Cephalexin and Its Side Effects

About a year ago, I had a large red blotch on one cheek. It didn't look like my lupus rash, or rosacea, and it certainly wasn't acne. It was red, hot to the touch, slightly swollen, and I felt unwell -- I had a headache, aching joints, fatigue, and malaise. Since I have a handful of auto-immune diseases, I tend to go to my doctor sooner than other people might, so before much time had passed, I was seated in my doctor's office, and heard his verdict: I had a staph infection on my face. What? My face? How on earth does that happen?

It happens because the Staphylococcus bacteria is everywhere. Because my immune system is impaired, I shouldn't have been surprised to get an infection. I also learned that the infection was not on the surface of my face, as I'd believed, but in my blood system, and in the lower levels of the skin. So I wasn't given an antibiotic cream as I'd expected. After asking me if I were allergic to any antibiotics, and hearing me say there were none that I knew of , my doctor prescribed Cephalexin as a capsule to be taken every six hours for 10 days. Cephalexin can also come as a tablet, or as an oral suspension, which is a medical way to say mixed with liquid, which must be shaken before use.

Cephalexin is a cephalosporin antibiotic, and is related to penicillin, but is generally considered a stronger one. It is often prescribed for strep infections, as well as staph infections, and can be used to treat bacterial infections of the tonsils, the middle ear, the urinary tract, the lungs (pneumonia), bone and joint infections, and to prevent bacterial infections of the heart and breast. It is my understanding that Cephalexin, like all cephalosporins, is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, and is sometimes used with MRSA, although it isn't always effective with those antibiotic-resistant infections.