FLAGYL

What is flagyl?

Metronidazole is an antibiotic. It fights bacteria in your body. Metronidazole is used to treat infections such as abdominal infections, skin and tissue infections, bone and joint infections, gynecologic infections, and respiratory tract infections. Metronidazole may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.

Drug Uses

Its generic name is metronidazole. It is a prodrug or a drug that is in inactive form but when it is administered to the patient, it reacts metabolically to the organism. This strategy results in better absorption of the drug by the cells. Metronidazole is transformed inside anaerobic organisms by enzymes and it inhibits the synthesis of the nucleic acid by disrupting the helical structure of the DNA of the microorganism.

How Taken

Take metronidazole exactly as directed by your doctor. If you do not understand these instructions, ask your pharmacist, nurse, or doctor to explain them to you. Take each dose with a full glass (8 ounces) of water. Take all of the metronidazole that has been prescribed for you even if you begin to feel better. Your symptoms may start to improve before the infection is completely treated. Store metronidazole at room temperature away from moisture and heat. Use injectable metronidazole exactly as directed by your doctor. If you do not understand the instructions, ask your pharmacist, nurse, or doctor to explain them to you.

Possible Side Effects

Though there are side effects observed for the drug during treatment, they only happen to less than one percent of the patients. Common side effects include only diarrhea, nausea and a metallic taste in the mouth. Other side effects present are headache, vomiting, and hypersensitivity reactions of the skin manifested by rashes, itching and accompanied with fever. An intravenous application of the drug can lead to thrombophlebitis or the inflammation of the veins that is usually caused by a blood clot. Topical ointment forms of the drug results to a number of reactions of the body such as skin irritation that includes redness and dryness of the skin as well as watering of the eyes. On the other hand, a high dosage of Flagyl can lead to the following side effects; leukopenia or a decrease in the number of specific white blood cells in the body, called leukocytes, that makes it vulnerable for infection. Neutropenia, on the other hand, is the decrease in the number of a specific white blood cells called granulocytes, that also makes the body vulnerable to sickness.