Bactrim and Rash: What Users Say

• Ril...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 13, 2021

For Bacterial Infection "I had a breast infection and was prescribed this terrible medicine. It needs to be off the market. I felt real bad the second day taking it. It caused a fever, rash, headache, sharp pains throughout my body, no appetite, shakiness, dizziness, and numbness. I felt so out of it, it scared me so bad I stopped taking it. The Bactrim medicine is too strong. I definitely wouldn’t recommend!"

• Anonymous
• October 9, 2009

For Urinary Tract Infection "I never had an allergic reaction until I took this medication. Now I learned the hard way I'm allergic to sulfa drugs. After one dose, I had a lot of serious side effects: high fever, intense stomach pain, insomnia, hallucinations, anxiety, non-stop chills/shaking, vomiting, and rash. Needless to say, I ended up in the hospital for 3 days. I think that you need to be careful when taking the drug and be aware of all the serious side effects."

• Kel...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 4, 2020

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I was prescribed Bactrim for a 10-day course to treat a Staph infection in my skin. I had no issues other than fatigue for the first 6 days, but by day 7, I woke up feeling dizzy and so tired. I kept pushing on, taking the tablets because it was working to clear boils. By days 8-9, I had a rash over my body. I felt so lightheaded. Even lying down, my body ached as if I had the flu."

• Lin...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 22, 2014

For Kidney Infections "Took this medicine for a horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE kidney infection. Worked within 2 days and cleared up all of my symptoms, which was such a relief. I was told to finish off the bottle by my doctor, and the next day I developed a horrible case of the hives. I stopped taking the medicine immediately, but the hives stuck around for another 3 days. What a miserable week! So, Bactrim worked wonders for my kidney infection, but little did I know I was severely allergic to it. Take with caution."

• Joe...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 28, 2016

For Urinary Tract Infection "Started taking Cipro for a bladder infection but had some bad side effects in the tendon in my right hand. Went back to the Dr. and he gave me Bactrim (Septra). I took it for 3 days in total before I had to stop. The symptoms literally made me feel like I was dying. I had a really foggy head, headaches, dizziness, I almost passed out one day. I got zero sleep the whole time I was on it. My joints hurt in the night, my skin got really itchy and developed a rash, I also developed extreme anxiety and I felt like I was having a heart attack with the palpitations. I was close to panic attack, that's when I said enough is enough. I've never had a reaction like that and I have trouble remembering those days. It was a blur of pain and confusion."

• Anonymous
• September 23, 2011

For Bacterial Infection "I have only had this medicine twice. The first time was without reaction. The second time, however, I did experience trembling, weakness, especially in my legs, anxiety, and an itchy rash on my forearms. Not pleasant at all!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 28, 2017

For Urinary Tract Infection "Worst medicine ever! I got this to get rid of my UTI, and while taking it, I had the worst side effects: itching, rash, headaches. And I am off the medication, finally, it's been a week now, and I am still getting headaches. I don't know what to do. I wish I never took it."

• Anonymous
• August 29, 2020

For Bacterial Skin Infection "Took Bactrim for folliculitis. First 7 days I only had vomiting and nausea, but on Day 8 I started getting fevers, intense shaking, throbbing headache, sweating, vomiting, insomnia, depression. I never felt this sick ever. It took me a while to realize it was the antibiotic. Once I stopped taking it, I broke out in a rash. Ended up having a sulfa allergy. Please be cautious when taking this. There was one point where I just wanted to call 911, I was in so much agony... It did help clear up much of the infection."

• mae...
• October 30, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "I broke out with a rash just after day 10 of Bactrim, it was sudden and scared the heck out of me! I had a million red spots covered from head to toe (neck, stomach, back, and legs were the worst). I went into the clinic and they told me to stop taking it right away. So apparently, I am one of those 3% with a sulfa allergy. The funny thing is the nurse told me she also has an allergy to it. I then told a coworker about it, and she also had an allergy. With my follow-up appointment, I asked about the small percentage of patients affected-she told me it is rising and is much higher than it used to be (related it to the kind of rise we're seeing in gluten allergies). No reason! So if you get a rash, stop taking it! Day 1 rash recovery-slightly better, fewer red spots on ankles and feet. Day 2-much improved, fewer on shoulders/neck, and lower legs were cleared. Day 3-thighs are starting to clear as well as back/stomach. My temperature never went up during this process."

• Anonymous
• March 25, 2012

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I am currently taking this medicine. I should be finishing it in two days. I have to take it twice for ten days. The whole time I've had migraines. And just recently, I got a rash because I forgot to take it once yesterday. I've never been allergic to anything, but I hope this rash goes away."

• Gue...
• April 22, 2012

For Urinary Tract Infection "I took Bactrim once for a urinary tract infection. I can't remember exactly how many days I was instructed to take the pill, but I know it was over a week. Everything was fine up until the 9th day, then my entire body broke out in hives."

• Anonymous
• April 28, 2011

For Bacterial Infection "Pain and swelling in the vicinity of my tailbone led to an emergency room visit where I had a pilonidal cyst drained. After the doctor incised and drained my cyst, he prescribed me Bactrim and Keflex. He explained that the Keflex was intended to treat the infection if it was MRSA while Bactrim would cover all other bases. A week into my 10-day course of antibiotics, I went to bed with a developing fever. In the morning, I awoke to discover that my entire body was covered in a red, splotchy rash. I immediately went to a medical professional who informed me that I was likely having a severe allergic reaction to Bactrim. I was informed that my fever and rash would persist for days to weeks and may progress to anaphylaxis."

• Ell...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 3, 2015

For Urinary Tract Infection "Was prescribed Bactrim by a walk-in clinic. Should've known better. After 2 days, I experienced some awful side effects - chills, fevers, night sweats, insomnia, diarrhea, and migraines - for three days. I thought I was going to die. After I finished my prescription, I got this terrible head-to-toe rash that itches like crazy. My UTI is gone, but it was not worth the rash and three days of near death. Does anyone know what I can do for this rash?"

• Kat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 29, 2019

For Urinary Tract Infection "Was prescribed Bactrim for a UTI. Terrible side effects! I thought I had caught the flu, but when I went into the doctor, she said it was just a reaction to Bactrim. Fever (super uncomfortable, sweating and chills), body/joint aches and pains, extreme fatigue. Felt so sick and run down I didn’t want to get out of bed. The day after my last dose, I developed a bright red rash everywhere, which felt like it burned and itched. I had the worst week ever with this drug."

• Sba...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 18, 2019

For Kidney Infections "Horrible medication. Vomiting, skin rash, headache, joint pain. Can barely get off toilet, knees hurt so bad. Sore throat. I was okay until I took 1 pill. I'm worse from taking it. Should be classified as poison, not medication."

• Dan...
• September 15, 2019

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I had an ingrown toenail, so my podiatrist removed it and put me on cephalexin for a week. After taking all of them, my toe was still infected. She put me on Bactrim to be taken twice a day for 10 days. Twenty-four hours after my first dose, my mood completely changed. I was depressed and miserable. Day 2, I was spinning, it was impossible to function for daily tasks, and I had no appetite. Day 3, I had a full-blown panic attack, then extreme anxiety, and following that, several heart palpitations. Day 6, I had a rash across my midsection. I stopped taking them that day and called my podiatrist, as my toe still wasn't getting better. She advised I stop and see her later on that day. She wound up removing another piece of nail that had been left behind. When I told her all of the symptoms, she said that I'm allergic. As a person who suffers from food allergies, this terrified me. After a week, the nausea, headache, and spinning started to lighten up, but it took around two months to get back to my normal routine. And to think... these symptoms are NORMAL for this medication."

• Jol...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 21, 2021

For Urinary Tract Infection "I had the worst experience with Bactrim. The first day, I had a 101.8 fever, chills, uncontrollable shaking, anxiety, rash, and fast heartbeat. The next day, I was extremely achy, nauseous, and could not eat anything the whole day. I stopped taking it after the second day, and my symptoms are getting better after a day, but I still feel cruddy and have a bad headache."

• Mam...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 2, 2018

For Bacterial Infection "I was prescribed a 10-day course of Bactrim as a preventative measure after an injury. My wound healed well and no major problems other than nausea until Day 9, when I broke out in a rash. Started on my arms, quickly spread to my trunk, legs, and face. The rash was painful, swollen, and hot to the touch. It felt similar to a bad sunburn. Started taking Benadryl every 4-6 hours until I could get to the doctor, where I got a steroid shot. So far, that seems to be helping a lot. The doctor says I am allergic to sulfa drugs and make sure never to take it again or it could be even worse next time."

• Anonymous
• December 16, 2011

For Urinary Tract Infection "I used this medication a few times to treat a urinary tract infection, and two times I experienced severe allergic reactions where I had hives on my tongue, neck, and face, and they left scars. Be careful."

• Sav...
• December 18, 2016

For Urinary Tract Infection "This is an awful medication, and I recommend it to anyone. Went to the ER for stomach pain to find out I had a bad UTI. Took 1 pill that the doc gave me and was completely fine. Took the next pill 12 hours later, with some saltine crackers and a bottle of water. 4 hours later, I was shaky, nauseated, thought I was going to throw up, my heart rate sped up, I had a fever (did go down with ibuprofen), had a minor rash on my cheeks, headache. Now marks 6 hours after taking it, laying down with a towel over my head, took Benadryl to help with the rash. Nausea has eased some, heating pad helps, the rash is not as red. Going back to the ER tomorrow for a different medicine. I'd rather take Amoxicillin, never have any reactions with that."

• Anonymous
• February 8, 2011

For Prevention of Bladder infection "I started taking Bactrim on a Tuesday. By Wednesday, I was depressed and had terrible knots in my stomach. I was going to the bathroom almost every hour and had hives all day and night. Thursday, I felt a lot better, and my symptoms were mostly relieved as well. I thought it was worth the hives and frequent bathroom breaks. On Friday, my lips, gums, tongue, and face were all swollen. I didn't think it was the medication at all. The doc's nurse called to tell me that my culture came back and that they were switching my medicine. When I changed the medicine on Saturday, I had sores in my mouth along with the swollen gums. I made a dental appointment thinking that it was due to an immunization problem. By Sunday, I called my doctor and learned that I developed allergies."

• Anonymous
• June 6, 2015

For Kidney Infections "Rushed to the ER because of unbearable flank pain. Doctor noticed a large amount of white blood cells in the urine and prescribed Bactrim. The first two days I felt okay, nothing really improved. By the fifth day, the back pain disappeared, but the urge to pee was still present. On the sixth day, I got a high fever, headaches, body aches, and a rash. Felt like crap! Stopped taking it and side effects subsided. I'm severely allergic to Bactrim. Was prescribed Cipro, it works great!"

• Sta...
• September 13, 2019

For Bacterial Skin Infection "I was diagnosed with cellulitis in my elbow. The doctor gave me a shot of Bactrim in my bum and sent me home with a prescription for Bactrim 2 times a day. I took it for 4 days, and I developed severe anxiety, chills, overheating, ringing in my ears, and a full-body rash. I was told to stop taking it, and then they gave me prednisone, which made me depressed and full of rage. This medication is awful."

• Goo...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 16, 2022

For Kidney Infections "I was given Bactrim after going to the ER for a rapidly progressing UTI that was making its way to my kidneys (potentially from an infected kidney stone). I was doing okay with Bactrim until days 5-7, when I ran a fever of 101 for 72 hours straight. I went to urgent care on day 6 and asked if the fever might be caused by Bactrim. They said no and pushed that I finish the medication. HOWEVER, on day 8 (after the 7-day dose was complete), I broke out in a full body rash (face and lips included - legs the worst). Though Bactrim did improve my kidney infection symptoms, I still have a UTI, and now I am covered in a rash. If you do have a consistent fever with this medication, and feel like you have the flu (muscle tingling, joint pain, inflamed lymph nodes), this could be an early sign of an allergic reaction! I wish I had stopped sooner when I knew something wasn’t right."

• Anonymous
• January 16, 2010

For Urinary Tract Infection "I have taken Bactrim for 3 days. Horrible reaction. Had to go to the hospital. Itch, rashes all over. Also felt like my throat was starting to close up. Had to take 4 pills at the hospital to try to clear up this reaction and to open my airway. I have to take 3 different pills for 8 days. Will have to see my doctor next week to get another medicine for the UTI. Now I know that I'm allergic to this."