in certain circumstances bc it is literally life or death