What is the difference between penicillin and ampicillin




















Example: ampicillin mg every 6 hours for days Example: amoxicillin mg 3 times a day for 10 days How long is the typical treatment? Adults and children Adults and children Conditions treated by ampicillin and amoxicillin Ampicillin is used to treat bacterial infections including:.

Antibiotics such as ampicillin or amoxicillin should only be used in bacterial infections when determined to be appropriate by your healthcare provider.

This helps prevent antibiotic resistance. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC is promoting the appropriate use of antibiotics by helping healthcare providers choose the appropriate antibiotic and reduce unnecessary antibiotic use when treating various infectious diseases.

This is called antibiotic stewardship. One study , from , compared the two drugs for ear infection in children and found both drugs to be similarly effective. Amoxicillin was better tolerated, with fewer side effects than ampicillin. Ampicillin alone is not prescribed as much as it was in the past , due to the development of drug resistance. Currently, amoxicillin is much more widely prescribed.

However, ampicillin in combination with sulbactam Unasyn is commonly given as an injection in the hospital setting. Sulbactam is a drug called a beta-lactamase inhibitor and helps prevent drug resistance. In the outpatient setting, this is similar to a patient taking Augmentin, which is amoxicillin plus clavulanic acid, a beta-lactamase inhibitor.

The most effective medication can be determined by your healthcare provider, who can diagnose your infection as bacterial or viral. If the infection is bacterial, the decision on which antibiotic to use will be based on what bacteria is causing the infection if known, or if not known, what bacteria is suspected to be causing the infection.

Your prescriber will look at your full medical history as well as other medical conditions you have and other medications you take that may interact with ampicillin or amoxicillin. Get the pharmacy discount card. A typical ampicillin prescription would be for 40, mg capsules. A typical prescription of amoxicillin would be for 30, mg capsules. Serious anaphylactic reactions require emergency treatment. In general, antibiotic treatment may make you more susceptible to diarrhea or a yeast infection.

Ask your healthcare provider if you should take a probiotic. This is not a full list of side effects—other side effects may occur. Consult your healthcare provider for a full list of adverse events. Ampicillin and amoxicillin have a similar list of drug interactions because they are structurally similar medications.

Taking ampicillin or amoxicillin with an anticoagulant such as warfarin may affect bleeding—patients should be monitored if on this combination. Also, allopurinol , a gout medication, in combination with ampicillin or amoxicillin can increase the chance of developing a rash. Oral contraceptives also known as birth control pills may be less effective when taken in combination with antibiotics such as ampicillin or amoxicillin. Consult your healthcare provider about the need for backup birth control such as a condom while you are taking an antibiotic.

Ampicillin and amoxicillin both interact with the live oral typhoid vaccine, Vivotif Berna. The antibiotic may inactivate the vaccine. This is not a complete list of drug interactions—other drug interactions may occur. Consult your healthcare provider for a full list of drug interactions.

Ampicillin is a beta-lactam, penicillin antibiotic, used to treat many different bacterial infections in adults and children. Unasyn contains ampicillin and sulbactam. It is available in injection form only. Sulbactam is a beta-lactamase inhibitor, which is added to ampicillin in Unasyn to prevent antibiotic resistance. Amoxicillin is a beta-lactam antibiotic, related to penicillin, used to treat a variety of bacterial infections in adults and children.

Amoxicillin is a very common prescription antibiotic. Augmentin which contains amoxicillin and clavulanic acid is another very common antibiotic prescribed for many bacterial infections. Clavulanic acid is a beta-lactamase inhibitor, which is added to amoxicillin in Augmentin to help prevent antibiotic resistance.

Ampicillin and amoxicillin are very similar. They are structurally similar to each other and are in the same drug class. They have similar side effects and drug interactions, but some different indications and different dosing. You can read more about the two drugs in the information outlined above. Both drugs can be effective when used on their own; however, ampicillin is more susceptible to drug resistance, so amoxicillin is more widely prescribed.

When either drug is used in combination with a beta-lactamase inhibitor Unasyn as an injection or Augmentin as an oral medication , the antimicrobial coverage is more effective, and the risk of drug resistance is lower. Your doctor may do a susceptibility test to find out which drug may be better for your type of infection.

For this test, your doctor collects a sample of your body fluid, such as saliva or urine. They send the sample to a lab to find out which strain of bacteria is growing in your body. Then, they choose the drug that best treats the infection caused by that type of bacteria. The chart below lists examples of the different types of infections that amoxicillin and penicillin can be used to treat. Amoxicillin and penicillin are both available as generic drugs. Generic medications are copies of brand-name medications.

They have the same features as brand-name versions, such as dosage, intended use, side effects, and route of administration. However, generic medications typically cost less than brand-name medications. Therefore, penicillin and the generic versions of amoxicillin are likely cheaper than the brand-name versions of amoxicillin.

Both amoxicillin and penicillin are typically covered by most health insurance plans without a prior authorization. Brand-name medications, on the other hand, may require a prior authorization.

A prior authorization is when your insurance provider requires extra steps before they will pay for your medication. For example, they may ask you to try the generic version first before they will pay for the brand-name drug. Both amoxicillin and penicillin can cause side effects. Call your doctor if you have any serious side effects when using these drugs.

Amoxicillin and penicillin also interact with similar medications. An interaction is when a substance changes the way a drug works. This can be harmful or prevent the drug from working well. The table below lists examples of drugs that most often interact with amoxicillin and penicillin.

This can help your doctor prevent possible interactions. Certain medications can make certain health conditions or diseases worse. For example, if you have severe kidney disease, you should talk with your doctor before taking amoxicillin or penicillin. Also ask your doctor if you can use amoxicillin and penicillin safely if you have severe allergies or asthma. If you have any of these symptoms, stop taking the antibiotic and call your doctor right away.

If your symptoms are severe, call or go to the nearest emergency room. Antibiotics such as amoxicillin or penicillin can cause severe diarrhea. Sometimes the diarrhea is linked with an infection by a type of bacteria called Clostridium difficile C. Symptoms of C. If you have these symptoms, call your doctor right away.

If your symptoms are severe, go to the nearest emergency room. You can drink alcohol while taking either amoxicillin or penicillin. There are no special precautions against using these drugs with alcohol. Still, there are other things to consider about drinking while treating an infection.

For more information, read about combining antibiotics and alcohol. If you have a bacterial infection, your doctor will prescribe the best antibiotic to treat your type of infection. This may be amoxicillin, penicillin, or another drug. If you have questions about these drugs, be sure to ask your doctor. Here are a few key points to remember if your doctor prescribes amoxicillin or penicillin for you. Are you taking antibiotics and wondering if you can drink alcohol?



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