What is Azithromycin?
Azithromycin is an antibiotic used to treat lots of different types of bacterial infections. It’s sometimes prescribed for chlamydia when someone can’t take Doxycycline, which is normally the ‘first choice’ antibiotic treatment for chlamydia.
Azithromycin is usually taken for three days, and a clinician will usually tell you to take two tablets on the first day of treatment and one tablet on the second and third days.
Chlamydia is a very common infection. A WHO estimate put global chlamydia infections at 127 million.[1] In the USA, two thirds of infections are among 15-24 year olds.[2]
Chlamydia is spread through unprotected sex, including oral sex.
Symptoms of chlamydia include:
- pain when peeing;
- in women, bleeding after sex;
- in men, pain and discomfort in the testicles;
- unusual discharge from the genitals or rectum.
It’s possible to have chlamydia without knowing because most people with it don’t get any symptoms. Estimates vary, but it’s thought that 61% of cases in women and 68% of cases in men are asymptomatic.[3] This is one reason why men and women under 25 are advised to get tested each year if they regularly engage in unprotected sex.
You need to get tested before you can order treatment for chlamydia. You can get a test at a sexual health clinic and upload this during your consultation with us to be recommended treatment. If you’re not able to take Doxycycline, the clinician might prescribe Azithromycin.
If your partner has a positive test result, you can sometimes be prescribed antibiotics before you’ve had a test result back to confirm your diagnosis.
Three weeks after finishing your treatment, it’s recommended to check that treatment has been successful by taking a test.
How does Azithromycin work?
Azithromycin belongs to a group of medicines called macrolide antibiotics. Chlamydia is caused by a type of bacteria called C. Trachomatis. The antibiotic attacks the bacteria that causes infection and weakens it before eventually killing it. It does this by stopping the bacterial cell from making a protein which helps it to grow. Without the protein, the bacteria can’t multiply and the infection clears up.
What doses of Azithromycin are there?
Azithromycin comes in two different doses: 500mg and 250mg. When it’s used to treat chlamydia, the 500mg dose is used.
You usually take Azithromycin for three days when taking it for chlamydia. You’ll take two 500mg tablets on day one and one 500mg tablets on days two and three.
There’s a branded version of the drug called Zithromax, from Pfizer. Azithromycin is the generic version of it.
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