Gluten and/or Corn-free Antibiotics.....

[Caryn]

Tigger developed an ear infection as a complication to a recent bout with croup. It is the first time since his dx that he has needed an antibiotic. I knew when I called the doctor that he was going to need the meds so I researched possible safe meds before I left the house. Glutenfreedrugs.com (linked from my previous post) has a listing of medications that are gluten free. I simply singled out the drugs commonly used for ear infections that were on that list and then double checked them for corn byproducts in the inactive listing. For a simple list of possible culprits, visit:
http://www.glutenfreedrugs.com/Excipients.htm
Here are some medications that I found to be safe (but please double check before you buy, as formulations can change and my information could be incorrect).

GLUTEN AND CORN FREE:

PAIN RELIEVER:

• Advil Children's liquid in grape and fruit flavor and Infant's drops
• Benadryl (Elixir and Dye-free capsules) ---Possibly Waldryl dye-free as well, it is corn free but check for gluten before you buy

****see endnotes....
[/list]

CONGESTION RELIEF:

• Mucinex (all forms of adult versions. All children's versions have corn)
• Ocean Premium Sterile Nasal Spray (OTC)

ANTIBIOTICS:

• Amoxil powder for oral suspension--for ear infections, sinus (not the pediatric drops!)
  
• Bicillin penicillin injectable by Wyeth-Ayerst 1-800-322-3129
• Cortisporin Otic Solution
• Levaquin tablets (The oral solution is not corn free)
• Trimox (amoxicillin)-- I found this listed on gluten free list and corn free list but did not find inactive ingredients to double check myself.
  

One final note: It is best and safest to stick with the brand names and not switch to a generic form of one of these drugs, as you cannot be sure the generic is gluten or corn free as well.

If anyone has any personal experience or wants to add a little about what they've learned, please post. The more informed we all are the better armed we will be the next time our kids get sick.

I will tell you that Amoxil is hard to find in the brand name, simply because it isn't as widely asked for anymore (it is an old drug). In our case our pharmacy had to special order it and we had to wait an additional 12 hours to get it (and we live in a major big city!). I hope to expand this list and plan to join a local support group for kids with multiple allergies. My dream would be to find a pharmacy that would be willing to stock safe and obscure medications for local area families with allergic/intolerant/immunosuppressed kids....

**** WARNING: Benadryl dye free capsules contain sorbitol.
I have been giving my son the Benadryl almost daily now all summer long without incident.
I want to preface that my son does not get hives or a swollen tongue, asthma, etc... from the corn, in case anyone would misunderstand. If you do a google search on the benadryl dye free and corn allergies you will find a lot of people can use it successfully with corn allergic kids. I think it is a matter of threshold and type of allergic response, too. My son is 5 1/2 and weighs about 45 pounds. He only takes one capsule a day as needed. I was told that it helps some kids who suffer from tics and we saw that to be true as well. We do not give him 4 or more doses a day. It is working great for us this way. I guess the best thing to do is just try it to see if it works okay for you, if not then you know that you will have to compound it. BTW, we personally cannot do artificial colors or citric acid AT ALL over here. Our son is very reactive to both. His symptoms are neuro and pretty bad with citric acid, colors, preservatives, dextrose and HFCS.

[Carrie]

My son recently had a sinus infection.  We mixed Cephalexin capsules in 1 teaspoon of our local pure maple syrup to treat him.  I have read that capsules can contain cornstarch but he didn't react the whole 10 days.  He reacts intestinally with awful cramps and then constipation.

[Caryn]

I recently had a conversation with a mom whose daughter has a dairy allergy. She reacted within an hour of taking zithromax with an itchy rash on her back, two consecutive nights. The mom believes that the reaction may be due to lactose in the zithromax. Together we looked up the ingredients of Amoxil, and it appears that the powdered oral suspension is also dairy free:

Formulations of AMOXIL contain amoxicillin, a semisynthetic antibiotic, an analog of ampicillin, with a broad spectrum of bactericidal activity against many gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms. Chemically, it is (2S,5R,6R)-6-[(R)-(-)-2-amino-2-(p­hydroxyphenyl)acetamido]-3,3-dimethyl-7-oxo-4-thia-1-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptane-2-carboxylic acid trihydrate. It may be represented structurally as:

AMOXIL® (amoxicillin) Structural Formula Illustration

The amoxicillin molecular formula is C16H19N3O5S• 3H2O, and the molecular weight is 419.45.

Capsules, tablets, and powder for oral suspension of AMOXIL are intended for oral administration.

Capsules: Each capsule of AMOXIL, with royal blue opaque cap and pink opaque body, contains 500 mg amoxicillin as the trihydrate. The cap and body of the 500-mg capsule are imprinted with AMOXIL and 500. Inactive ingredients: D&C Red No. 28, FD&C Blue No. 1, FD&C Red No. 40, gelatin, magnesium stearate (can use vegetable oil to make it), and titanium dioxide.

Tablets: Each tablet contains 500 mg or 875 mg amoxicillin as the trihydrate. Each film-coated, capsule-shaped, pink tablet is debossed with AMOXIL centered over 500 or 875, respectively. The 875-mg tablet is scored on the reverse side. Inactive ingredients: Colloidal silicon dioxide, crospovidone(It is a polymer; it uses iodine, so iodine allergic need to avoid it), FD&C Red No. 30 aluminum lake, hypromellose, magnesium stearate, microcrystalline cellulose, polyethylene glycol, sodium starch glycolate, and titanium dioxide.

Chewable Tablets: Each cherry-banana-peppermint-flavored tablet contains 200 mg or 400 mg amoxicillin as the trihydrate. Each 200-mg chewable tablet contains 0.0005 mEq (0.0107 mg) of sodium; the 400-mg chewable tablet contains 0.0009 mEq (0.0215 mg) of sodium. The 200-mg and 400-mg pale pink round tablets are imprinted with the product name AMOXIL and 200 or 400 along the edge of 1 side. Inactive ingredients: Aspartame® (there are studies that claim this is an unsafe artificial sweetener. Can cause headaches), crospovidone (see above) NF, FD&C Red No. 40 aluminum lake, flavorings (often contain undeclared allergens), magnesium stearate (see above), and mannitol (which is corn derived).

*See PRECAUTIONS.

Powder for Oral Suspension: Each 5 mL of reconstituted suspension contains 200 mg, 250 mg, or 400 mg amoxicillin as the trihydrate. Each 5 mL of the 250-mg reconstituted suspension contains 0.15 mEq (3.36 mg) of sodium. Each 5 mL of the 200-mg reconstituted suspension contains 0.15 mEq (3.39 mg) of sodium; each 5 mL of the 400-mg reconstituted suspension contains 0.19 mEq (4.33 mg) of sodium. (this is what we used).

Pediatric Drops for Oral Suspension: Each mL of reconstituted suspension contains 50 mg amoxicillin as the trihydrate and 0.03 mEq (0.69 mg) of sodium.

Amoxicillin trihydrate for oral suspension 200 mg/5 mL, 250 mg/5 mL (or 50 mg/mL), and 400 mg/5 mL are bubble-gum-flavored pink suspensions. Inactive ingredients: FD&C Red No. 3, flavorings, silica gel, sodium benzoate (a preservative linked to hyperactivity in a study), sodium citrate (can be corn-derived, is possibly not), sucrose (a sugar), and xanthan gum (usually grows on corn, is bacteria).