Pharmacy knowledge base
Health guides & medicine information
Plain-English explainers from our editorial team — what the medicines do, how the strengths differ, and how to use them safely.
Showing 181–192 of 287 guides
Page 16 of 24
Tadaga Guide: Understanding This Generic Tadalafil Brand
Summary: Tadaga is a generic brand of tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis. Its main difference from sildenafil is duration: the EMA product information for Cialis reports effects up to 36 hours after a dose, giving more room for spontaneity. It still needs arousal, is taken no more than once a day, and must never be combined with nitrates.
Snovitra Guide: Understanding This Generic Vardenafil Brand
Summary: Snovitra is a generic brand of vardenafil, the active ingredient in Levitra and one of the three main ED medicines alongside sildenafil and tadalafil. It only works with sexual stimulation. The EMA product information for Levitra advises taking vardenafil about 25 to 60 minutes before sex. It must never be combined with nitrates.
Azithromycin: A Practical Guide to the Macrolide Antibiotic
Summary: Azithromycin is a macrolide antibiotic that stops bacteria making the proteins they need. It is used for some chest, ear, throat, sinus, skin and sexually transmitted infections. It stays in body tissues for a long time, so courses are often short. It is a prescription-only medicine in the EU/EEA and does nothing for colds or flu.
Ciprofloxacin: Uses, Cautions and the Tendon Warning
Summary: Ciprofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibiotic reserved for specific infections, such as some complicated urinary and gut infections. That is because of rare but serious, sometimes long-lasting side effects. The EMA advises using fluoroquinolones only when other antibiotics are unsuitable. Stop and seek advice at the first sign of tendon pain or swelling, nerve tingling or mood changes.
Metronidazole: Why You Must Avoid Alcohol With This Antibiotic
Summary: Metronidazole is an antibiotic for infections caused by anaerobic bacteria and some parasites. These include dental, gut, skin, vaginal and pelvic infections. Avoid all alcohol while taking it and for the time the leaflet states afterwards, because together they can cause flushing, vomiting, headache and a pounding heart. It is a prescription-only medicine in the EU/EEA.
Cephalexin: A Guide to the Cephalosporin Antibiotic
Summary: Cephalexin is a cephalosporin antibiotic, related to penicillin, used for some skin, urinary, respiratory, throat, bone and ear infections. It is a prescription-only medicine in the EU/EEA. Tell your prescriber about any penicillin allergy, because there can be cross-reactivity. Space doses evenly, finish the full course, and remember it does nothing for viral infections.
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Antibiotics and Alcohol: What's Safe and What Isn't
Summary: Most common antibiotics have no dangerous reaction with moderate alcohol, but metronidazole and tinidazole do. Together with alcohol they can cause flushing, vomiting, headache and a racing heart, so avoid alcohol during the course and afterwards. With any antibiotic, alcohol can worsen side effects, disturb sleep and slow your recovery.
Antibiotics and the Contraceptive Pill: What You Need to Know
Summary: Most common antibiotics, such as penicillins, cephalosporins and macrolides, do not directly make hormonal contraception less effective. The exceptions are enzyme-inducing antibiotics such as rifampicin and rifabutin, which need extra precautions. Vomiting or severe diarrhoea from any antibiotic or illness can stop the pill being absorbed, so follow the leaflet's missed-pill advice.
Probiotics After Antibiotics: Restoring Your Gut Balance
Summary: Antibiotics can kill helpful gut bacteria too, causing bloating or diarrhoea. Probiotics may reduce antibiotic-related diarrhoea for some people, but the evidence is mixed and depends on the strain. If you try one, take it a couple of hours apart from your antibiotic and continue for a while afterwards. Seek help for severe or bloody diarrhoea.
Melatonin for Sleep: How It Works and When It Helps
Summary: Melatonin is the hormone your body releases in the evening to signal sleep. As a medicine it helps most with problems of sleep timing, such as jet lag or a delayed sleep pattern. It is less useful for insomnia driven by stress, pain or poor habits. In much of the EU it is prescription-only, so follow the leaflet.
Caffeine and Sleep: How Your Coffee Habit Affects Your Rest
Summary: Caffeine keeps you awake by blocking adenosine, the brain chemical that builds sleepiness through the day. It lingers for many hours, so an afternoon coffee can still affect you at bedtime. It also reduces deep sleep and causes more night waking. Keeping caffeine to the morning is the simplest way to protect your sleep.
Blue Light and Sleep: How Screens Affect Your Rest
Summary: Evening blue light from phones, tablets, laptops and LED lighting suppresses melatonin, the hormone that makes you sleepy. It delays sleep and shifts your body clock later; engaging content keeps your brain alert too. Stopping bright screens in the hour before bed, using warm dim lighting and getting daylight in the morning all help.