Medicines That May Cause Rashes in Children

Many medicines can cause a rash. Some of the more common medicines that cause rashes are:

• Antibiotics, such as penicillin, cephalosporins, sulfonamides, or vancomycin.
• Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen.
• Barbiturates, such as amobarbital or pentobarbital.
• Blood and blood products.
• Complementary and alternative medicines, such as echinacea.
• Contrast dyes used in X-ray studies.
• Nitrofurantoin, such as Furadantin, Furalan, or Furatoin.
• Pain medicines that contain codeine and codeine-like compounds.
• Seizure medicines, such as carbamazepine or valproate.

If a rash occurs after your child has begun a new medicine:

• Stop giving the medicine to your child.
• Call the doctor who prescribed or recommended the medicine to determine if another medicine needs to be prescribed.

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