what is a good substitute for antibiotics?

Question

I just had a root canal and my dentist gave me: " clindamycin'', as a substitute for amoxicillin.,. because i am allergic to amoxicillin'..
Is this the only prescription that i can get , or are there other substitutes, for this type of drug?

Answer 1

To answer your question: Yes there are other antibiotics, but your penicillin allergy cuts that number by at least half.

You are most likely being treated "prophylactically" which means that you do not necessarily have an infection, but you are at risk for one.

To prevent this the medical profession will select an antibiotic to give to you to reduce (but not eliminate) the chance that you will develop an infection.

The problem with antibiotic selection is that not all antibiotics are good for all bacteria. You must take into account the types of bacteria that your are likely to encounter.

Oral flora (see the reference below) is usually a gram positive (G+) bacterial (gram stain refers to a broad classification scheme for bacteria based on the cell wall and cell membrane staining characteristics). G+ bacteria are usually susceptible to penicillin or other drugs in the penicillin (PCN) class (cephalosporins being the largest class), but being allergic to PCN you have around a 20% chance of a cross-reaction to the other drugs. While this may seem low, the medical profession generally avoids these drugs unless they have an overriding reason.

One example of the general antibiotics used for dental procedures is listed here (from the source below):
Penicillin in Combination
Metronidazole in combination
Levaquin
Second Gen. Cephalosporins in Combo
Imipenem/Cilastin
Augmentum and Unasyn

Only metroniazole, levaquin and imipenem/cilastin are not penicillin based. Metro is a poor choice for a standalone antibiotic. Imipenem/cilastin is by IV administration only. Levaquin is a decent choice but is expensive. There are others, but they do not seem to be great choices.

Clindamycin is an older antibiotic, but is still a very good choice for coverage as it single-handedly covers the most probable bacteria. There are some side effects of clinamycin that make it less desirable as a first choice, but your PCN allergy makes this a reasonable drug.

Probably the most dreaded complication is pseudomembranous colitis, which is a dangerous thickening of the colon caused by an antibiotic. Clinda has a bad, and probably undeserved, reputation for causing this as all antibiotics have the potential to cause this condition.

If you have concerns, I would speak with your dentist and see if he or she can change the prescription to something else.

Answer 2

No, there are LOTs of them, and if you are allegic to one, chances are you will not be allergic to the next one.

Chemical companies are pumping these thing out in droves, because of peoples sensitivity (and resistance) to the antibiotics - and the the efficacy of the antibiotics themselves, which the bacteria seem to have been evolving to become resistant to has decreased.

So, if this clindamycin antibiotic worked for you, there are probably a dozen more just like it, waiting for you if this one fails to work.

Answer 3

Everyone answering previous to me had some good answers, and was kinda dancing around it all. It is your body that cures ailments. even with medical drugs, you're still making it easier for the body to work thru its immune system. There are many ways of using natural methods to help improve your immune system. Medical drugs such as antibiotics work on specific areas, where natural methods are more generalized, and take little longer to work. so depends upon what you're looking to cure or fix. There are indeed many vitamins which work well to increase the immune system's effectiveness--vitamin C, zinc, selenium, and especially vitamin D has been found to be under-estimated in its effectiveness. Try taking 1-2 grams of D, new studies have shown the old 400mg is far too low. I tried it and found my energy improved. There are also many great herbs to help stimulate the immune response such as eccinacea, goldenseal, elderberry also is quite good for anti-flu work. Garlic is quite good to help cleanse the blood. Homeopathic medicines are quite excellent at being more specific, but it's better to work with a homeopathic doctor so that he can zero in on your specific needs. However, at a good local health food store, you can get general tinctures of homeopathic medicines which might help you. If you have a specific illness, you might ask salespeople at the health food store, because they have no agenda, nothing to push to get more money on. They can give you some advice on the many products available.

Answer 4

Clindamycin would have been my choice, too, but my dentist prefers another antibiotic. There are lots of options.

Answer 5

There are dozens of Antibiotics out there.

But it is best to take what your dentist ordered.

Answer 6

Hygiene

Answer 7

herbal remedies