Delayed Reaction (not the Hall and Oates song)

This morning I finished the last of my 10 day prescription of Apo-Clindamycin and mused how nice it was to not have experienced any of the side effects. I remembered, of course, that both the doctor and pharmacist warned me side effects could occur after I’d finished taking all of the antibiotics.

You know what happened next.

Around noon I went to the washroom before going for my lunch hour walk and I noticed in the mirror that I looked a little flushed. A little glowing, in fact. Upon closer inspection I saw that my neck was livid with red dots.

This is not normal.

I looked at my arms and yes, I had a rash and it was spreading. Arms, legs, neck, front, back. Everywhere below the neck, except my hands and feet. And a few hours later it moved above my face, giving my face the appearance of a sunburn. Also, several parts of my body became super itchy.

It was not fun.

I went to the school clinic. The doctor gave me a three-day supply of Reactine and couldn’t say when, exactly, I’d see the effects of it. As of tonight I am seeing little reactin’ (get it?!), but there is perhaps some mild improvement. I don’t feel as itchy.

She also told me to see my doctor soon for allergy tests and such, as this would be the third major class of antibiotics I’d be allergic to. It’s possible that this may be a one-time reaction upon first use, since I did get through the entire supply before any effects occurred. But still, not the snazziest way to start a new month.

The weather was nice, though.

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