Avelox Antibiotic: Avelox Side Effects and Sinusitis Treatment

The score is 6-4. No not sports, six pills swallowed and four more to take - Avelox antibiotic that is. Will I make it?

Avelox, a newer wonder drug for sinusitis and bronchitis, may lead to wonder for the need of a personal antibiotic coach - one to encourage you to finish the bottle. You may feel better or worse long before the typical 10-day Avelox course is finished.

Why Avelox?

Your doctor may prescribe the antibiotic Avelox (moxifloxacin) for sinusitis associated with bacterial infection and possibly for other conditions, such as bronchitis or pneumonia, for which Avelox is known to respond.

Avelox poses some advantages over other antibiotics. Among these includes once-a-day dosing and the ability to take it with or without food.

Avelox, generic name moxifloxacin, is a newer fourth-generation antibiotic belonging to the class known as quinolones, in this case fluoroquinolones based on its chemical structure. More popular antibiotics such as Levaquin and Cipro (an older quinolone) also fall into this category.

Avelox and Quinolone Antibiotics

Quinolones, especially newer ones, may destroy or inhibit a wide spectrum of harmful bacteria. When the bacteria causing sinusitis is unknown - making bacterial cultures a source of contention in the medical industry - a broad spectrum antibiotic may be prescribed. At other times it's not practical to culture or another antibiotic fails, then Avelox may be prescribed.

Additionally, Avelox can penetrate tissues and cells beyond the reach of other antibiotics. Further, the increased demand for antibiotics such as Avelox are proportionate to the increase of penicillin antibiotic resistance.

While Avelox may work on bacteria, when other drugs fail, antibiotic resistance to quinolones is a continued health care concern, and it can happen quite rapidly.

The bottom line is whether a patient is on Avelox or another antibiotic it needs to be taken as directed to minimize the chance of an antibiotic-resistant infection.

Avelox: Don't Let Feeling Good Fool You