What Is Azithromycin?

Azithromycin seems to be an antibiotic. Thus, like others, it should help treat bacterial infections. Most patients may take it orally. However, an intravenous injection may be possible. It appears that children and adults can take this antibiotic. Some pediatricians will prescribe it for tonsilitis or ear infections. Most patients seem to take this medication for three to five days. Severe infections, though, may need ten days.

Antibiotics for bacterial skin infections appear to be fairly common. Azithromycin seems to be particularly effective, and it is one of the safe antibiotics for kids. Patients should finish all of the antibiotics pills their doctor prescribed. Otherwise, their infection may return, and they could have to deal with antibiotic resistance. Of course, understanding how azithromycin works should be helpful.

How It Works

Azithromycin appears to be a macrolide antibiotic. The first of this antibiotic class seems to have been erythromycin. It was isolated from Streptomyces erythraeus sometime in the 1950s. This bacteria may be found in soil. Azithromycin is the synthetic version of this medication.

It should help kill bacteria by attaching to a subunit on the ribosomes of bacteria. The specific one it seems to attach to is the P site of the 505 unit. This function should prevent bacteria from creating proteins and spreading throughout the body. This class of antibiotics appears to have the most significant effect on gram-positive cocci and intracellular pathogens.

Get more information on the potential uses and benefits of this antibiotic next.

Possible Uses

Patients may receive this antibiotic to treat ear and sinus infections. It appears to also help with skin, throat, and maybe respiratory infections. Specific conditions that it might be able to treat include pneumonia and sinusitis. It seems to help patients with pneumonia who could be allergic to penicillin. It may also treat patients with folliculitis or impetigo.

Some individuals who have pelvic inflammatory disease appear to benefit from this medication as well. If doctors want to prescribe this antibiotic for 'off-label' uses, they may do so for acne. It also may be useful for cat-scratch disease. Some bacterial endocarditis patients may receive a prescription too.

Discover some of the potential side effects linked to this medication next.