Drug name: Ospamox

Other names used:

• Sinacilin®
• Tolodina®
• Trimox®
• Zerrsox®
• Zimox®

Active Ingredients:

• Amoxicillin

Therapeutic effects of Ospamox: Amoxicillin is classified to be an aminobenzyl penicillin. It acts by directly inhibiting the formation of the bacterial cell wall and therefore is bactericidal in action. Its action is strong against many Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms except beta-lactamase producing organisms.

Indications: Ospamox is administered to treat the following conditions:

• Infections of the upper respiratory tract
• Infections of the lower respiratory tract
• Infections of the genito-urinary tract
• Infections of skin and soft tissues
• Infections of the lower urinary tract
• To prevent Endocarditis
• To treat swelling and irritation of the urethra (Urethritis) caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Precautions and Restrictions: The active ingredient of this medicine, Amoxicillin belongs to a class of drugs called penicillin and it should not be administered to patients who are highly sensitive to beta-lactam antibiotics such as cephalosporins, penicillins.

Side effects of Ospamox: Users rarely experience any side effects while using penicillins, and even if any side effects occur it's only mild and transitory in nature. The below mentioned side effects are not unique to this medicine and may occur to people using any form of penicillin.

Some common side effects:

• Problems related to the gastrointestinal system such as changes in taste perception, dry mouth, and eruption on a mucous membrane particularly inside the mouth, diarrhea, soft stools, flatulence, poor appetite or appetite loss, urge to vomit, etc. The above mentioned side effects are generally mild and often subside during the or soon after the treatment. These gastric side effects mainly occur due to intake of this medicine during meals.
• Rashes on the skin

Few uncommon side effects are:

• If this medicine is used for a long period of time then super infections and colonization with resistant organisms or yeasts such as oral and vaginal candidiasis may occur.
• Vomiting
• Reaction on the skin to this drug includes urticaria, pruritus, exanthema, etc. Normally these reactions may occur within 5 to 11 days after the treatment is started but if the user experiences urticaria then he should stop taking this medicine immediately.

Some rare side effects of this medicine are:

• Eosinophilia
• The users may also experience mucocutaneous candidiasis and antibiotic associated colitis including pseudomembranous colitis and haemorrhagic colitis. And if the user has serious and prolonged period of diarrhea then a rare possibility of pseudomembranous colitis should be considered. Avoid using anti-peristaltic agents.
• Children using oral suspensions may experience superficial tooth discolouration. This can be avoided if the user maintains good dental hygiene.
• Some users have experienced drug fever.

Below mentioned side effects appear on very rare occasions:

• State of overactive restlessness, shaking rapidly (convulsions), and loss of balance. Users who have kidney problem or use this medicine in high doses may experience convulsions.
• Kidney disorder in which the spaces between the kidney tubules become swollen (Interstitial nephritis), excretion of crystals in urine (crystalluria)
• Reactions of skin such as acute generalised exanthematous pustulosis, bullous and exfoliative dermatitis, toxic epidermal necrolysis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, erythema multiforme exudativum, etc
• Problems related to liver such as cholestatic jaundice, Hepatitis, and increse of liver enzymes
• Users may develop black tongue
• User may experience various allergic reactions such as allergic vasculitis, serum sickness, anaphylaxis, and angioneurotic oedema. If any hypersensitivity reaction occurs the use of this medicine must be stopped.
• Haemolytic anaemia, reversible thrombocytopenia and leucopenia, prolongation of bleeding time and prothrombin time

Interactions: Before taking Ospamox it's very important to consult a doctor and apprise him of the treatment or medication (medicine without prescription or herbal medicine) you are currently under and also get a prescription from your doctor before starting any new drug. This is to make sure that the combination of the two drugs is safe. Prior to using Ospamox you must tell your doctor whether you are using the following medicines:

• Tetracycline antibiotic such as tetracycline (Tetracap, Sumycin, Panmycin, Brodspec); minocycline (Vectrin, Solodyn, Minocin, Dynacin); doxycycline (Vibramycin, Oracea, Doryx, Adoxa); or demeclocycline (Declomycin)
• Antibiotics such as troleandomycin (Tao); telithromycin (Ketek); erythromycin (E.E.S., E-Mycin, Ery-Tab, Erythrocin); clarithromycin (Biaxin); or azithromycin (Zithromax).
• Sulfa medicines such as Septra or Bactrim
• Probenecid such as Benemid
• Methotrexate such as Trexall, Rheumatrex

If you are using Ospamox then you can't use any of the above mentioned medicines. Talk to your doctor about medicines you are currently using, he may recommend you to stop using this medicine, suggest dosage change, or allow you to use these medicines but under strict supervision and monitoring.

Additional Information: Medicines should not be used without prior approval of a trained physician and don't share them with anybody else. Ospamox is made for specific conditions and it's not advisable to use it for other purposes. Keep medicinal drugs out of the reach of children.