Diseases & Conditions
Do you really have a drug allergy?
It's best to confirm a suspected medication allergy with an expert.
- Reviewed by Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
If you've always thought you had a medication allergy, there's a chance that you actually don't. Quite frequently, people are mistaken about such conditions.
For example, as many as 10% of people say they're allergic to penicillin, a large class of antibiotics used to fight infection. But studies suggest that 90% of those people don't have true penicillin allergies.
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About the Author
Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
About the Reviewer
Anthony L. Komaroff, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Health Letter; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing
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