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antibiotic
Treats a bacterial infection. This molecule appears in 725 of the medicines we have indexed.
We do not make a formula for this treatment. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about this active ingredient.
See the detailsBy the Layer Nutrition editorial teamHow the atlas classifies the 664 molecules
It is a medicine in the “antibiotic (penicillin)” category. Antibiotics treat infections caused by bacteria. They are taken as a course, over a set period, until the end of the prescription.
In practice: Treats a bacterial infection. Its use is generally limited in time and adjusted to the situation.
These names come from the public registers of 32 countries: the ANSM for France, the AEMPS for Spain, the AIFA for Italy, the HPRA for Ireland, Swissmedic for Switzerland, and the European Medicines Agency for the others.
Most widespread
No name matches.
The atlas gives each molecule one of these three answers. Most call for nothing.
Amoxicillin can unbalance the gut microbiota for the duration of the course, which explains the diarrhoea sometimes observed. Diet helps support this flora, with fermented foods and fibre that nourish it meal after meal.
Fermented foods provide live cultures: plain yoghurt first of all, easy to add to every meal. As for fibre, which feeds the bacteria in the gut, rely on whole grains such as oats and barley, as well as legumes, lentils, beans and chickpeas.
Fruit and vegetables round out the intake: the banana, rich in fibre, slips easily into breakfast or a snack. Spreading this fibre across the day, together with a share of fermented foods, maintains the microbiota during and after the course, alongside your treatment.
Amoxicillin belongs to the beta-lactam family, within the aminopenicillin group. It targets the construction of the wall that surrounds and protects the bacterium. To do so, it binds to the penicillin-binding proteins, the PBPs, enzymes lodged in that wall. By attaching to them, it blocks transpeptidation, the step that cross-links the peptidoglycan chains, the mesh that gives the wall its strength.
Deprived of these cross-links, the wall no longer holds. The cell then activates its own autolytic enzymes, which break it down from the inside. The bacterium ruptures and dies: amoxicillin is bactericidal, it kills the germ rather than merely slowing its multiplication.
Amoxicillin treats bacterial infections in several areas of the body. It is used against lower respiratory tract infections, ENT conditions (ear, nose, throat) and acute bacterial sinusitis. It also serves in certain urinary tract infections and skin infections.
It also plays a part in eradicating Helicobacter pylori, the stomach bacterium, in combination with other medicines. In every case it targets a bacterial infection: it has no effect on viruses. The choice of the drug, the dose and the duration rests with the doctor, according to the germ involved and the site of the infection.
The usual dose in capsules ranges from 250 mg to 500 mg, three times a day, to be spread evenly across the day, for example in the morning, in the middle of the afternoon and at bedtime. Depending on the form prescribed, doses are spaced 8 or 12 hours apart, at the same times each day. Food does not alter its absorption: you can take it with or away from meals. Taking it during a meal does, however, help limit stomach upset.
Regular timing matters, because the plasma half-life is short, about one hour in a healthy person: spacing doses evenly keeps a concentration effective against the germ. Complete the whole course, even if symptoms fade before the end, because feeling better does not mean that all the bacteria have gone. Do not stop the treatment on your own and speak to your doctor if you run into difficulty.
The most common effects involve the digestive tract and the skin. Diarrhoea, nausea and skin rash are common: they affect between 1 person in 100 and fewer than 1 in 10. Vomiting, hives and pruritus, that is to say itching, are uncommon, from 1 person in 1,000 to fewer than 1 in 100.
Other effects remain very rare, in fewer than 1 person in 10,000: candidiasis of the skin and mucous membranes, antibiotic-associated colitis including pseudomembranous colitis, hepatitis and cholestatic jaundice, as well as a prolongation of bleeding time and prothrombin time. A severe allergic reaction, anaphylaxis, remains rare but possible: it is an emergency and calls for contacting emergency services without delay.
The diarrhoea that sometimes accompanies the antibiotic is partly explained by a disturbance of the gut microbiota, the whole set of bacteria that populate the intestine. By targeting the germ responsible for the infection, the treatment also alters this flora, which can unbalance transit for the duration of the course.
A Cochrane review assessed probiotics in this context in children: it concludes there is a moderate protective effect in preventing antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, with a number needed to treat of 9 and a moderate level of evidence. In other words, about nine children need to be treated to avoid one episode of diarrhoea. Diet also supports this flora during and after the treatment.
Several medicines interact with amoxicillin. In people on oral anticoagulants, it can raise the INR, the international normalised ratio that measures coagulation, which warrants close monitoring. Probenecid slows its elimination by the kidney and therefore prolongs its blood concentrations, while the combination with allopurinol increases the frequency of skin rashes. A possible reduction in the effectiveness of hormonal contraceptives, pills, patches, rings and injections, is sometimes mentioned, but this link remains debated.
About 60% of the dose leaves unchanged in the urine within 6 to 8 hours: elimination is mainly renal. For a short course, no routine laboratory work-up is necessary. With prolonged use, renal, hepatic and haematological functions are monitored periodically. The prolongation of prothrombin time affects vitamin K-dependent coagulation, which overlaps with the vigilance to maintain in patients on anticoagulants.
Beyond the plate, a single isolated nutrient can be worth discussing, to confirm with your doctor or pharmacist. Here is which one and in which form.
Probiotics are live micro-organisms, mainly lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. The CFU count and the number of strains are among the selection criteria; gastro-resistant capsules protect the bacteria from stomach acidity.
Preferred forma single documented strain, for example Saccharomyces boulardii, with the CFU count stated
To be confirmed with your doctor or pharmacist.
Type the name written on the box. The atlas gives you its answer.
For example Panadol, Doliprane or paracetamol.
The most commonly reported are digestive problems, such as diarrhoea, nausea or loose stools, and sometimes skin rashes. These effects are listed in the medicine’s leaflet. For any reaction that persists or worries you, refer to the leaflet and speak to your doctor or pharmacist.
The leaflet does not describe a direct interaction between amoxicillin and alcohol, but alcohol can worsen some digestive discomfort and tiredness. To manage your treatment, refer to the leaflet and to the advice of your doctor or pharmacist.
Amoxicillin is among the antibiotics that health authorities consider usable during pregnancy and breastfeeding when the doctor judges it necessary. This decision always rests with the professional who follows you: refer to the leaflet and to their advice.
A reduced effectiveness of oral contraception is sometimes raised with antibiotics. The interactions specific to your treatment are detailed in the leaflet, and your doctor or pharmacist can tell you what to do.
Amoxicillin also acts on part of the gut flora, which research links to digestive problems such as diarrhoea. Review studies associate taking certain probiotics with better prevention of antibiotic-related diarrhoea. They are generally taken during the treatment and for a few days afterwards, spacing their intake apart from that of the antibiotic.
The most studied strains in this context are the yeast Saccharomyces boulardii and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. The yeast has the advantage of not being destroyed by the antibiotic, since it is not a bacterium. Favour a documented active ingredient, keeping an interval between the probiotic and the antibiotic, and on the advice of your pharmacist.
These answers draw on the patient leaflet and on the published literature. For any question about your medicine, the patient leaflet and your doctor or pharmacist are the reference.
We will write to you the day your formula becomes available.