Nitrofurantoin

Nitrofurantoin starts acting quickly, but you will not start feeling better immediately after taking it. It may take a few days (2-3 days) before you see any improvement in your symptoms. If you do not start feeling better within 3 days of starting Nitrofurantoin or your condition worsens, contact your doctor. It is important to complete the full course of Nitrofurantoin as advised by your doctor, even if you start feeling better.

Yes, Nitrofurantoin is a strong antibiotic (or broad spectrum antibiotic), which means that it is effective against a wide variety of urinary bacteria. It is important that Nitrofurantoin should be given to treat or prevent infections that are proven to be caused by susceptible bacteria. This is usually evaluated by a culture test which demonstrates a range of bacteria which cannot grow in the prence of an antibiotic. Nitrofurantoin has seen to be effective against UTI caused by Escherichia coli, Enteroccus faecalis, Klebsiella species, Enterobacter species, Staphylococcus species: (eg S. aureus, S. saprophyticus, S. epidermidis). Some strains of Enterobacter and Klebsiella are resistant to Nitrofurantoin.

You should take Nitrofurantoin with your meal or straightaway after the meal. Taking with food helps in absorption of medicine so that it works better. If you take it without food, you are likely to get an upset stomach. The symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and loss of appetite may also occur. Therefore, to avoid unpleasant side effects, take it exactly as prescribed by your doctor.

Nitrofurantoin may turn your urine brown or dark yellow in colour. However, you need not worry as this is usually temporary and completely harmless effect. It will disappear once you stop taking Nitrofurantoin. Consult your doctor if you are not sure or still have any concern, but do not stop taking Nitrofurantoin.

Yes, some people may get a fungal or yeast infection known as ‘thrush’ after taking Nitrofurantoin. This is because antibiotics kill the ‘good bacteria’ which help in preventing thrush. You should inform your doctor if you get vaginal itching or discharge after taking Nitrofurantoin or soon after stopping it.

Yes, Nitrofurantoin may make you feel sleepy. It may even cause dizziness, spinning sensation (vertigo) and rapid, uncontrolled eye movement (nystagmus). If you experience any of these symptoms while taking Nitrofurantoin, you should avoid driving or operating machinery, unless these symptoms disappear.

It is recommended that you avoid alcohol while taking Nitrofurantoin since alcohol may worsen the side effects of Nitrofurantoin. Also, avoid unnecessary or prolonged exposure to sunlight and wear protective clothing, sunglasses, and sunscreen. This is because Nitrofurantoin may make your skin sensitive to sun.

In drug resistance, the bacteria present in the body gets modified and because of that medicine no longer works. To reduce the development of drug resistance bacteria, Nitrofurantoin should only be used to treat or prevent infections that are proven or strongly suspected to be caused by susceptible bacteria. Also, you should not skip any dose and complete the full course else it is highly likely that resistance to Nitrofurantoin will develop.