Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction to Penicillin: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:
diarrhea that is watery or bloody;
fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms;
easy bruising or bleeding, unusual weakness;
urinating less than usual or not at all;
severe skin rash, itching, or peeling;
agitation, confusion, unusual thoughts or behavior; or
seizure (black-out or convulsions).
Less serious Penicillin side effects are more likely to occur, such as:
nausea, vomiting, stomach pain;
vaginal itching or discharge;
headache;
swollen, black, or "hairy" tongue; or
thrush (white patches or inside your mouth or throat).
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Side effects of Penicillin in details
A side effect of any drug can be defined as the unwanted or undesired effect produced by the drug. The side effect can be major or in few medications minor that can be ignored. Side effects not only vary from drug to drug, but it also depends on the dose of the drug, the individual sensitivity of the person, brand or company which manufactures it. If side effects overweigh the actual effect of the medicine, it may be difficult to convince the patient to take the drug. Few patients get specific side effects to specific drugs; in that case, a doctor replaces the drug with another. If you feel any side effect and it troubles you, do not forget to share with your healthcare practitioner.
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Applies to Penicillin potassium: capsule, powder for solution, powder for suspension, solution, suspension, syrup, tablet, tablet for suspension, tablet chewable, tablet extended release
As well as its needed effects, Penicillin potassium may cause unwanted side effects that require medical attention.
Stop taking Penicillin potassium and get emergency help immediately if any of the following effects occur:
Less common:
Fast or irregular breathing
fever
joint pain
lightheadedness or fainting (sudden)
puffiness or swelling around the face
red, scaly skin
shortness of breath
skin rash, hives, itching
Major Side Effects
If any of the following side effects occur while taking Penicillin potassium, check with your doctor immediately:
Rare
Abdominal or stomach cramps and pain (severe)
abdominal tenderness
convulsions (seizures)
decreased amount of urine
diarrhea (watery and severe), which may also be bloody
mental depression
nausea and vomiting
pain at place of injection
sore throat and fever
unusual bleeding or bruising
yellow eyes or skin
Rare - For penicillin G procaine only
Agitation or combativeness
anxiety
confusion
fear of impending death
feeling, hearing, or seeing things that are not real
Minor Side Effects
Some Penicillin potassium side effects may not need any medical attention. As your body gets used to the medicine these side effects may disappear. Your health care professional may be able to help you prevent or reduce these side effects, but do check with them if any of the following side effects continue, or if you are concerned about them:
More common:
Diarrhea (mild)
headache
sore mouth or tongue
vaginal itching and discharge
white patches in the mouth and/or on the tongue
What is the most important information I should know about Penicillin?
Penicillin may cause drowsiness, dizziness, or blurred vision. These effects may be worse if you take it with alcohol or certain medicines. Use Penicillin with caution. Do not drive or perform other possibly unsafe tasks until you know how you react to it.
Mild diarrhea is common with antibiotic use. However, a more serious form of diarrhea (pseudomembranous colitis) may rarely occur. This may develop while you use the antibiotic or within several months after you stop using it. Contact your doctor right away if stomach pain or cramps, severe diarrhea, or bloody stools occur. Do not treat diarrhea without first checking with your doctor.
Be sure to use Penicillin for the full course of treatment. If you do not, the medicine may not clear up your infection completely. The bacteria could also become less sensitive to this or other medicines. This could make the infection harder to treat in the future.
Penicillin only works against bacteria; it does not treat viral infections (eg, the common cold).
Long-term or repeated use of Penicillin may cause a second infection. Tell your doctor if signs of a second infection occur. Your medicine may need to be changed to treat this.
Diabetes patients - Penicillin may cause the results of some tests for urine glucose to be wrong. Ask your doctor before you change your diet or the dose of your diabetes medicine.
Hormonal birth control (eg, birth control pills) may not work as well while you are using Penicillin. To prevent pregnancy, use an extra form of birth control (eg, condoms).
Use Penicillin with caution in NEWBORNS; they may be more sensitive to its effects.
PREGNANCY AND BREAST-FEEDING: If you become pregnant, contact your doctor. You will need to discuss the benefits and risks of using Penicillin while you are pregnant. Penicillin is found in breast milk. If you are or will be breast-feeding while you use Penicillin, contact your doctor. You will need to discuss the benefits and risks of using Penicillin while you are pregnant.
Penicillin contraindications
Contraindication can be described as a special circumstance or a disease or a condition wherein you are not supposed to use the drug or undergo particular treatment as it can harm the patient; at times, it can be dangerous and life threatening as well. When a procedure should not be combined with other procedure or when a medicine cannot be taken with another medicine, it is called Relative contraindication. Contraindications should be taken seriously as they are based on the relative clinical experience of health care providers or from proven research findings.
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A history of a previous hypersensitivity reaction to any of the penicillins is a contraindication. Penicillin is also contraindicated in infections caused by penicillinase-producing organisms.
References
DailyMed. "PENICILLIN V POTASSIUM: DailyMed provides trustworthy information about marketed drugs in the United States. DailyMed is the official provider of FDA label information (package inserts).". https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailyme... (accessed September 17, 2018).
European Chemicals Agency - ECHA. "Phenoxymethylpenicillin: The information provided here is aggregated from the "Notified classification and labelling" from ECHA's C&L Inventory. ". https://echa.europa.eu/information-o... (accessed September 17, 2018).
The results of a survey conducted on ndrugs.com for Penicillin are given in detail below. The results of the survey conducted are based on the impressions and views of the website users and consumers taking Penicillin. We implore you to kindly base your medical condition or therapeutic choices on the result or test conducted by a physician or licensed medical practitioners.
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