HEALTH FIRST'S MEERA BALDEOSINGH, PharmD, and Trauma Surgeon Mark Pessa, MD, visited WESH 2 News’ studio to discuss the value of Health First’s outpatient penicillin allergy testing clinic. Many Americans, 30 million by some estimates, report having a penicillin allergy, but upon being tested, do not show reactions.

Penicillin, the World War 2-era drug that swung the fight against many infections in doctors’ favor, is one of the most reported allergies on patient medical charts – and it doesn’t have to be.

About 30 million Americans report an allergy to penicillin or a penicillin-related antibiotic in their medical records. When tested for it, fewer than 1% have an actual immunoglobulin E-mediated reaction to the drug, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Why? One reason is that about 4 in 5 Americans who at one point did show symptoms of a true IgE-mediated penicillin allergy lose that sensitivity after 10 years. They “grow out of it,” as the saying goes.

The alternative to penicillin, typically, is broad-spectrum antibiotics, and while these work, they often are not physicians’ first choice and lead to antibiotic resistance – and they’re more expensive.