Readers ask: When to take antibiotics before or after food?

Should Antibiotics be taken with food or on an empty stomach?

Ask your doctor or pharmacist whether to take your antibiotic with food. Eating can help reduce stomach side effects from certain antibiotics such as amoxicillin and doxycycline (Doryx). However, this approach won’t work for all antibiotics. Some antibiotics, such as tetracycline, must be taken on an empty stomach.

Which antibiotics should be taken on an empty stomach?

Medications that should be taken on an empty stomach include:

• ampicillin.
• bisacodyl.
• cloxacillin.
• didanosine.
• etidronate.
• risedronate.
• sotalol.
• sucralfate.

Why antibiotics are taken after food?

To reduce side effects of stomach irritation, including indigestion, stomach inflammation or ulcers. Some medicines can irritate the stomach, and taking them with food will reduce this effect. Things such as biscuits or a sandwich, or a glass of milk, are usually enough.

What is the proper way to take antibiotics?

Take antibiotics exactly as prescribed if you need them.

1. Take them exactly as your doctor tells you.
2. Do not share your antibiotics with others.
3. Do not save them for later. Talk to your pharmacist about safely discarding leftover medicines.
4. Do not take antibiotics prescribed for someone else.

What foods to avoid while on antibiotics?

The Bottom Line

What’s more, eating high-fiber foods, fermented foods and prebiotic foods after taking antibiotics may also help reestablish a healthy gut microbiota. However, it is best to avoid grapefruit and calcium-fortified foods during antibiotics, as these can affect the absorption of antibiotics.

Why do I have to take antibiotics on an empty stomach?

Some medicines need to be taken “before food” or “on an empty stomach“. This is because food and some drinks can affect the way these medicines work. For example, taking some medicines at the same time as eating may prevent your stomach and intestines absorbing the medicine, making it less effective.

Is it bad to take antibiotics on empty stomach?

Some antibiotics are better absorbed on an empty stomach, so you don’t want to limit their effectiveness. But if the label says, “Take with food,” taking your pills with a meal might help ease stomach issues.

Is it safe to take antibiotics for 3 weeks?

Antibiotics, even used for short periods of time, let alone for life-long therapy, raise the issues of both toxicity and the emergence of bacterial antibiotic resistance. (Bacterial antibiotic resistance means that the bacteria do not respond to the antibiotic treatment.)

Do antibiotics make you tired and weak?

If you‘re taking prescription antibiotics, you may feel tired and fatigued. This may be a symptom of the infection being treated by the antibiotics, or it may be a serious, but rare, side effect of the antibiotic. Learn more about how antibiotics may affect your body, and what you can do to counteract these effects.

Should you drink a lot of water while taking antibiotics?

A glass of water can dilute stomach contents and help get an antibiotic through before your belly can get irritated, Tomaka says. While drinking enough water can help prevent nausea from most medications, other drugs need a full glass for proper absorption, he says.

Can I eat banana after taking antibiotics?

“There’s a few antibiotics which milk can block the absorption,” Dr Walker said. “This is because the calcium in milk binds to the drug in the gut and reduces absorption.” With bananas being so high in potassium, they can have an impact when taking blood pressure medication.

What should I eat before taking antibiotics?

A few of the most common foods to eat while taking antibiotics include: Prebiotics — Prebiotics are the building blocks for healthy gut bacteria. When you ingest them, they help to make your gut a friendly place for more healthy bacteria to grow. Find them in kefir, yogurt, and even fortified cereals.

What happens if you take two antibiotics at the same time?

There’s an increased risk of side effects if you take 2 doses closer together than recommended. Accidentally taking 1 extra dose of your antibiotic is unlikely to cause you any serious harm. But it will increase your chances of getting side effects, such as pain in your stomach, diarrhoea, and feeling or being sick.

Should I wake up at night to take antibiotics?

Ideally, antibiotics that are taken three or four times a day should be spaced out evenly, he says. With the ones that need to be taken on an empty stomach, you could find yourself needing to wake up in the night to get all the pills down over a 24-hour period.

What can you not do while on antibiotics?

The Do’s and Don’ts of Taking Antibiotics

• Do: Take the Entire Course of Antibiotics.
• Don’t: Drink Alcohol.
• Do: Take Your Prescription at the Same Time Every Day.
• Don’t: Take Antibiotics With Dairy or Fruit Juice.
• Do: Protect Yourself from the Sun.
• Don’t: Hesitate to Talk to Your Doctor About Your Concerns.