480 Common Medicines
Kinds of
Medicines
Different medicines are used to treat different problems. Some
cure the problem itself and others relieve only the signs of the
problem. Sometimes you cannot take the best medicine for your
problem because:
• it is not available where you live.
• it is not safe if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• you are allergic to it.
• it no longer works where you live, because of drug resistance
(see box below).
When this happens, you can substitute one medicine for
another, but only if you are sure it will work.The treatments we
recommend in this book often give you choices if for some reason
you cannot use the best medicine. If you are unsure of what
medicines to take, talk to a health worker.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics are important medicines that are used to fight infections caused by bacteria.
They do not fight viruses or cure the common cold. But not all kinds of antibiotics will fight
all kinds of infections. Antibiotics that share the same chemical make-up are said to be from
the same family. It is important to know about the families of antibiotics for 2 reasons:
1. antibiotics from the same family can often treat the same problems.This means you can
use a different medicine from the same family.
2. if you are allergic to an antibiotic of one family, you will also be allergic to the other
members of the same family of antibiotics.This means you will have to take a medicine
from another family instead.
The major families of antibiotics used in this book are:
Penicillins: amoxicillin, ampicillin, benzathine penicillin, benzyl penicillin, dicloxacillin, procaine
penicillin, and others.
Medicines of the penicillin family are very effective for a variety of infections.
They have very few side effects and are safe to take if pregnant or breastfeeding.They
are widely available, cheap, and come in oral and injectable forms, but they cause more
problems with allergic reactions than many other medicines.They have been overused and
some diseases are now resistant to penicillins.
Macrolides: azithromycin, erythromycin, and others
Erythromycin is an older, commonly used and widely available antibiotic that works for
many of the same infections as penicillin and doxycycline. It is often a good substitute for
doxycycline when a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding, or if there is penicillin allergy.
Tetracyclines: doxycycline, tetracycline
Tetracycline and doxycycline both treat many different infections and are cheap and
widely available. Neither drug should be taken by pregnant or breastfeeding women or by
children under 8 years of age.Women who are breastfeeding should not take tetracycline.
Women who or breastfeeding can take doxycycline for a short time to treat infections, but
should avoid taking it long-term.
Where Women Have No Doctor 2012