Drug Information
Side Effects
Side effects of some antibiotics:
1. Diarrhoea: Diarrhoea can be severe at times leading to death, if antibiotics are not discontinued. Diarrhoea can be due to many antibiotics such as amoxycillin, cephalexin, cefuroxime, clindamycin. If severe diarrhoea develops when a patient is on an antibiotic, the drug should be discontinued and the doctor should be consulted.
2. Nausea and vomiting: Erythromycin, metronidazole and nitrofurantoin are commonly used antibiotics which can give rise to nausea and vomiting.
3. Rashes: Many antibiotics such as amoxicillin can give rise to skin rashes.
4. Fever: Patients who are on antibiotics can develop fever as a reaction to the drug.
5. Joint pain and swelling; Some antibiotics can give rise to joint pain and swelling.
6. Allergic reaction: Some patients can be allergic to certain antibiotics such as penicillin.
Some of these reactions can me mild like rashes whereas in others they could be fatal. It is important to keep a record of your allergies and mention it to the doctor when you go for treatment.
7. Damage to kidneys: Some antibiotics such as gentamicin and vancomycin can damage your kidneys if taken for a long period. Though in other countries blood levels of the drugs can be monitored regularly, this facility is not freely available in Sri Lanka. This makes it even more difficult to adjust the dose of the drug to suit the patient.
8. Hearing impairment: Drugs such as gentamicin can affect your ears and make you deaf, if given in inappropriate doses for a long period.
9. Hepatitis: Isoniazid which is used to treat Tuberculosis can give rise to hepatitis.
10. Reduced blood cells: Some antibiotics can affect the cells in the blood. White cells which are necessary for immunity can be reduced leading the patients more prone to infections.
11. Effects on the nervous system: Brain and nerves can get affected by some antibiotics.
Important message: Do not use antibiotics unnecessarily.
Prepared by:
Dr Kushlani Jayatilleke, MBBS, Dip Med Micro, MD
Consultant Microbiologist
Use of Antibiotics
Important information on use of antibiotics:
1. Antibiotics are only useful to treat infections caused by bacteria.
2. Majority of infections are due to viruses and antibiotics will not be effective in the treatment of infections caused by viruses.
3. Culture of a specimen being positive does not always mean that there is an infection. Eg: Non healing wounds which had being there for a long time may be due to many reasons other than infection. If you take a swab from these wounds and culture there will be some bacteria growing but they may just be lying on the wound (colonization) without causing an infection. Antibiotics will not help in such a situation.
4. Antibiotics can give rise to many side effects and complications. ( Refer the section on side effects of drugs)
5. Over use of antibiotics will give rise to development of resistance to antibiotics in bacteria. The persons who have taken antibiotics will harbour bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, which will make them vulnerable to infections caused by "resistant bacteria"ÃÂ thus making these infections difficult to treat.
6. Infections with resistant bacteria will have to be treated with ââ¬Åstrong"àantibiotics which are more expensive and toxic.
7. ââ¬ÅResistant bacteria"àcan spread from one person to the other. Thus persons who have not being treated by antibiotics before can also harbor "resistant bacteria"ÃÂ.
8. Bacteria are not always harmful. Bacteria that usually resides in and on our body (eg on the skin, in the intestines) protect us from harmful bacteria. Therefore it is not necessary to get rid of all the bacteria. If you try to do that you will only have the "good bacteria" being replaced by the ââ¬Åbad, resistant bacteria".
Stop the unnecessary use of antibiotics
Do not take antibiotics without doctor's advice
Dr Kushlani Jayatilleke, MBBS, Dip Med Micro, MD
Consultant Microbiologist,
Sri Jayewardenapura General Hospital,
Nugegoda
Drug Information
Suggested Data to be published under this page:
1. Patient Guide to use of drugs ensuring quality, safety and efficacy
2. Common information to public Side effects of some antibiotics . ( prepared by Dr. Kushlani)
3. Important information on use of antibiotics ( Prepared by Dr.Kushlani)
1. Patient Guide to use of drugs ensuring quality, safety and efficacy.
- Make sure that all of your doctors know about everything you are taking. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, and dietary supplements such as vitamins and herbs.
- Make sure your doctor knows about any allergies and adverse reactions you have had to medicines.This can help you avoid getting a medicine that can harm you.
- Make sure that all health professionals involved in your care have important health information about you. Do not assume that everyone knows everything they need to
Questions to ask about your medicines: ( from Doctor/ Pharmacist)
- What is the medicine for?
- How am I supposed to take it ( before /after meals), and for how long?
- Are there any alternatives to medication?
- What if I miss a dose?
- What side effects are likely? What do I do if they occur?
- Is this medicine safe to take with other medicines ( Both prescription and over - the - counter ) or dietary supplements I am taking?
- What food, drink or activities should avoid while taking this medicine?
- Do I need a repeat?
- How should I store the medicine?
- Ask for written information about the side effects your medicine could cause. If you know what might happen, you will be better prepared. That way, you can report the problem right away, especially if something unexpected happens, and you can get help before it gets worse.
- When your doctor writes you a prescription, make sure you can read it. If you can't read your doctor's handwriting, your pharmacist might not be able to either.
- When you pick up your medicine from the pharmacy, ask whether it is the medicine that your doctor prescribed.
- If you have any questions about the directions on your medicine labels, ask. Medicine labels can be hard to understand. For example, ask if "four doses daily" means taking a dose every 6 hours around the clock or just during regular waking hours.
- Ask your pharmacist for the best device to measure your liquid medicine. Also, ask questions if you're not sure how to use it. Research shows that many people do not understand the right way to measure liquid medicines. For example, many use household teaspoons, which often do not hold a true teaspoon of liquid.
Adverse Drug reactions ( ADRs)
Adverse drug reactions are defined as harmful or seriously unpleasant effects of medicinal drugs that occur at normal therapeutic doses, requiring stopping the medication or dose reduction, and predict hazard from future administration.
Tips to help you avoid adverse effects
- Don't take medicine with alcoholic drinks.
- Don't take a higher dose of the medicine than the label tells you to. Also, dont take the medicine more frequently than suggested.
- Don't take the medicine longer than recommended on the drug label.
- Don't stir medicine into your food or take capsules apart (unless your doctor says it's okay). This may change the way the medicine works.
- If you don't understand something about the medicine, ask your doctor or pharmacist about it.
- Make sure you know what ingredients the product contains and understand any warnings or possible adverse effects.
- Don't mix medicine into hot drinks unless the label tells you to. The heat may keep the drug from working as it should.