Azithromycin is an antibiotic used to control ailments caused by bacteria. The infections for which the medicine used widely are pneumonia, bronchitis, sexually transmitted diseases and certain other infections in lungs, throat, ears etc. Azithromycin falls under the class of macrolide antibiotics and has the chemical name 2, 6 dideoxy-3-C-methyl-3-O-methyl-a-L.

The common side effects caused by Azithromycin are diarrhea, dyspepsia, abdominal pain, vomiting etc. In rare cases there may be some serious side effects like itching, palpitation, inflammation etc. Apart from these, the medicine may be allergic to certain patients. Hence the drug purchase must be strictly under medical prescription.

When the immunity of human body system becomes weak, there are high possibilities to have bacterial attacks known as ‘opportunistic infections’. Hence, people having HIV are highly susceptible to such infections. One of the opportunistic infections that catch HIV patients is Mycobacterium Avium Complex (MAC) which can be controlled by Azithromycin.

If the CD4 cell count of patients is below 50, they should consult their doctors regarding the usage of Azithromycin. The medicine is also used for the treatment of toxoplasmosis and cryptosporidiosis. In the treatment of malaria Azithromycin is prescribed in association with quinine.

While taking antibiotics it is important to administer all the prescribed doses. Hence patients who are advised to take Azithromycin should follow the doses correctly. If not, the medicine cannot destroy all the germs that caused the infection. This may enable the respective bacteria to develop resistance against antibiotics.