"Azithromycin" is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that belongs to the category of macrolides. It is effectively used in the treatment of infections of various localization caused by bacteria and intracellular organisms. Instructions "Azithromycin" reports that prescribe a remedy for skin lesions, chlamydia and diseases of the ENT organs. In order for the therapy to give a result, it is necessary to strictly follow the doctor's recommendations and not exceed the prescribed dosage.
Composition and form of release
"Azithromycin" is made by pharmacists in tablet form, capsules and suspension with prolonged action. Children are recommended to use the drug in the form of a powder, which is intended for the preparation of a suspension. The medicine contains the active substance - azithromycin, the amount can be different - from 250 mg to 500. Other components are also added: cellulose, starch, magnesium stearate, sodium starch glycolate and lauryl sulfate, talc, polyvinyl alcohol, titanium dioxide, macrogol, dyes.
How does the drug work?
The instruction to "Azithromycin" reports that the medicine belongs to the group of azalides. It easily interacts with the ribosomes of certain microorganisms and inhibits the production of protein. The mechanism of action of the drug is to inhibit the development of bacteria. In a significant concentration, it can produce a bactericidal effect.
The drug has a wide range of antimicrobial activity. In most cases, to get the effect of therapy, it is enough to take the medicine for three days. But in each specific situation, the decision about the duration of therapy is made by the attending doctor.
The tool is active against many bacteria: streptococci, yersinia, shigella, salmonella, gardnerella, peptostreptococcus, clostridia, ureaplasma, treponema, chlamydia, mycoplasma.
Indications for use
The instruction to "Azithromycin" says that the drug is recommended for use in such diseases:
- Infections affecting the respiratory system: bronchitis, pneumonia and others.
- Sore throats, sinusitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis and others.
- Diseases affecting the organs of the urinary system: urethritis, cystitis, pyelonephritis.
- Lyme disease.
- Infections affecting the skin and soft tissues.
- Treatment of gastritis and gastric ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori in combination with other drugs.
Doctors often recommend taking Azithromycin tablets (the instructions confirm this) for complications after the flu or a cold. It is also prescribed for children if other types of antibiotics have failed.
General reception scheme
If the drug is prescribed to eliminate the symptoms of acute respiratory diseases, then according to the scheme: once in a dose of 500 mg once a day. Take the drug at the same time, preferably at intervals of 24 hours and no more than five days.
If the patient has infection of the skin and soft tissues, Lyme disease, then on the first day the dosage should be maximum - 1 g, and on the next four days the dose is halved. The medicine is taken once.
When treating acne, Azithromycin 500 mg is recommended (everything is described in the instructions) for three consecutive days. After this, you need to take a break for at least four days, and then once a week drink the medicine in a dose of 500 mg. In total, it is recommended to drink 12 tablets, distributing the entire course for 10 weeks.
With urethritis or cervicitis provoked by the presence of chlamydia, you need to drink the medicine at a dose of 1 g at a time, and this will be enough.
Children until they reach the age of twelve with a body weight of less than 45 kg, when they are diagnosed with an infection that affects the upper respiratory tract, 1 tablet (500 mg) is recommended three times a day. For babies with less body weight, the amount of the drug is calculated - 10 mg / kg. The course is three days and no more.
Instructions and reviews on "Azithromycin" say that food greatly affects the digestibility of the drug, so it is better to drink it two hours before or after a meal.
How to take medication for ureaplasma?
If a person suffers from ureaplasma, then in this case only an integrated approach will allow to solve the problem easily and without consequences. Before taking the drug, the patient needs to drink immunomodulators. The medicine is injected into the muscle in the morning every other day. Injections must be done during the entire course of therapy.
Together with immunomodulators take one of the antibiotics of bactericidal action. After the end of his administration, they go on to Azithromycin. The first five days, the drug should be drunk one and a half hours before the first meal of 1 g.
Necessarily need a break of 5 days. Then they repeat the course again, be sure to adhere to the instructions for capsules "Azithromycin", the dosage does not change.
Throughout the course of therapy while Azithromycin is being treated, the patient is prescribed stimulants for the synthesis of their own interferons, and in addition to them antimycotics of the polyene series.
When the course of antibiotics is completed, therapy that normalizes the work of the stomach and intestines is definitely recommended. Supportive treatment lasts for 14 days.
How to take medicine for chlamydia?
The instruction to "Azithromycin" 250 mg says that it is an effective tool in the treatment of chlamydia of the lower genitourinary system. The medicine is well tolerated by patients. It is allowed to take teenagers and pregnant women. With chlamydia, it is recommended to take the drug 1 time per day 1 g.
If the upper parts of the genitourinary system are affected by the infection, then the therapy is carried out in short courses, and a long period must be maintained between them.
The course of therapy is designed for three doses. The dose at one time is 1 gram. The intervals between courses should be at least a week. The dosage regimen looks like this: on the first day, 4 tablets, on the 8th day the same amount on the 15th day. This scheme has been used by doctors for a long time and has proven effective in practice. Many patients, following it, quickly and without consequences got rid of a serious infection.
Scheme of taking "Azithromycin" with angina
It takes at least 10 days to treat sore throat with antibiotics, but "Azithromycin" 250, the instructions contain information - this is an exception to the general rules, because it must be taken 3-5 days. The main advantage of this medicine is that thanks to the minimum dosage and short course of therapy, internal organs do not suffer so much, and patients tolerate it much more easily than penicillin drugs.
Adults and adolescents weighing more than 45 kg need to take 500 mg of the drug once a day. If suddenly the reception was missed, then the drug is taken immediately, as the opportunity arises. And then again after 24 hours.
For young children, a suspension drug is specially released. It is also taken once for 3 days. The dosage is calculated individually for each child - 10 mg per kg.
How to take "Azithromycin" with sinusitis?
With sinusitis "Azithromycin" can be taken according to one of the schemes:
- on the first day, the patient is given a loading dose of 500 mg, and after that another three times a day;
- You can also give 500 mg of the drug on the first day, and after another 4 days, 250 mg each.
Children under the age of 12 are recommended to take the medicine in the form of a suspension. Calculation - 10 mg / kg body weight. The medicine is given once a day for three days. In some cases, children may be recommended a dose of 10 mg / kg on the first day, and after another 4 days to take, reducing the dose by half.
Suspension "Azithromycin", the instruction warns about this, with sinusitis accumulates in the focus of the disease and suppresses pathogenic bacteria, which are the main cause of the development of the disease. The drug effectively relieves the inflammatory process in the sinuses.
"Azithromycin" for children: instructions for use
The instruction for the drug for children reports that you can drink the drug from six months of the baby’s life. Take no more than once a day, the course of treatment is three days. If tick-borne borreliosis is observed in a small patient, then the course is 5 days.
It is worth remembering that the absorption of the drug is affected by the use of food, which is why its intake should not coincide with the feeding of the child. It is better to give the medicine to the baby two hours before or after meals.
The drug in the form of a powder is pre-diluted with warm water. The instructions for "Azithromycin" for children describe how much fluid to add to prepare an effective medicine to fight infections and pathogens.
Before each use, the vial with the suspension is well shaken.
Tablets or capsules should be swallowed, not bitten, and then drink plenty of water.
Undesirable manifestations of taking "Azithromycin"
The drug has proven its effectiveness in the fight against various pathogens. But, as practice shows, often taking it causes side effects:
- nausea
- diarrhea
- discomfort in the abdominal cavity;
- constipation;
- anorexia;
- candidiasis of the mucous membranes;
- cardiopalmus;
- chest pain
- headache and dizziness;
- allergic reactions;
- sleep disturbance;
- fatigue.
At the first manifestations, it is necessary to inform the doctor and stop taking the drug.
Contraindications
The instruction for capsules "Azithromycin" warns that it is strictly forbidden to take medication:
- with diseases of the liver and kidneys;
- during breastfeeding;
- with special intolerance to the substances that make up the drug;
- with a violation of the heart rhythm and other problems with the heart and blood vessels.
In childhood, an infusion treatment method is used.
Application features
The instruction for "Azithromycin" in capsules 500 warns that before you start taking, you need to familiarize yourself with the contraindications. Also, the instructions describe all the features of use:
- if suddenly for some reason the patient forgot to take the medicine, then you need to do this right away, as they remembered;
- while taking "Azithromycin" diarrhea can develop, therefore, tablets should be at hand to help restore the intestinal microflora;
- on an electrocardiogram, taking an antibiotic can provoke an extension of the QT interval;
- you can not drink "Azithromycin" for a long time;
- the drug does not affect the functioning of the nervous system.
Interaction with other drugs
Antacids do not affect the bioavailability of Azithromycin, but can reduce the level of the component in the blood by 1/3. That is why it is better to take it a couple of hours before or after.
If the drug is administered parenterally, it does not affect the content of "Fluconazole", "Midazolam", "Indinavir". But with oral administration there is no such possibility.
If you combine it with Warfarin, then it is imperative to control prothrombin time. If you combine "Azithromycin" with "Terfenadine" and "Macrolide", then there is a risk of arrhythmia.
If you take an antibiotic along with drugs containing cyclosporine, then you need to monitor its level in the blood. With the combination of Azithromycin and Digoxin, the amount of the latter must be controlled in the patient's body. Doctors often observe in patients who have been prescribed macrolides that Digoxin is absorbed in the intestine, and this leads to an increase in its amount in plasma.
If you take "Azithromycin" and "Zidovudine", then there is an increased level of metabolite. When combining macrolides with ergotamines, there is a risk of enhancing the toxic properties of the latter.
Analogues of Azithromycin
Today, each pharmaceutical manufacturer sells azithromycin under its own name. In the pharmacy you can find such drugs as Azimed, Sumamed or Azitroks. All of them have the same effect as Azithromycin. The cost of the medicine is from 300 to 600 rubles, it all depends on the manufacturer and the number of tablets in the package.
If, for some reason, Azithromycin is not suitable for the patient, then you can choose one of the analogues with the same mechanism of action:
- Arvitsin;
- Lekoklar;
- Macropen
- Erythromycin.
When choosing an analogue to replace the drug, it is important to discuss this issue with your doctor. This will avoid the undesirable effects of therapy.
Reviews on the drug "Azithromycin"
Instructions for capsules "Azithromycin" 500 mg and reviews of patients who have been treated with this tool, say that in just 5 days you can get rid of a complex form of infection. After taking the first dose, the symptoms become less pronounced. In addition, the drug is very easily tolerated by both adults and children. Side effects are observed in rare cases, and then if the dosage established by the attending physician is exceeded.
Many doctors actively use the drug in the treatment of sinusitis, tonsillitis, infections of the genitourinary system and other infectious diseases caused by bacteria and microorganisms. After three days of use, it is noticeable that the disease is leaving. Few types of drugs that can be found in a pharmacy can cope with serious neglected diseases in such a short time.
"Azithromycin" is an effective tool that is affordable for all segments of the population. It is enough to take the necessary dose only once a day, and the first manifestations of the disease go away. The main thing is to strictly follow the reception schedule, and undesirable manifestations will not make themselves felt. Only a doctor who knows about contraindications and concomitant diseases of his patient can choose an analogue.
You should always remember that the treatment of diseases with antibacterial agents should be prescribed exclusively by a doctor. Uncontrolled medication can lead to serious complications.