Hello everyone, I am Huaizhang Pharmacist, and today I will tell you about azithromycin, a few little things you need to know. First of all, the first point, you get a drug, azithromycin, how to tell if it is a drug, and what category does this drug belong to? Look at this one**.
Like this, with the word "national medicine" is a medicine, with a letter h after the word "national medicine", what does h mean? It refers to a chemical drug, which is the Western medicine in the eyes of the common people.
In addition to the letter with H, some Chinese medicine quasi-words with other letters, the Chinese medicine quasi-word with h after the Chinese patent word is Chinese patent medicine, and the one with S is a biological agent. For example, antiviral oral liquid, nasturtium granules are with the letter Z, like bifidobacteria, albumin, intravenous human immunoglobulin, these are with the letter S.
The second point is that azithromycin is a prescription drug, which means that azithromycin is a drug that needs to be diagnosed by a doctor and prescribed before you can buy and use it. You should not buy this medicine at your own discretion. So how can you tell if a drug is prescription or over-the-counter? Look to see if there is an OTC logo in the medicine box.
If there is an OTC logo, it means that it is an over-the-counter drug, without an OTC logo, it is a prescription drug, and an over-the-counter drug, you can use it according to your own judgment and then strictly follow the instructions.
Many careful friends may find that there are two kinds of OTC, red and green. So what's the difference between them? The OTC with a red bottom is an over-the-counter drug with a red bottom, and the OTC with a green bottom is an over-the-counter drug with a green bottom.
The third point, azithromycin, what is it used for? How to use it?
Azithromycin, which is a macrolide antibiotic, exerts an antimicrobial effect by inhibiting protein synthesis in bacteria and blocking the composition of ribosomal subunits. It is mainly used for community-acquired pneumonia, otitis media, sinusitis, etc. caused by sensitive bacteria. For example, mycoplasma infection, mycoplasma infection, Haemophilus influenzae infection, and so on. Be careful, but there are two uses of azithromycin, a three-day and a five-day use, and the daily dosage of these two uses is not the same. Look at this**.
You should have heard that azithromycin cannot be taken all the time, it needs to be taken for a period of time and stopped for a while. Why?
Mainly, on the one hand, because azithromycin has a long half-life, which can reach about 70 hours, which is to avoid azithromycin from remaining and accumulating in the body, producing ***
On the other hand, azithromycin has a post-antibiotic effect, what is the post-antibiotic effect? This effect is also known as the Trojan horse effect, the phagocytic cells in our body can take up a high concentration of azithromycin, and transport the drug to the infected site, release the drug at the infected site, and produce an antibacterial effect, even if the blood concentration of azithromycin drops below the minimum antibacterial concentration, the blood concentration of the infected site is still at a high level, and it can still exert its antibacterial effect.
Therefore, even if you take the medicine for a few days and stop the medicine, azithromycin can still exert an antibacterial effect in the body in the days when the drug is stopped.
Fourth, what is azithromycin***
Azithromycin mainly includes gastrointestinal discomfort, allergic reactions, abnormal liver function, etc. After taking azithromycin, symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc., may occur, which may be related to the stimulating effect of azithromycin on the gastrointestinal tract. Some patients may also have allergic reactions such as rash and itching.
In addition, azithromycin may cause abnormal liver function, manifested by elevated aminotransferases. In addition, azithromycin may also cause other adverse reactions, such as tinnitus, headache, etc., but the incidence is low.
It is important to note that not everyone will experience these***, but if you experience any uncomfortable symptoms after using azithromycin, you should seek medical attention promptly. At the same time, follow your doctor's advice to use the medication correctly and avoid increasing or decreasing the dose or changing the way you take it. Are you clear?
Pharmacy science, for reference only.