Azithromycin is an antibiotic. It is useful for treating and preventing many infections, and has little side effects when compared to other antibiotics.
Azithromycin is used to treat infections caused by certain bacteria. Respiratory infections are treated well, such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Sexually transmitted diseases respond to azithromycin. Some other uses of azithromycin include: ear and throat infections, skin infections, and lung infections. Malaria has also been treated effectively with this antibiotic.
Antibiotics in general will not clear up colds, or viruses, contrary to our popular belief. I think many people anytime they start to get sick want an antibiotic to get rid of whatever is ailing them. Sometimes, however, this doesn’t work.
I personally have used antibiotics often. I used to find myself riddled with bronchitis a good bit back in my highschool and college years. I just took on too much. In highschool, I tried to cheerlead, work part time, and be in the Orchestra and chorus! After a while, I had just done myself in. The same was true for college, working and taking 21 credits per semester and trying to have a social life.
I happen to be allergic to many antibiotics, and I had really only found one that didn’t cause me too many side effects and I could live with. This was cefaclor, a cephalosporin. However, this antibiotic you had to take three times per day for seven days. It tended to really dry you out, so that you had to drink immense amounts of water, and it made me really tired. The 500 mg dose also made me sick on my stomach, so I would have to stick to the 250 mg dosage.
Azithromycin, however, has become my antibiotic of choice. Once, I happened to try it, despite wishing to continue what I normally took, and I was highly satisfied. With azithromycin, you can also be prescribed 250 mg instead of 500 mg, to be easier on the stomach. You only take 1500 total mg of the antibiotic, over the course of three days. This helps you get better more quickly, and is much easier than taking medicine for ten straight days.
I found the side effects minimal as well. I did not get sick on my stomach like I have with other antibiotics. This was the case even when I took a 500 mg dose like you do the first day when you start taking the medication. It does help to eat something before taking the azithromycin. It is recommended not to take the antibiotic directly with food, since this dilutes it when it goes through the body. However, I wouldn’t want to take it on a completely empty stomach or you may experience diarrhea.
I do find that azithromycin can make you somewhat tired, especially the first day or two. With azithromycin, you can choose either to take 500 mg for three days each, or 500 mg the first day and 250 mg each day for four more days. Either way, at first I think it takes time for the body to respond and it makes you tired. I could just sleep the whole day! To take charge of this sleepiness, it’s best to start the antibiotic when you don’t have much planned to do and can rest. Of course, you should probably be resting anyway if you’re sick.
It doesn’t make you intensely sleepy, just sleepy. This means you can operate a car and go to work. It just has this sluggish factor which to me isn’t bad it all. It tells me the antibiotic is working.
There are other side effects possible that I did not experience. One is a mild skin rash. If this develops, you might want to lower the dosage and go on the five day plan. Or, just deal with it and it should go away shortly.
However, there are more adverse side effects that could spell danger. This means you probably have a serious allergy to the azithromycin. These would include yellowing skin or eyes, swelling of your face, hands, feet or legs, difficulty breathing or a severe rash. If you experience one of these, you would need to get hold of your doc immediately!
Overall, azithromycin is a great antibiotic. I think it works well for sinus infections as well as the other things listed above. I enjoy it because you take it for less time, and only one or two times per day instead of three times. It seems to be mild on the stomach as well.
