Penicillin is an oldie but a goodie in the armamentarium for treating bacterial infections.
But, in part because it has been widely used for decades, penicillin is also the most commonly implicated medication when patients report a drug allergy. Approximately 10% of US residents have been labeled as allergic to penicillin, often since childhood. Yet, a growing body of evidence suggests that as few as 10% of people who report they’re allergic to the antibiotic really are.