I Don't Know

A woman called and asked to speak with a pharmacist (me) about a medication that was ready for her to come pick up. She said, "Before I come get that, I want to make sure I'm not allergic to it. I'm thinking I might be (allergic)." I told her it was always a good idea to verify allergies. She didn't know what the doctor had phoned in for her, so I told her the name of the medication and asked her if she had taken it before. She hadn't. She then restated that she was pretty sure she was allergic to it, however. I asked if she was allergic to a variety of medications or other allergens generally, and she said, "No, I've only had an allergic reaction to one thing...or...one medication." I figured I'd ask her what that one medication was and then use my pharmaceutical knowledge to determine if the currently prescribed medication was in any way related to the ONE thing she was allergic to. So I asked the obvious question, "What one medication are you allergic to then?" She replied, "I don't know." Hmmm. I asked further, "Was it an antibiotic? Was it a pain medication? What type of reaction did you have to it? Can you remember what it was for?" To all questions, she again replied, "I don't know." I finally said, "Well, it sounds like you'd probably be allergic to this (prescription) then." She thanked me for my wonderful help and told me she'd be phoning her doctor right away to ask him for something else. Sweet. Maybe I'll get to go through this again with her tomorrow.