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617. Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin?

617. Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin?

Update: 2025-01-102
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Like tens of millions of people, Stephen Dubner thought he had a penicillin allergy. Like the vast majority, he didn’t. This misdiagnosis costs billions of dollars and causes serious health problems, so why hasn’t it been fixed? And how about all the other things we think we’re allergic to?

 

  • SOURCES:
    • Kimberly Blumenthal, allergist-immunologist and researcher at Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
    • Theresa MacPhail, associate professor of science and technology studies at Stevens Institute of Technology.
    • Thomas Platts-Mills, professor of medicine at the University of Virginia.
    • Elena Resnick, allergist and immunologist at Mount Sinai Hospital.

 

 

Comments (2)

Constance Moylan

I was told by my mom I had a penicillin allergy. I was told at 35 by a doctor I probably didn't who went on to prescribe it for strep throat..I was in the hospital with anaphylactic shock for days, hives all over and a tongue so swollen I couldn't close my mouth along with a fluttering heart arythmia. don't take it unless you have been tested first and someone has an epi pen nearby.

Jan 17th
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617. Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin?

617. Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin?

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