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when my daughter was a child she was prescribed penicillin and she came out in small blisters on her hands , upon taking her to a&e as they were causing her distress the doctor said she may have a slight allergy to penicillin , is there a way I can know for sure . on past visits to gps I have always said possible allergy when they prescribe antibiotics and I know it says this on her records but I want to know for sure

Hi Racheltate

You would need to go to a paediatric allergy clinic for formal diagnosis, however most clinics will ask you to simply avoid penicillin if she is a healthy girl with little requirement for antibiotics that can be foreseen.

This is generally because there are other antibiotics about there that she could have instead, so the need to investigate to penicillin allergy is less, if there isn't a medical problem such as cystic fibrosis requiring frequent antibiotic courses.

Some clinics may feel that they can investigate further if they have capacity etc. but that is up to the clinic you visit.