Following antibiotic therapy, colitis (intestinal inflammation brought on by specific bacteria) may develop. Vancomycin is used to treat this condition. A group of drugs known as glycopeptide antibiotics includes vancomycin. It eliminates intestinal microorganisms to work. When taken orally, vancomycin does not eradicate bacteria or heal infections in any other area of the body.

Colds, the flu, and other viral diseases cannot be treated with antibiotics like vancomycin. Your risk of developing an illness that won’t respond to antibiotic therapy increases if you take antibiotics when you don’t need to.

Vancomycin is available as a liquid oral solution and capsule for oral use. Usually taken for 7 to 10 days, three to four times per day. Vancomycin should be taken at roughly the same times each day to help you remember to take it. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any instructions on your prescription label that you are unsure about following. Vancomycin should be taken as prescribed. Never take it in larger or less amounts or more frequently than directed by your doctor.

Before each use, thoroughly shake the oral solution to combine the drug.

During the first several days of receiving vancomycin treatment, you should start to feel better. Call your doctor if your symptoms don’t go away or get worse.

Even if you feel better, continue taking the vancomycin until the prescription is finished. Your illness could not be entirely treated if you stop taking vancomycin too soon or skip doses, and bacteria might develop antibiotic resistance.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more details if you want to use this drug for something else.

Before taking vancomycin,

• If you have any allergies, including those to any of the substances in vancomycin capsules or the oral solution, inform your doctor and pharmacist right once. Request a list of the components from your pharmacist.
• Inform your physician and pharmacist about all prescription and over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, dietary supplements, and herbal products you are taking. Your physician might need to adjust the dosage of your drugs or keep a close eye on you for side effects.
• Inform your physician if you have or have ever had inflammatory bowel disease (intestinal swelling that can cause uncomfortable cramps or diarrhea), including Crohn’s disease (a condition in which the body attacks the lining of the digestive tract, resulting in pain, diarrhea, weight loss, and fever), ulcerative colitis (a condition that results in swelling and sores in the lining of the colon [large intestine], and rectum), hearing loss, or kidney disease.
• Inform your doctor if you are expecting, intend to get pregnant, or are nursing a baby. Call your doctor if you become pregnant while taking vancomycin.

Keep eating normally unless your doctor instructs you otherwise.

If you miss a dosage, take it as soon as you recall. If the next dose is soon due, skip the missed one and carry on with your regular dosing plan. To make up for a missing dose, do not take a second one.

Vancomycin could have negative effects. If this symptom is severe or does not go away, let your doctor know:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Gas
• Headache
• Back ache

Some adverse effects can be very harmful. Call your doctor right away if you encounter any of these symptoms, or seek emergency care:

• Infection symptoms such as a sore throat, fever, chills, and others
• Hives
• Rash
• Itching
• Blisters or sores on the lips, tongue, or mouth
• Breathing or swallowing challenges
• Skin coloration above the waist that is red
• Chest and back pain and rigidity in the muscles
• An earache that ringers
• Reduced urination, face, arm, hand, foot, ankle, or lower leg edema, unusual fatigue, or weakness

You or your doctor can submit a report to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch or by phone at 1-800-332-1088 if you have a serious side event.

Keep this medication tightly closed in the original container and out of the reach of children. Vancomycin capsules should be kept at normal temperature, away from sources of extreme heat, and dry (not in the bathroom). Vancomyin oral solution should be kept in the fridge.

To make sure that pets, kids, and other people cannot take leftover pharmaceuticals, they should be disposed of in a specific manner. You shouldn’t flush this medication down the toilet, though. The best option to get rid of your medication is instead through a medication take-back program. To find out about take-back initiatives in your neighborhood, speak with your pharmacist or get in touch with your city’s waste/recycling department. If you do not have access to a take-back program, you can find more information at the FDA’s Safe Disposal of Medicines website (http://goo.gl/c4Rm4p).

As many containers (such as weekly pill minders and those for eye drops, creams, patches, and inhalers) are not child-resistant and are simple for young children to open, it is crucial to keep all medications out of sight and out of reach of children. Always lock safety caps and promptly stash medication up and away from young children where it is out of their sight and reach to prevent poisoning.http://www.upandaway.org

Call the poison control hotline at 1-800-222-1222 in the event of an overdose. Additionally, information can be found online at https://www.poisonhelp.org/help. Call 911 right once if the person has collapsed, experienced a seizure, is having difficulty breathing, or cannot be roused.

Keep all of your doctor’s appointments.

No one else should take your medication. It’s likely that your prescription cannot be renewed. Call your doctor if you continue to experience infection symptoms after taking the vancomycin.

You should keep a written record of every medication you take, including any over-the-counter (OTC) items, prescription drugs, and dietary supplements like vitamins and minerals. This list should be brought with you whenever you see a doctor or are admitted to the hospital. You should always have this information with you in case of emergencies.