Erythromycin is an antibiotic and is used to prevent or treat bacterial infections. It can be used on the skin, externally, or orally, internally. Erythromycin is subject to medical prescription in Germany, so it is not available over-the-counter in pharmacies.
What is erythromycin?
Erythromycin is an antibiotic and is subject to medical prescription in Germany, so it is not available over-the-counter in pharmacies. Erythromycin is a so-called macrolide antibiotic. It thus belongs to a specific group of active ingredients within the antibiotics. Other well-known representatives of this antibiotic group are, for example, clarithromycin or azithromycin. Typical applications of macrolides are inflammations of the sinuses, acute bronchitis or syphilis. Some types of bacteria have the property of hiding in the body’s cells, so they are usually difficult for antibiotics to reach. Erythromycin, however, has the property of penetrating the cell membrane and therefore acting against bacteria intracellularly, i.e. inside the cell. Erythromycin does not kill the pathogens directly, but effectively inhibits their growth and reproduction. Drugs with the antibiotic active ingredient erythromycin are frequently used both in outpatient and inpatient clinics. The physician decides on the duration of treatment, which depends on the type and severity of the infection.
Pharmacologic action
Erythromycin has been shown to prevent bacteria from producing new protein molecules, which are, however, essential for the growth of these pathogens. The bacteria thus inhibited in their growth and multiplication can be better recognized and eliminated by the immune system after treatment with erythromycin. Erythromycin is therefore so effective because it directly attacks the protein synthesis of the bacteria. Macrolide antibiotics are often only the second drug choice, namely when penicillin cannot be administered to treat certain bacterial infections. It has been demonstrated that the erythromycin molecule attaches directly to ribosomes and thus blocks protein synthesis. Compared with other antibiotics, erythromycin has two decisive advantages. First, it can diffuse into body cells, and second, its degradation in the body is very delayed. This leads to a relatively long duration of action. Compared to other antibiotics, it therefore does not have to be taken as frequently or only for a short time. In order to effectively fight an infection, a three-day dose in high dosage is therefore often sufficient in many cases. Erythromycin can also be combined with other antibiotic drug groups, depending on the severity of an infection.
Medical use and application
Erythromycin is used internally and externally in various dosage forms. In bacterial skin infections, erythromycin is not infrequently considered the drug of choice. For example, skin injuries, surgical wounds or burns are treated externally with erythromycin. The antibiotic penetrates deep into the skin layers. Superficial treatment is therefore also well suited for acne. Under treatment with erythromycin, the skin inflammations subside again within a few days. For internal treatment, erythromycin is used against a variety of bacterial infections, but also to prevent reinfection. Typical internal uses of erythromycin include tonsillitis, otitis media or pneumonia. Urinary tract infections, conjunctivitis of the eye as well as chronic bronchitis and bacterial colds are also treated with erythromycin. Sufficiently high concentrations of the active ingredient can be detected in the infected tissues after only a short period of therapy. Streptococci, a particular type of bacteria, rapidly develop pronounced resistance to erythromycin. However, the development of resistance by bacterial strains is an increasing problem not only in the context of therapy with macrolide antibiotics.
Risks and side effects
The greatest risk associated with treatment with erythromycin is the risk of pathogens developing resistance. In addition, treatment with erythromycin carries other dangers, risks, and side effects.If the active ingredient is administered together with other antibiotics, cross-resistance can easily occur after a certain treatment period. Despite its good efficacy, erythromycin is unfortunately also characterized by an extremely high rate of interaction with other drugs. For example, the effect of theophylline, certain anticoagulants and analgesics is enhanced. Simultaneous administration of antihistamines against allergies or of sleeping pills may cause cardiac arrhythmias. If erythromycin is taken together with ergotamine, then sudden onset spastic vasoconstriction may occur, requiring hospitalization. In addition, overdoses of the drug should be avoided at all costs because of liver toxicity.
