What are the possible side effects of Erythromycin?
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction to Erythromycin: hives; difficult breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Call your doctor at once if you have:
diarrhea that is watery or bloody;
headache with chest pain and severe dizziness, fainting, fast or pounding heartbeats;
hearing problems (rare);
liver problems--nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, tired feeling, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes); or
severe skin reaction--fever, sore throat, swelling in your face or tongue, burning in your eyes, skin pain, followed by a red or purple skin rash that spreads (especially in the face or upper body) and causes blistering and peeling.
Older adults may be more likely to have serious side effects from Erythromycin, including hearing loss, or a life-threatening fast heart rate.
Common Erythromycin side effects may include:
mild diarrhea; or
nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, loss of appetite.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Side effects of Erythromycin in details
A side effect of any drug can be defined as the unwanted or undesired effect produced by the drug. The side effect can be major or in few medications minor that can be ignored. Side effects not only vary from drug to drug, but it also depends on the dose of the drug, the individual sensitivity of the person, brand or company which manufactures it. If side effects overweigh the actual effect of the medicine, it may be difficult to convince the patient to take the drug. Few patients get specific side effects to specific drugs; in that case, a doctor replaces the drug with another. If you feel any side effect and it troubles you, do not forget to share with your healthcare practitioner.
In addition to its needed effects, some unwanted effects may be caused by Erythromycin (the active ingredient contained in Erythromycin). In the event that any of these side effects do occur, they may require medical attention.
Major Side Effects
You should check with your doctor immediately if any of these side effects occur when taking Erythromycin:
Rare
Blistering, peeling, or loosening of the skin
chills
cough
diarrhea
difficulty with swallowing
dizziness
fast heartbeat
hives or welts
joint or muscle pain
puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue
red, irritated eyes
red skin lesions, often with a purple center
redness of the skin
skin rash
sore throat
sores, ulcers, or white spots in the mouth or on the lips
tightness in the chest
unusual tiredness or weakness
wheezing
Incidence not known:
Abdominal or stomach cramps or tenderness
bloating
bloody or cloudy urine
chest pain or discomfort
dark urine
diarrhea, watery and severe, which may also be bloody
fainting
fever
general tiredness and weakness
greatly decreased frequency of urination or amount of urine
hearing loss
increased thirst
irregular heartbeat recurrent
irregular or slow heart rate
light-colored stools
nausea and vomiting
pain
swelling of the feet or lower legs
unusual weight loss
upper right abdominal or stomach pain
yellow eyes and skin
Minor Side Effects
Some of the side effects that can occur with Erythromycin may not need medical attention. As your body adjusts to the medicine during treatment these side effects may go away. Your health care professional may also be able to tell you about ways to reduce or prevent some of these side effects. If any of the following side effects continue, are bothersome or if you have any questions about them, check with your health care professional:
Incidence not known:
Abdominal or stomach pain
diarrhea (mild)
loss of appetite
weight loss
What is the most important information I should know about Erythromycin?
Erythromycin solution is for external use only. Avoid contact with the eyes, nose, mouth, and other mucous membranes. If you get Erythromycin solution in your eyes, immediately wash them out with cool tap water.
Talk with your doctor before you use any other medicines or cleansers on your skin.
Once you begin using Erythromycin solution, it may take 3 to 8 weeks before you begin to see improvement.
If severe diarrhea or stomach pain or cramping develops during treatment or within several months after treatment with Erythromycin solution, check with your doctor or pharmacist right away. Do not treat it without first checking with your doctor.
Be sure to use Erythromycin solution for the full course of treatment. If you do not, the medicine may not clear up your infection completely. The bacteria could also become less sensitive to this or other medicines. This could make the infection harder to treat in the future.
Long-term or repeated use of Erythromycin solution may cause a second infection. Tell your doctor if signs of a second infection occur. Your medicine may need to be changed to treat this.
Erythromycin solution is flammable. Do not store or use near an open flame or while smoking.
Erythromycin solution should be used with extreme caution in CHILDREN; safety and effectiveness in children have not been confirmed.
PREGNANCY and BREAST-FEEDING: If you become pregnant, contact your doctor. You will need to discuss the benefits and risks of using Erythromycin solution while you are pregnant. Erythromycin solution is found in breast milk. If you are or will be breast-feeding while you use Erythromycin solution, check with your doctor. Discuss any possible risks to your baby.
Erythromycin contraindications
Contraindication can be described as a special circumstance or a disease or a condition wherein you are not supposed to use the drug or undergo particular treatment as it can harm the patient; at times, it can be dangerous and life threatening as well. When a procedure should not be combined with other procedure or when a medicine cannot be taken with another medicine, it is called Relative contraindication. Contraindications should be taken seriously as they are based on the relative clinical experience of health care providers or from proven research findings.
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You should not take Erythromycin if you are allergic to it, or if you are also using cisapride (Propulsid), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45, Migranal), ergotamine (Ergomar, Cafergot, Migergot), or pimozide (Orap). Erythromycin may interact with these medicines and could cause dangerous or life-threatening heart rhythm disorders.
Before you take Erythromycin, tell your doctor if you have liver disease, myasthenia gravis, a heart rhythm disorder, a history of Long QT syndrome, or low levels of potassium or magnesium in your blood.
Take this medicine for the full prescribed length of time. Your symptoms may improve before the infection is completely cleared. Skipping doses may also increase your risk of further infection that is resistant to antibiotics. Erythromycin will not treat a viral infection such as the common cold or flu.
Antibiotic medicines can cause diarrhea, which may be a sign of a new infection. If you have diarrhea that is watery or bloody, stop taking Erythromycin and call your doctor. Do not use anti-diarrhea medicine unless your doctor tells you to.
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References
DailyMed. "ERYTHROMYCIN: DailyMed provides trustworthy information about marketed drugs in the United States. DailyMed is the official provider of FDA label information (package inserts).". https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailyme... (accessed September 17, 2018).
DTP/NCI. "erythromycin: The NCI Development Therapeutics Program (DTP) provides services and resources to the academic and private-sector research communities worldwide to facilitate the discovery and development of new cancer therapeutic agents.". https://dtp.cancer.gov/dtpstandard/s... (accessed September 17, 2018).
European Chemicals Agency - ECHA. "Erythromycin stearate: The information provided here is aggregated from the "Notified classification and labelling" from ECHA's C&L Inventory. ". https://echa.europa.eu/information-o... (accessed September 17, 2018).
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The results of a survey conducted on ndrugs.com for Erythromycin are given in detail below. The results of the survey conducted are based on the impressions and views of the website users and consumers taking Erythromycin. We implore you to kindly base your medical condition or therapeutic choices on the result or test conducted by a physician or licensed medical practitioners.
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