Antibiotics for sore throats: a list of effective drugs and how to take them

Diseases of a bacterial nature are always treated with antibiotics. Despite the fact that the preparations of this pharmacological group affect the pathogenic microflora, they also harm the beneficial microbes of our body, but there is no other, safer and more effective method of therapy. Antibiotics are also used for tonsillitis (tonsillitis), an infectious disease that affects the tonsils.

Almost always, the causative agent of this disease, which occurs in children and adults, is streptococcus. In some cases, angina develops a second time against a background of diphtheria, scarlet fever, or malignant blood diseases. It is impossible to delay the treatment of this disease - at the first symptoms, you must definitely visit a doctor who will select effective medicines.

Is antibiotics really indispensable?

If tonsillitis is of a viral nature and proceeds favorably, there is no need to take antibiotics. Angina without temperature and complications will pass in 1-1.5 weeks. In this case, it is more advisable to give the patient a plentiful drink and symptomatic agents that relieve sore throat.

Bacterial tonsillitis is always difficult. The timeliness of the treatment started plays a crucial role here, since this is the only way to alleviate the patient’s condition and prevent the development of complications. Antibiotics for tonsillitis can be used not only systemically, but also locally. It is important to understand that exclusively local antibacterial treatment will only aggravate the problem. In addition, all local antibiotics have a low concentration of the active substance, and therefore pathogenic microflora quickly develop immunity to them.

There is a definite answer to all questions about whether antibiotics are needed for angina of bacterial etiology: there is no alternative to treatment. Refusing to use antibacterial drugs, the patient lets the disease drift, which risks serious complications and poor health. Antibiotics for angina are required.

Duration of antibiotic therapy

How much antibiotics to drink with angina depends on the type of active substance, the form and nature of the disease, as well as the presence or absence of complications. So, for example, with purulent sore throat, drugs are taken for 1-2 weeks. The optimal course of antibiotic treatment lasts about 10 days. At the same time, it does not really matter from which account of the day from the moment the symptoms of angina appeared, the therapy was carried out.

Among modern antibacterial drugs, the exception is Sumamed - this remedy can not be taken for more than five days. In other cases, antibiotics for angina are consumed for a week, no less, since with shorter courses, not all pathogens die. As a result, strains resistant to the action of the antibacterial component are formed from the surviving bacteria, and angina, which is difficult to treat, will occur more often in the patient. To overcome the activity of changed bacteria, you will have to use potent antibiotics that have dangerous toxicity.

What antibiotics to drink with angina would not be prescribed by a doctor, they can not be taken for more than two weeks. If during this time antibiotic therapy has not produced the expected effect, most likely, this drug is ineffective and requires a change. In this situation, the patient must be tested for bacteriological culture of the discharge from the throat. A laboratory study will determine the sensitivity of the pathogen to a specific group of antibiotics.

The main groups of antibiotics, a list of drugs

With angina caused by streptococcal or staphylococcal infection, penicillin drugs are most effective. These funds are prescribed in 90-95% of cases. In addition to penicillins, other antibiotic groups are also considered detrimental to beta-hemolytic bacteria:

• cephalosporins;
• macrolides;
• fluoroquinolones;
• tetracyclines.

In the absence of an allergy to penicillins , drugs of this series are primarily prescribed. And only if they prove to be ineffective, they switch to antibacterial drugs of other groups.

In some situations, when the course of angina is accompanied by persistent fever, severe swelling of the throat and severe symptoms of intoxication of the body, penicillin antibiotics are avoided and cephalosporins are immediately prescribed to the patient. If the patient has an individual intolerance to drugs of the penicillin and cephalosporin group, macrolides or tetracyclines are used for the treatment of angina. By the way, the first type of antibacterial agents is more effective, and specialists try to avoid the use of tetracyclines. The group of tetracycline antibiotics is rarely used in the treatment of angina due to the high toxicity of the components. With advanced and complicated angina, antibiotics are selected from a number of fluoroquinolones.

Next, get acquainted with the drugs that are prescribed for sore throat in adults. The names of antibiotics and analogues available in the commercial assortment of Russian pharmacies may vary.

Pills or injections - which is better?

Basically, antibacterial drugs are taken orally in the form of tablets, but sometimes they are prescribed in the form of injections. Antibiotics for angina act faster if they enter the systemic circulation immediately. Thanks to regular injections, the concentration of active substances in the body does not decrease, which can not be said about the tablets: they are absorbed into the blood through the intestines for a long time.

And yet, doctors rarely try to give injections for angina, since injecting the drug can have a number of side effects and can be painfully tolerated by patients. As a rule, parenteral drugs are administered with purulent bacterial tonsillitis, accompanied by the following symptoms:

• high body temperature (at least 38.5 ° C), which does not decrease after taking antipyretic drugs;
• tonsils and mucous membrane of the larynx are lined with dense purulent plaque;
• tonsillitis developed against the background of sinusitis;
• significantly enlarged cervical and behind the ear lymph nodes.

Antibiotics for pregnant women

Tonsillitis during pregnancy can cause serious damage to the health of the baby. That is why infectious diseases in the mother require a serious approach to treatment. Incorrectly selected medicine can negatively affect the intrauterine development of the child. It is especially not recommended to use antibiotics in the first trimester of pregnancy.

However, it is important to understand that in severe tonsillitis, it’s not just an antibiotic, but its absence can aggravate the condition of the mother and harm the fetus. In case of urgent need, pregnant women are allowed penicillin drugs (Amoxiclav, Amoxicillin, Oxamp). Use them in both tablet and injection form. If penicillins do not have the proper therapeutic effect, more effective antibiotics are prescribed. With angina, cephalosporins are prescribed for pregnant women (Ceftriaxone, Cefazolin). It is important to consider the ability of these drugs to cross the placenta.

Features of antibiotic therapy for angina in children

Experts insist that you should not rush with the use of antibacterial agents to treat angina in a child. Which antibiotic is better? This issue will be of great relevance with purulent sore throat - you can not overcome an ailment without these medications. As for viral sore throat, then, as noted earlier, medication should only be started if there are signs of complications, damage to the respiratory system and ENT organs.

In children aged three to 15 years, the need to use antibiotics for tonsillitis is associated, rather, not with the treatment of tonsillitis itself, but with the prevention of possible complications. In young patients, bacterial tonsillitis without quality treatment very often passes into a severe form, in which the joints, heart and nervous system become infected. Thanks to antibiotics, it is possible to reduce the likelihood of a similar scenario by 99%. In this case, the moment the treatment begins. Effective prevention of complications will be if you start giving medications to the child no later than from the second to the ninth day of the course of tonsillitis inclusive.

Which antibiotic is better for a sore throat for a child

Fluoroquinolones are the only group whose drugs are not used in childhood. Most antibiotics are recommended from the age of 12. But still, a number of medicines are being produced that can be given to babies of an earlier age. The most popular and effective antibiotics for angina, which can be given to children from a certain age, are presented in the table. However, only one doctor can prescribe one of these drugs and establish the appropriate dosage.

What antibiotics to drink with angina in one case or another, only specialists decide. First of all, the results of bacteriological culture of the discharge from the throat are taken into account, that is, the sensitivity of pathogenic microflora to antibacterial substances, and the individual susceptibility of the body. Penicillin preparations are carefully combined with other drugs, and taking them simultaneously with cephalosporins, tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones or macrolides is unacceptable. Let's move on to a brief description of the most powerful antibiotics for angina, which are prescribed for both adults and children.

Amoxicillin

This penicillin drug is often used for bacterial infections of the nasopharynx and ENT organs, including tonsillitis. "Amoxicillin" is effective against a wide range of bacteria that provoke angina. The undoubted advantage of this drug is the minimum of restrictions on use and side effects, therefore it is often prescribed as the main antibiotic for angina. "Amoxicillin" is available in the form of tablets, capsules, ampoules for injection and suspension for oral administration in childhood. For allergies to penicillins, it is forbidden to use the medicine.

Sumamed

An antibacterial agent from the macrolide group based on azithromycin is classified as a new generation of drugs. The tool is available in various forms. An antibiotic suspension for angina is often prescribed for children - they take syrup once a day, and this is quite convenient. As for injections, children under 16 years of age do not inject the drug.

Despite the wide spectrum of action and effectiveness, Sumamed has many contraindications. Patients taking it sometimes complain of nausea, abdominal cramps, diarrhea. The course of treatment "Sumamed" should not exceed five days. Take the medicine either on an empty stomach, a couple of hours before eating, or 2-3 hours after eating. Together with Sumamed, patients are advised to take probiotics to restore intestinal microflora.

Amoxiclav

The uniqueness of this antibacterial agent is due to the simultaneous action of two active substances - amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. According to reviews, in the treatment of tonsillitis, relief comes quickly after taking this antibiotic. Sore throat pills effectively relieve sore throats and improve overall well-being. "Amoxiclav" in the form of a suspension is often prescribed for infants older than 3 months of age.

Cephalexin

Medicines from the group of cephalosporins are convenient in that they are allowed to be taken without reference to meals. For adult patients, the daily dose should not exceed 2 g of active substance. As a rule, this number is divided into several methods. With a complicated course of tonsillitis, the dosage is doubled.

For the treatment of a child, the dosage of “Cephalexin” is calculated depending on its weight according to the formula 25-50 mg per kilogram of body weight. If necessary, children can increase the daily dose to 100 mg. With caution, “Cephalexin” is prescribed for kidney diseases. The average duration of use is 7-14 days.

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