Does the antibiotic have to be discontinued?

As soon as a rash is suspected to be caused by a drug, the drug should be discontinued in order to allow or accelerate the healing of the exanthema. This can be particularly problematic if several drugs are taken at the same time and therefore it is not clear which drug caused the rash. In addition, it may be important to continue taking an antibiotic if no adequate replacement can be found or if it is used to treat a serious infection. In this case, the drug therapy is extended by glucocorticoids and possibly antihistamines.

Prognosis – How long do the complaints last?

Incompatibility reactions to antibiotics often manifest themselves within minutes or hours after taking antibiotics. More rarely, the rash may occur a few days after the start of the treatment. How long the rash lasts varies greatly and depends on the type and severity of the reaction.

In the case of mild intolerance reactions, the rash subsides of its own accord after a few hours or days as soon as the antibiotic is no longer taken. In the case of allergic reactions and especially if the rash appears late, it may take a little longer for the rash to disappear completely. In principle, a doctor should be consulted to clarify the exact causes of the rash. If the rash lasts longer than a few days, the cause may be something other than an intolerance reaction to the antibiotic and treatment may be necessary.

Skin rash during pregnancy

Of course, drug exanthema can also occur during pregnancy as a result of taking an antibiotic or other medication. However, it is problematic here that different skin diseases cause similar skin symptoms. In fact, there are even a number of so-called pregnancy dermatoses, i.e. skin diseases that occur during pregnancy (skin diseases during pregnancy).

These include, for example, the polymorphic exanthema of pregnancy, which leads to a skin rash and may be very similar to a drug exanthema. Especially during pregnancy, a lot of attention should be paid to changes in the body. Even if neither drug exanthema nor pregnancy dermatoses are acutely threatening for mother or child, a medical clarification of the symptoms should always be carried out.