Erythromycin Warning

Please take the following precautions when using Erythromycin

erythromycin pills

The macrolide antibiotics known as erythromycin is a very effective drug to treat a lot of illnesses like eye infection, pneumonia and syphilis however; there are safety measures that you need to be aware of prior to taking the medication.

It is imperative that you advise your medical practitioner if you have an existing liver disease or myasthenia gravis.  Erythromycin is said to further aggravate the condition of a patient who has an existing liver disease like cirrhosis and myasthenia gravis or muscle weakness. Moreover, patients who are diagnosed with QT syndrome need to also advise your medical practitioner since the drug erythromycin can cause QT prolongation or a change in the person’s heart rhythm.

It is also important that you should not take erythromycin if you are allergic to it. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or planning to become pregnant, you need to advise your medial practitioner prior to ingesting erythromycin medications like e mycin, eryc and stearate.  Although erythromycin is not known to harm an unborn child, it is still advisable to inform your medical practitioner about it.  However, erythromycin is known to cause pyloric stenosis on infants so it is not advised to breastfeed while taking erythromycin without advising your medical practitioner first.

It is also important to be aware that there are some drugs that may an undesirable effect if combined with erythromycin.  If you are currently taking any of the following drugs, it is advise to inform your medical practitioner right away prior to taking erythromycin.

• Alfentanil or more commonly known by its trade name Alfenta
• Alprazolam (trade name: Xanax)
• Atorvastatin (trade name: Lipitor or Caduet)
• Bromocriptine (trade name: Parlodel)
• Carbamazepine (trade name: Carbatrol or Equetro or Tegretol)
• Cilostazol (trade name: Pletal)
• Cisapride (trade name: Propulsid)
• Colchicine (trade name: Colcrys)
• Cyclosporine (trade name: Sandimmune or Gengraf or Neoral)
• Digoxin (trade name: Lanoxin)
• Dihydroergotamine (trade name: Migranal)
• Disopyramide (trade name: Norpace)
• Ergotamine (trade name: Ergomar or Cafergot or Migergot)
• Lovastin (trade name: Mevacor or Altoprev or Advicor)
• Methylprednisolone (trade name: Medrol)
• Phenytoin (trade name: Dilantin)
• Pimozide (trade name: Orap)
• Quinidine (trade name: Quin-G)
• Sildenafil (trade name: Viagara)
• Simvastatin (trade name: Zocor or Simcor or Vytorin)
• Tacrolimus (trade name: Prograf)
• Theophylline (trade name: Elixophyllin or Theo-24 or Theochron or Uniphyl)
• Triazolam (trade name: Halcion)
• Valproic Acid (trade name: Depakene or Stavzor)
• Vinblastine (trade name: Velban)
• Warfin (trade name: Coumadin or Jantoven)
• Heart or blood pressure medicines like Amlodipine, Diltiazem and Verapamil
• Any other antibiotics

It is also important to be aware of certain erythromycin side effects to be able to distinguish when to go to the medical practitioner and when to just leave it.

warning

It is normal to experience occasional gastrointestinal annoyances like abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.  This is because erythromycin is considered as a non-peptide motilin agonist that induces gastrointestinal motility.  In fact, modern motilin drugs are primary erythromycin based. This is one reason why erythromycin is not always the drug of choice by most medical practitioner except in rare instances when patient is allergic to penicillin or in treating certain illnesses like gastroparesis.

However, the more serious erythromycin side effects would include several heart conditions like arrhythmia with QT prolongation and Torsades-de-Pointe. Allergic reactions to erythromycin are not impossible and complications range from urticarial or skin rashes to anaphylaxis. In some rare cases, erythromycin side effects may include cholestasis wherein the bile is not able to flow from the liver to the duodenum.  Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are two rare and often fatal side effects from erythromycin that affects the skin.

Erythromycin is also discovered to affect the central nervous system of an individual.  This, in turn, causes the individual to have nightmares, psychotic reactions and night sweats. It has also been attributed to affect the effectiveness of certain birth control pills due to its influence on the gut flora. This is also because erythromycin is an inhibitor of the P450 cytochrome that results in a hasty effect on the other drugs being metabolized in the body.

Read the labels on your prescription drugs

As mentioned, erythromycin can cause liver damage in extreme cases hence; medical practitioners need to be informed if you have any existing kidney or liver disease.  This would alert your medical practitioner to prescribe an alternative and in the absence of an alternative, will prescribe a lower erythromycin dosage.

Like any antibiotics, erythromycin eliminates all bacteria in the digestive tract indiscriminately.  This means that the good bacteria that protect us from certain infections are also killed along with the harmful one that makes the individual susceptible to infections like yeast infections. It is important that you inform your medical practitioner right away in case you develop vaginal yeast infection or thrush.

Moreover, antibiotics are also known to upset the normal bacteria growth in the digestive system and in some cases allows the harmful bacteria to multiply.  This particular side effect is referred to as pseudomembranous colitis. This is an infection of the colon that is often a cause of antibiotic related diarrhea. It is characterized by abdominal pain, fever and foul smelling diarrhea and in extreme cases, can be fatal especially when it leads to toxic megacolon.  This is why it is important to watch out for symptoms before it becomes fatal like bloody or severe diarrhea.

erythromycin abuser

The tricky thing about taking antibiotics like erythromycin is that people often forget to take the drug for the entire prescribed period especially when they feel better. Skipping antibiotic doses actually increases your risk of a more sever infection that will be resistant to antibiotics.  However, overusing antibiotics would also increase your risk in developing bacteria resistant to antibiotics so avoid self-medicating with antibiotics.  It would be best to take antibiotics when you have your medical practitioner prescribe it to you to treat bacterial infections because it is ineffective against viral infections.

It is also important not to self-medicate while you are taking any antibiotic medicine including erythromycin. It is better to seek consult from your medical practitioner on how to appropriately deal with the particular erythromycin side effects. You might be overlooking a potentially fatal complication from taking erythromycin without knowing it so it’s best to have it checked first.

Moreover, erythromycin can make your skin more sensitive and often you can sunburn easily. This is why you need to avoid excessive sun exposure and you should definitely avoid trips to the tanning beds.  It is also advisable to wear protecting clothing whenever you step out of the house and don’t forget to lather up on sunscreen at least 30 minutes before you step out.  Check that the sunscreen is at least SPF 30 or higher.

It might seem overwhelming and you might be worried that you won’t remember this when the time comes that you need to take erythromycin however; a good rule of thumb with any medication is to always read the drug label prior to taking it.  It always contains all the necessary precautions and warnings that you need to know.

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