Hi,
My 4 year old recently ruptured his ear drum from a sudden ear infection and was being treated with a 10 day course of Amoxicillin. He woke up Wed. with a few hives and by that afternoon was covered head to toe in huge itchy welts and hives. We switched his antibiotics assuming it was an allergic reaction to the Amoxicillin. It's been three days and most of the hives are going away. He seems so much better but has a new strange symptom. I'm not sure if this is related or not so thought I'd ask other moms. He woke up last night with extreme pain in his wrists and hands. He cried for over an hour and could not calm down. Then today he said the top of his foot and his wrists/hands hurt again. He cried again for over an hour and would not walk or let anyone touch the top of his foot. He tends to be on the dramatic side anyway but has never had any outbursts quite like this before. He has had growing pains in his legs before a few times at night. This seems similar but strange to happen two times so close together and once when he is awake. I'm wondering if the joint pain is actually a side effect of the allergic reaction. Our pediatrician's office and pharmacy are both closed so now I'm left wondering......any ideas? Thanks!
My children and I have had allergic reactions to amoxicillin. We had hives and welts but I don't remember any joint pain with it. I hope he feels better soon!
Wow, I'm almost relieved to think that someone else is going through this. My daughter was on amoxicillin and started breaking out in hives. We took to the pediatrician and then to the ER because they just got worse and were told that it is possible for them to get worse before they get better. This is just what happened and finally the rash/hives are going away. She started having the same new symptom as your son. She won't walk and is complaining of sore wrists, hands, and feet. I didn't know if this was related because she doesn't have the rash anymore but she is still in a lot of discomfort and pain in these certain areas. Hopefully this will end soon for both of us and our children. P.S. Maddie also had growing pains, as did I when I was little, but these are totally different.
what's the name of new antibiotic?
amoxicillin is not known to cause joint pain. in fact it is the most useless antibiotic out there and should not even be given to children with ear infections.
make sure you follow up with ENT regarding eardrum rupture. it should heal within 1-2 months and if not a surgical procedure will be needed.
also the middle ear is exposed now due to the rupture so make sure you use earplug during bathtime.
As one of the other posters suggested, I would check with the ped about possible serum sickness. My daughter had a reaction to augmentin (which is amoxicillin-based) last spring, and had hives for 5-6 days, and joint pain for three weeks. She took prednisone for about a week, along with benadryl and ibuprofen/tylenol for the entire three weeks. It was awful!
Hi there,
My daughter (3.8) is having the exact same issue. On the 10th day of her augmentin course she developed the rash and on the 12th day shes now complaining of ankle pain. Its the weekend and the nurse told us to give her benadryl which helps with the rash. Not sure about the joint pain. Wondering how your son turned out? Thanks!
My middle son had this happen twice but it was not associated with an antibiotic. I forget what it's called but the pediatrician said a virus can settle in the joints sometimes causing them pain. He had me give him ibuprophen to help with the joint pain.
My son had the same thing happen to him on Thanksgiving week, the worst of it being on Thanksgiving day. Every joint on his body swelled up like a balloon. It was a serious allergic reaction to Amoxicillin, just like your son. I called my pediatrician and he just called in a perscription for Prednisone, a steroid. It worked wonders and by the next day he was almost back to his rambunctious self. He didn't get totally better until Sunday. We tried Benedryl and Zyrtec, both to no avail. I would call your pediatrician ASAP. Good Luck, I know how awful it is to feel so helpless when your child is in so much pain.
My daughter had this ast summer-She had a severe allergic reaction to the amoxicillin which we were aware of and then her feet turned purple and hands and swelled and she could not even walk-she said it hurt-So long story short after all the blood tests along with the severe reaction she also had a viral infection-after the benadryl and motrin she was back to normal in less than a week-IT IS SCARY, BUT HE WILL BE OK? WHAT did the Ped say? Hope I helped. L.:)
Do not feel confident that what he is experiencing is only an allergic reaction. We had the EXACT same situation happen to my son, until we had a formal diagnosis. Does your son have any stomache pain as well? Please check out HSP - it's very rare, but Henoch-Schonlein Purpura - see this link: http://www.medicinenet.com/henoch-schonlein_purpura/artic...
We finally had a GI (gastro intestinal) specialist see him at Children's Hospital in Aurora and she figured it out based on the entire timeline of his symptoms. He is on steroids (pregnisone) currently and is doing great. Best of luck to you - this is a rare disorder that is triggered usually by a severe allergic reaction, or strep. My son also had severe hives, swelling and pain in his ankles, knees and pain in hands. Best of luck to you - and hope your son is out of pain soon, it's awful to see as a parent, I know.
My middle boy has had serious joint pain like this and sometimes you cannot even touch certain parts of his body because they are so sensitive. About a year ago, his ankle hurt so bad he could not walk, literally. I took him to the doc who found that indeed it was growing pains. Turns out that my son who is VERY tall for his age is going to run into this with his joints during childhood. Evidently very tall children sometimes even break small bones in their joints (especially ankles) due to fast growth. Bizarre huh?
Needless to say, he did not break any bones but was unable to walk for 3+ days due to the pain. It finally went away and all was good.
I have no idea if this is what has happened with your son, but it is a thought. I also know that allergies to meds can be very odd. I am allergic to many common scripts and one of them I did have some severe joint pain caused from dehydration (I get hives and throw up).
I would just check with the doc or next time call the doc on call to check.
Good luck
