How does Azithromycin work?
Azithromycin, which is a type of medicine called a macrolide antibiotic. (NB. Azithromycin is also available without a brand name, ie as the generic medicine.) It is used to treat infections caused by bacteria. Azithromycin works by preventing bacteria from producing proteins that are essential to them. Without these proteins the bacteria cannot grow, replicate and increase in numbers. Azithromycin therefore stops the spread of infection and remaining bacteria are killed by the body’s immune system or eventually die. It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is active against a wide variety of bacteria that cause a wide variety of infections. It may be used to treat infections of the upper or lower airways, skin or soft tissue, or ears. It is also be used to treat the sexually-transmitted infection chlamydia. To make sure the bacteria causing an infection are susceptible to azithromycin your doctor may take a tissue sample, for example a swab from the throat or skin. What is it used for?
