Imagine you can’t benefit from one of the most life-saving medical discoveries in history. Popular Science estimates penicillin, discovered in 1928, has .
That was University of Virginia postdoctoral student Gabby Wynn’s life for about 20 years. As a girl, “less than 10 years old,” she said she developed an infection. Her doctor prescribed penicillin, but she had a bad reaction and was told she was allergic to the antibiotic.
Wynn is not alone. “It’s the most common listed medication allergy on charts,” said Dr. Stephanie Hartman, associate director of primary care at the .
found about 9% of adults report a penicillin allergy, though most are not truly allergic. In other words, about 720 million people believe they should not take the drug.
Why do people think they are allergic?
Hartman recounted a common scenario: A young child develops an ear infection. Her doctor prescribes penicillin. The child then develops a rash. Not knowing if the rash is a result of the virus or the drug, the default is often to determine the rash is an allergic reaction.
“It’s a really tough place for the pediatrician, so I’m not blaming the pediatricians,” Hartman said. “But then a lot of these kids end up getting labeled as allergic. So, were they truly allergic? It’s unclear, but if they were truly allergic, even as a child, the vast majority of those will have outgrown it as an adult.”
Drs. Meredith Hayden and Stephanie Hartman offer allergy testing to UVA students. Of the 30 students tested since January 2025, none are allergic to penicillin. (Left photo contributed, right photo by Matt Riley, University Communications)
In 2019, an article in the found simple, in-office testing can determine whether a person is allergic, avoiding the more involved pin-prick testing with an allergist. Hartman and Dr. Meredith Hayden got to work trying to find a way to bring the practice to UVA Student Health and Wellness.
After COVID-19-related delays, Student Health and Wellness began testing interested patients for amoxicillin allergy in January 2025, administering the drug and observing them for any reactions.
Of the 30 students evaluated so far, none has tested positive for an allergy. “This is important because the penicillin family of antibiotics, which includes amoxicillin, is the first-line treatment for many common types of infections, including strep throat, ear infections and sinus infections,” Hartman said. Getting tested is as easy as .
‘I don’t have to worry about any reaction to it anymore.’
Shedding the allergy label opens lots of options for patients, said Hayden, Student Health and Wellness’ chief medical officer.
“Oftentimes, when you have to cross these drugs off your list, you’re looking at what are considered broader-spectrum antibiotics, and those antibiotics are really reserved for more serious infections,” she explained.
“The drug is not going to just kill the bacteria that you’re trying to kill. It’s going to kill off a lot of healthy bacteria as well. It also can increase the risk of resistance, where you cannot rely on those broader-spectrum antibiotics when you need them down the line.
“We want more schools and outpatient practices in general to hear about our success so that they will be encouraged to get this going as well,” Hayden added.
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