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Antibiotics help your body fight against bacterial (and other microorganisms) infections. This medicine can be pills, liquids, or capsules, and the most popular antibiotics are Amoxicillin and Penicillin.
These two antibiotics have helped many people throughout the years, but due to their closely similar benefits, they also confused several.
So, how do they differ from each other? Can you take them simultaneously? Which one is more effective? For starters, here's a brief comparison between Amoxicillin and Penicillin that can help you.
What are Antibiotics?
Before discussing the difference between amoxicillin and penicillin, you must first understand their nature. These medications are what you call antibiotic medicines that are responsible for fighting off infections caused by bacteria.
Antibiotics are strong medications that treat virus diseases, except viral infections like colds. It kills the bacteria or makes it difficult for the microorganism to grow and multiply. Due to its nature, it also has pretty adverse side effects that some patients might experience.
Although mild, a person can experience nausea, headache, and diarrhea. That's also why you can only get antibiotics with a prescription from your doctor.
Abusing antibiotics too often can build resistance and might not work against the bacteria. It’s also one of the major concerns because it can put the patients at risk of such a serious problem.
Nonetheless, remember that drinking the wrong medication or even the wrong dosage can lead you to antibiotic misuse and cause antibiotic resistance.
To prevent this, always ensure to follow your doctor's prescription. Don't skip a visit so that you can give an update about your situation. Then, they can make updated measures to your prescription.
Moreover, antibiotics have two popular medications called penicillin and amoxicillin. Doctors prescribe these medications and have helped a lot of patients. To further understand their differences, here's a brief description.
What Is Penicillin?
Penicillin is the very first antibiotic ever to be discovered, and to note this antibiotic was discovered rather surprisingly. Alexander Fleming just returned from a holiday in 1982 when he found a mold growing on a Petri dish of Staphylococcus bacteria.
He noticed that the mold seemed to prevent the bacteria from growing. This discovery marks penicillin as one of the most significant accidental discoveries in history.
Going back, penicillin is a prescription-only medication, which means you can't legally purchase one over the counter in the absence of a doctor's prescription.
You can take the penicillin in oral form (penicillin V) or its injectable form (penicillin G), and the former is the most common type of this medication. The length of your penicillin treatment can vary depending on your condition.
You can purchase penicillin using a Buzzrx Prescription savings coupon or other discount cards for a more affordable price, or you can also visit your insurance provider for authorization.
If not, you can also ask for its generic counterpart to save you more money but with the same effectiveness.
What Can Penicillin Treat?
As mentioned, penicillin can treat many bacterial infections from ears and nose to lower respiratory tract infections and other areas of your body. Here's a list of conditions that penicillin V (the most common form of penicillin) helps treat.
●Scarlet Fever
●Dental Infections
●Mild to Moderate Bacterial Respiratory Infections (including pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, and throat infections)
●Mild Skin Infections
Furthermore, it's best to remember that different bacterial species can cause several infections, and penicillin may not work against all of them. That's why the healthcare industry can't just offer penicillin to the public without any prescription.
What Is Amoxicillin?
Amoxicillin is a prescription-only medication that patients can only acquire through a doctor's prescription. This medication is a broad-spectrum bactericidal antibiotic that targets many bacterial infections.
It works by killing the primary bacteria that have caused them. Amoxicillin is also usually used with other medications to eliminate certain diseases. Furthermore, it's in a class of medications called penicillin-like antibiotics.
If amoxicillin and other antibiotics are taken carelessly, it could result in super infections. Super infections are caused by bacteria that become resistant to medication because of poor adherence to proper medicating orders.
What Can Amoxicillin Treat?
Although amoxicillin and penicillin are closely similar, the former can treat more bacterial infections than penicillin. Still, it's important to remember that you get your physician's prescription to better guide you throughout your treatment process.
In deciding which type of antibiotic to prescribe you, your doctor will collect a sample of your body fluid (saliva or urine). Then, they will send it to a lab to have it tested to help them figure out what strain of bacteria may have caused your illness.
Afterward, they will select the best drug to treat your condition better.
Still, to give you an idea of what infections amoxicillin can help you with, here's a list of conditions that you can look into:
●Scarlet Fever
●Dental Infections
●Mild to Moderate Bacterial Respiratory Infections (including pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, and throat infections)
●Mild Skin Infections
●Urinary Tract Infections
●Ulcers
What Is the Best Antibiotic Between Penicillin and Amoxicillin?
Although penicillin and amoxicillin have similarities, the two are also slightly different from each other. Their significant difference lies in the range of diseases they can cure. While amoxicillin treats more diseases than penicillin, they're equally effective.
Thus, it's crucial to have your doctor's assistance and expert advice in treating your disease. This is to give you the best treatment options that are possible for you. In doing so, you can improve your chances of getting antibiotic resistance.
Precautions
Your doctor will give you a list of precautions to remember to help you treat the drugs. So, keep your attention on them when listing them out.
Aside from that, during your visit with your doctor, you must become completely honest with your medical history and current health conditions. If you have severe kidney disease, it's best to inform them as soon as possible before taking any of the antibiotics.
Moreover, you should be mindful of your allergies, and if you're allergic to penicillin, you also shouldn't take amoxicillin. If you're unaware of this, you may experience allergic reactions like trouble breathing, rash, hives, and swelling of your lips or tongue.
If you've experienced any of these after taking the antibiotics, call your doctor right away or contact 911 for immediate help.
Final Thoughts
Penicillin and amoxicillin are equally effective antibiotics that save the lives of several people. They're strong medications that will need to be closely monitored. So, you shouldn't take them lightly and should constantly be in contact with your doctor. If you have more questions about your medication, don't be afraid to ask your doctor, and always try to clarify the things that seem unclear to you.
