There's an increased risk of side effects if you take 2 doses closer together than recommended. Accidentally taking 1 extra dose of your antibiotic is unlikely to cause you any serious harm. But it will increase your chances of getting side effects, such as pain in your stomach, diarrhoea, and feeling or being sick.
The following are examples of appropriate time intervals for taking your antibiotics. If your label says to use the medicine: Twice a day – take your dose every 12 hours. Three times a day – take your dose every 8 hours.
It is usually taken every 12 hours (twice a day) or every 8 hours (three times a day) with or without food. The length of your treatment depends on the type of infection that you have.
Answer. Thanks for getting in touch. Yes, it is OK to take your meds an hour prior to your normal time. This won't have any impact on your health.
Official answer. In an ideal world - every 6 hours is best. In hospital they would dose you every 6 hours. This is what you should do if your infection is severe.
Ideally these times should be at least 4 hours apart. Missed dose: If you forget to take your dose, take it as soon as you remember. But, if it is nearly time for your next dose, take the next dose at the right time. Do not take extra doses to make up for a forgotten dose.
It is important to space the doses of antibiotic evenly throughout the day. It is not necessary to wake up to take them during the night. For example, if you need to take one capsule three times a day, take one at 8am, 3pm and 10pm.
As a rule, if you miss a dose of an antibiotic, you can take it as soon as you realize you've forgotten. In many cases, you can double up on the next dose safely.
The reasoning is simple: Exposure to antibiotics is what drives bacteria to develop resistance. Taking drugs when you aren't sick anymore simply gives the hordes of bacteria in and on your body more incentive to evolve to evade the drugs, so the next time you have an infection, they may not work.
It's important to make sure you take your antibiotics at regularly scheduled doses — for example, every 8 hours or every 12 hours. This is so the medicine's effect spreads out evenly over the course of a day. Make sure to ask your medical provider if you should take your medication with food or on an empty stomach.
“But if your next dose is due soon, do not double up.” The general rule is if you are more than 50% of the way toward your next dose, you should skip. So for example, if you are supposed to take your antibiotic every 12 hours, you could take it if it's less than six hours away from your next scheduled dose.
Giving antibiotics within 8 hours has a positive effect on mortality[ii], however, a 4-hour target may result in treatment before definitive diagnosis[i].
Antibiotics begin to work right after you start taking them. However, you might not feel better for 2 to 3 days. How quickly you get better after antibiotic treatment varies. It also depends on the type of infection you're treating.
You and your pharmacist should discuss when your antibiotic should be taken. Some antibiotics work best before or after meals. And taking an antibiotic at the same time every day can help make sure you don't miss a dose. In some cases, antibiotics are taken more than once in one day.
When taking an oral antibiotic, it is important to know the dose you are taking and how many times a day you should take the medicine. Also, it is generally not a good idea to take these medications right before bedtime because this can lead to an irritation of the esophagus.
Try to divide up your dosing times as evenly as possible throughout the day: for example, every 12 hours for a drug that needs to be taken twice a day, or every 8 hours for a drug that needs to be taken three times a day.
Don't: Take antibiotics with milk or fruit juice
These products can interact with antibiotics and affect how your body absorbs them. Be careful with grapefruit and citrus juices, and wait at least three hours after taking your prescription before consuming dairy products.
Antibiotics can take a few days before they start to work, so you may need to wait 3-5 days before you notice improvements. Depending on the infection, it may take longer to feel fully better (like with bacterial pneumonia).
You're usually no longer infectious 24 hours after starting a course of antibiotics, but this time period can sometimes vary. For example, the antibiotics may take longer to work if your body takes longer to absorb them, or if you're taking other medicine that interacts with the antibiotics.
When antibiotics kill bacteria in your body, they often take the good with the bad. This can disrupt the balance of bacteria in your gut and cause uncomfortable digestive side effects. Additionally, it can lead to malabsorption of nutrients, which can cause chronic fatigue.
A medicine written 4 times daily should roughly be taken 4 or 5 hours apart while you are awake assuming you wake up at 7 am and go to bed at 10 pm, for example: 7 am (when you wake up)
Never take 2 doses at the same time. Never take an extra dose to make up for a forgotten one. If you forget doses often, it may help to set an alarm to remind you. You could also ask your pharmacist for advice on other ways to remember your medicines.
Amoxicillin is usually given three times each day. These should be evenly spaced, usually 4–6 hours apart. For example, between 7am and 8am, between 1pm and 2pm, and between 7pm and 8pm.
Adults, teenagers, and children weighing 40 kilograms (kg) or more—250 to 500 milligrams (mg) every 8 hours, or 500 to 875 mg every 12 hours.
Accidentally taking an extra dose
Accidentally taking one extra dose of your antibiotic is unlikely to cause you any serious harm. But it will increase your chances of experiencing side effects, such as pain in your stomach, diarrhoea, and feeling or being sick.