The first time two of Taylor Lucero’s children were prescribed amoxicillin, they developed bad rashes.

“It was horrible,” she said.

Luciano Lucero, 8, and his older brother Gabriel, 11, are two of an estimated 5 million children in America who are labeled as allergic to penicillin, a family of antibiotics that includes amoxicillin.

About 10% of Americans are labeled as allergic to the antibiotics because of reactions, typically rashes first reported by parents, after taking amoxicillin. But a growing body of work indicates that the true number of allergic patients could be quite smaller.

Amoxicillin is the antibiotic that Dr. Kelly Miller prescribes the most, she said, because it is effective and inexpensive.

“Most of the time, the rash is more from the virus than it probably was from the amoxicillin,” she explained to the Luceros on Monday at the Pediatric Partners of the Southwest clinic.

Although antibiotics do not treat viral infections, they are sometimes prescribed in response some viruses to treat underlying bacterial infections.

On Monday, Taylor Lucero took her two boys out of school and brought them to the clinic, where they were given a single dose of amoxicillin. Then, they sat in room, watched “The Grinch” and waited.

“You’re going to hang out here for an hour … I’ll come look at you in 15 minutes. We’ll do another set of vitals after the hour and then hopefully it’s all well and we say, ‘You’re not allergic anymore,’” Miller told the family. “The next time either of them needs amoxicillin for anything – strep throat, sinus infection, whatever – we’ll have them get it for real, not just the one dose.”

The test is what physicians call a drug challenge. And PPSW is hosting a series of clinics for current patients to take the challenge in an effort to delabel patients who have an incorrectly assigned penicillin allergy.

“The overlabeling of antibiotic allergy is a liability that leads to unnecessary long-term health care risks, costs and antibiotic resistance,” one recent study on the matter said.

The Lucero brothers are among about 300 PPSW patients who qualify as “low risk,” meaning their previous reaction took place more than 24 hours after starting the antibiotic regime and they reacted only with either a rash, hives or gastrointestinal symptoms.

Although patients who had swelling, anaphylaxis or immediate reactions don’t qualify for the challenge, doctors still have Benadryl and epinephrine ready just in case a patient does have a severe reaction.

The next clinic will take place Jan. 10, and the practice expects to hold them quarterly going forward. Although it is only for patients of the practice, Miller said anyone questioning their allergy could consider talking to their physician or an allergist about getting tested.

Of the 10% of people who are labeled as having a penicillin allergy, physicians estimate the actual number with an allergy is closer to 1%.

As it turned out, Luciano and Gabriel Lucero were in the 9% of patients incorrectly labeled with an allergy. They left the clinic after an hour without any reaction and an updated medical file.

rschafir@durangoherald.com