Predict Baby Gender

Statistics indicate that women are poorly informed about the interferences of antibiotics on hormonal contraception. You can read a lot on antibiotics and birth control now thanks to the development of the Internet, but there are some very resilient myths out there. Reality is nevertheless different from the scientific point of view, and here are a few things that may help you better understand how things stand.

Clinical studies indicate that only one antibiotic is proved to impair the action of the hormonal pill: rifampin, yet exceptions do exist. Generally speaking, when antibiotics and birth control are used in parallel, the efficiency of the contraceptives gets lower in for a limited number of women. Even if the incidence of such occurrences is reduced doctors advise for the use of an extra birth control solution such as condoms. It is impossible to tell who will experience decreased efficiency, until it is too late.

Modern hormonal products seem to be more affected by the interactions between antibiotics and birth control. The problem is that modern birth control products have very low hormonal combinations for a reduction of the side effects. Besides rifamin, you should also be cautious when using amoxacillin, penicillin, sulfonamide, ampicillin, minocycline, tetracycline and barbiturates.

Antibiotics and birth control pills do not make a good association because of the chemical reactions that take place in the liver. The antibiotics stimulate a more rapid breaking down of estrogens, and without a proper level of these chemicals in the blood, the efficiency of the birth control pills drops considerably. Caution is the best course of action under the circumstances, even if the incidence of unplanned pregnancies is not too high.

So as to avoid future complications, drug manufacturers have developed the practice of specifying the potential problems of the antibiotics and birth control association in all usage instructions. It is also important to talk to the doctor whether you have to continue using the extra birth control method after the cessation of the antibiotic treatment or not.

Some women choose to stop taking their birth control pills while following a treatment with antibiotics, but this is hardly a solution given how difficult it is for the body to adapt to these sudden hormonal changes. Talk to the doctor before taking any drug specifying the fact that you are on birth control pills. There are lots of other drugs that could impair the efficiency of birth control. It’s better to seek information than be sorry later.

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