Keflex 500mg For Urinary Tract Infection

Key Highlights Of Cephalexin 500 Mg Capsule

• How long is the duration of effect?

  This medicine is excreted in urine and the effect lasts for a duration of 4 to 5 hours.

• What is the onset of action?

  The peak effect of this medicine can be observed within 1 hour after oral administration.

• Are there any pregnancy warnings?

  This medicine should be taken during pregnancy only if it is clearly needed under doctor’s supervision.

• Is it habit forming?

  No habit forming tendency has been reported.

• Are there any breast-feeding warnings?

  This medicine is known to excreted in human breast milk. It should be taken only if clearly needed under doctor’s supervision. Monitoring of undesired effects like diarrhea or thrush is necessary.

• Is It safe with alcohol?

  It is found to be safe to consume alcohol while taking this medicine.

• Is it safe to drive while on this medicine?

  Usually this medicine does not affect the alertness of the patient.

• Does this affect kidney function?

  Caution must be taken in patient with kidney disease, Adjustment of dose might be needed. Kindly consult your doctor before taking it.

• Does this affect liver function?

  Caution must be taken in patient with liver disease, Adjustment of dose might be needed. Kindly consult your doctor before taking it.

Things You Can Do Yourself

To help ease pain:

• takeparacetamolup to 4 times a day to reduce pain and a high temperature for people with a UTI, paracetamol is usually recommended over NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or aspirin
• you can give childrenliquid paracetamol
• rest and drink enough fluids so you pass pale urine regularly during the day, especially during hot weather

Its important to follow the instructions on the packet so you know how much paracetamol you or your child can take, and how often.

It may also help to avoid having sex until you feel better.

You cannot pass a UTI on to your partner, but sex may be uncomfortable.

Taking cystitis sachets or cranberry products has not been shown to help ease symptoms of UTIs.

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Cephalexin In Feline Cases

Before administering Cephalexin to your cat, it is crucial that youconsult with a veterinarian. Cephalexin is a powerful drug and may notbe appropriate for all cats. After diagnosing your pets UTI, yourveterinarian will recommend a treatment plan that may include anantibiotic such as Cephalexin. Typically, a regimen of this drug willlast for a week or more. As with all prescription medicines, it isimportant to continue the drug treatment program through to itstermination in order to prevent bacterial resistance or othercomplications. Even if your pet seems to have recovered completely, donot discontinue his treatment of Cephalexin.

Most Cephalexin prescriptions are provided orally, either as atablet or a suspension. The exact dosage depends upon your catscondition, age, breed and prior health status. For any questions aboutdosing or these other considerations, speak with the prescribingveterinarian.

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Other Health Conditions Of Concern

Keflex may not be a good choice if you have certain health conditions. Be sure to discuss your health history with your doctor before they prescribe Keflex or any other drug to treat your UTI.

Examples of conditions that could cause problems with Keflex include kidney disease and allergies to penicillin or other cephalosporins.

How To Take Keflex

Keflex is approved for use in adults and children 1 year of age and older. The antibiotic is available in three different formulations: oral capsules, oral tablets, and liquid suspension.

Adults and children aged 15 and older typically take 250 milligrams of Keflex every six hours or 500 mg every 12 hours. Children under 15 are dosed based on their weight, with doses divided equally. The duration of therapy can range from seven to 14 days, depending on the infection and its severity.

Shake the Keflex liquid suspension well before taking it. Use a medical dosing spoon or calibrated oral syringe rather than a kitchen spoon to ensure accurate dosing. You can take Keflex capsules and liquid suspension with or without food. Keflex capsules need to be swallowed whole. Do not chew or break open the capsules.

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How Long Should I Take Antibiotics

Your doctor will let you know. Typically, for an uncomplicated infection, youll take antibiotics for 2 to 3 days. Some people will need to take these medicines for up to 7 to 10 days.

For a complicated infection, you might need to take antibiotics for 14 days or more.

If you still have symptoms after completing antibiotics, a follow-up urine test can show whether the germs are gone. If you still have an infection, youll need to take antibiotics for a longer period of time.

If you get UTIs often, you may need a prolonged course of antibiotics. And if sex causes your UTIs, youll take a dose of the medicine right before you have sex. You can also take antibiotics whenever you get a new UTI if youâre having symptoms and a positive urine culture.

What Are Reasons I Shouldnt Take Keflex

No one with a known hypersensitivity to cephalexin or any other cephalosporin antibiotic should ever take Keflex.

It is also possible to experience a hypersensitive reaction to other beta-lactam antibiotics . To avoid this, let your healthcare provider know about any adverse reaction you have had to an antibiotic, even if you canât remember its name. Your provider will monitor you closely in the event of a reaction.

In rare cases, people with a penicillin allergy may have a cross-reactive allergy to cephalosporins. If this does occur, the reaction can be severe.

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When To See A Doctor

If you have signs of a UTI, you should speak to your doctor.

Even though some urinary tract infections may clear up without treatment, there are serious risks to leaving a bacterial infection untreated.

An untreated UTI can spread to your kidneys or bloodstream leading to a more severe infection that may require IV antibiotics or a hospital stay, and could lead to permanent damage or even death.

UTIs that are caught early can be treated quickly and easily from your home. Most antibiotic treatments for UTIs work within 3-7 days.

Can Cefalexin Cause Problems

Along with their useful effects, most medicines can cause unwanted side-effects although not everyone experiences them. The table below contains some of the ones associated with cefalexin. You will find a full list in the manufacturer’s information leaflet supplied with the medicine. The unwanted effects often improve as your body adjusts to the new medicine, but speak with your doctor or pharmacist if any of the following continue or become troublesome.

Important: if you develop an itchy rash, swollen face or mouth, or have difficulty breathing, these can be signs that you are allergic to the antibiotic. Do not take any more doses, and speak with your doctor or go to your local accident and emergency department straightaway.

If you experience any other symptoms which you think may be due to the antibiotic, please speak with your doctor or pharmacist for further advice.

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How To Take It

Cefalexin can be taken with or without food.

Capsules or tablets swallow whole with a drink of water. Do not chew or break them.

Liquid if you or your child are taking cefalexin as a liquid, it will usually be made up for you by a pharmacist. The medicine will come with a plastic syringe or medicine spoon to help you measure the right dose. If you do not have one, ask a pharmacist for one. Do not use a kitchen teaspoon as it will not give the right amount.

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Are Nitrofurantoin And Cephalexin Safe To Use While Pregnant Or Breastfeeding

Nitrofurantin

Although there are no adequate studies of nitrofurantoin in pregnant women, many women have safely used it during pregnancy. However, nitrofurantoin should not be used near the time of delivery since it interferes with the immature enzyme systems in the red blood cells of newborns, damaging the cells and resulting in anemia.

Nitrofurantoin is distributed into breast milk and should be used with caution in women who are breastfeeding.

Cephalexin

There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Because animal reproduction studies are not always predictive of human response, cephalexin should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed.

Cephalexin is excreted in breast milk. Cephalexin should be used with caution or stopped when breastfeeding.

How Should This Medicine Be Used

Cephalexin comes as a capsule, tablet, and suspension to take by mouth. It is usually taken with or without food every 6 or 12 hours for 7 to 14 days, depending on the condition being treated. Take cephalexin at around the same times every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take cephalexin exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.

Shake the liquid well before each use to mix the medication evenly.

You should begin to feel better during the first few days of treatment with cephalexin. If your symptoms do not improve or get worse, call your doctor.

Continue to take cephalexin until you finish the prescription even if you feel better. If you stop taking cephalexin too soon or skip doses, your infection may not be completely treated and the bacteria may become resistant to antibiotics.

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How Long Do I Need To Take Antibiotics To Treat A Uti

How long you take antibiotics for a UTI depends on how severe your UTI is and which antibiotic youre prescribed. Some medications like fosfomycin only require one dose, while a more severe UTI might require 14 days or more of treatment. Most require 3 to 7 days of treatment.

Within the first 1 to 2 days of starting your antibiotics, youll probably notice your UTI symptoms start to fade away. If your UTI is more severe or youve had symptoms for a while before starting antibiotics, it might take a few more days for you to notice improvement.

In any case, its important to take all the antibiotics youre prescribed, even if you start feeling better before finishing them. Stopping antibiotics early can lead to antibiotic resistance, which means the medication might not work as well as it should if you need it to treat an infection in the future. It can also mean your UTI might come back if you havent treated it completely.

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What Are The Side Effects Of Keflex

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. A medical professional can advise you on side effects. If you experience other effects, contact your pharmacist or a medical professional. You may report side effects to the FDA at www.fda.gov/medwatch or 1-800-FDA-1088.

As with all drugs, Keflex may cause side effects. Many are mild and only last a short time. Others may be intolerable and require a dose change. On rare occasions, Keflex can cause severe hypersensitivity reactions and other potentially deadly side effects.

Before starting Keflex, tell your healthcare provider about any reactions youâve had to antibiotics in the past, including penicillin. If you have kidney disease, your provider may need to change your dose to avoid side effects.

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Effect Of Prophylactic Low Dose Cephalexin On Fecal And Vaginal Bacteria

Effective prophylactic antimicrobial therapy for recurrent urinary tract infections depends upon the creation of minimal antimicrobial resistance in the fecal and vaginal flora. Cephalexin is known to be useful for prophylaxis clinically but substantial resistance has been reported in vaginal and rectal Escherichia coli at doses of 2gm. per day. The effect of 250mg. cephalexin nightly was studied in 23 women with recurrent bacteriuria who were treated for 6 months. Of the 23 patients 22 remained free of infection for 132 months of observation. Despite heavy carriage of Escherichia coli in the rectal and vaginal reservoirs during therapy, Escherichia coli resistant to 32g. per ml. cephalexin did not occur. These observations explain the prophylactic effectiveness of cephalexin when used in small amounts of single nightly dosages.

Managing Multiple Episodes Of Uti:

In dogs and cats, if UTI occurs only once or twice yearly, each episode may be treated as an acute, uncomplicated UTI. If episodes occur more often, and predisposing causes of UTI cannot be identified or corrected, chronic low-dose therapy may be necessary. Low antimicrobial concentrations in the urine may interfere with fimbriae production by some pathogens and prevent their adhesion to the uroepithelium. In dogs, recurrent UTIs are due to a different strain or species of bacteria ~80% of the time therefore, antimicrobial culture and susceptibility is still indicated. Antimicrobial therapy should be started as previously described and when urine culture is negative, continued daily at the total daily dose. The antimicrobial should be administered last thing at night to ensure that the bladder contains urine with a high antimicrobial concentration for as long as possible.

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Why Should I Take The Full Dose

Antibiotics work well against UTIs. You might start to feel better after being on the medicine for just a few days.

But even so, keep taking your medicine. If you stop your antibiotics too soon, you wonât kill all the bacteria in your urinary tract.

These germs can become resistant to antibiotics. That means the meds will no longer kill these bugs in the future. So if you get another UTI, the medication you take might not treat it. Take the full course of your medicine to make sure all the bacteria are dead.

What Drugs Interact With Nitrofurantoin And Cephalexin

Nitrofurantoin

• High doses of probenecid or sulfinpyrazone can partially block the kidneysâ elimination of nitrofurantoin. This can increase the blood concentrations of nitrofurantoin and the risk of toxicity from nitrofurantoin.
• Concomitant administration of a magnesium trisilicate antacid may decrease the absorption of nitrofurantoin, reducing the effectiveness of nitrofurantoin.
• Nitrofurantoin may reduce the activity of live tuberculosisvaccine and live typhoid vaccine. In laboratory tests, nitrofurantoin reduced the effect of quinolone antibiotics, for example, norfloxacin . Therefore, nitrofurantoin should not be combined with quinolone antibiotics.

Cephalexin

Cephalexin may reduce the effect of BCG and typhoid vaccines. Cephalexin should not be combined with BCG or typhoid vaccine unless there are no other options.

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Dosage For Respiratory Tract Infection

Adult dosage

14 grams per day taken in divided doses. The usual dose is 250 mg taken every 6 hours, or a dose of 500 mg every 12 hours may be given. If you have a severe infection, your doctor may give you a larger dose.

Child dosage

14 grams per day taken in divided doses. The usual dose is 250 mg taken every 6 hours, or a dose of 500 mg every 12 hours may be given. If you have a severe infection, your doctor may give you a larger dose.

Child dosage

2550 mg/kg of body weight per day taken in divided doses. Your doctor may double your dose for severe infections.

Child dosage

This medication hasnt been studied in children younger than 1 year for this condition.

Senior dosage

The kidneys of older adults may not work as well as they used to. This can cause your body to process drugs more slowly. As a result, more of a drug stays in your body for a longer time. This raises your risk of side effects. Your doctor may start you on a lowered dose or a different dosing schedule. This can help keep levels of this drug from building up too much in your body.

What Is The Most Important Information I Should Know About Cephalexin

You should not use this medicine if you are allergic to cephalexin or any other cephalosporin antibiotic .

Tell your doctor if you have ever had:

• an allergy to any drug
• liver or kidney disease or
• intestinal problems, such as colitis.

The liquid form of cephalexin may contain sugar. This may affect you if you have diabetes.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breast-feeding.

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Check If Its A Urinary Tract Infection

Symptoms of a UTI may include:

• pain or a burning sensation when peeing
• needing to pee more often than usual during the night
• pee that looks cloudy
• needing to pee suddenly or more urgently than usual
• needing to pee more often than usual
• lower tummy pain or pain in your back, just under the ribs
• a high temperature, or feeling hot and shivery
• a very low temperature below 36C