Can tetracycline antibiotics be used for UTI's and other pelvic infections?

Question

Just curious, because I know antibiotics are all basically designed for the same reason, but wasn't sure if certain types are more suited for certain infections ect.

Answer 1

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Yes, tetracycline can be used to treat UTIs. And yes, different antibiotics are used to treat infections, although they way you choose an antibiotic is based on the type of bacteria that it is effective against, not necessarily on the type of infection as different bacteria can cause the same infection. Some antibiotics work against a broad range of bacteria while others work only against a few types.

A couple of words of caution:

1) tetracycline has bee around for a long time and thus bacteria have become resistant to it. If you look at the data published in recent years, tetracycline has one of the highest percentage of resistance seen in E. coli UTI isolates. So even if you were to take it to treat a UTI, odds are it would be ineffective.

2) As others have mention, I hope you are asking our of curiosity and do not plan on taking leftover tetracycline to treat a UTI. Do NOT do this. This type of antibiotic misuse is one of the reasons bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. If you think you have a UTI, please see your doctor and have him prescribe a more appropriate antibiotic.

Source(s):

Ph.D. in microbiology.

Answer 2

Yes, they are different formulas for different things. That's why there are so many and part of why Drs make the big bucks, to know what each one is for :-)

Answer 3

Read about tetracycline at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/drugi…

Rxlist (which my healthcare students use a lot) lists specific conditions tetracycline may treat at http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/tetcyc…

I hope you're "just curious" and not planning to take someone else's tetracycline or some leftover tetracycline! Dangers of doing this:
1. The medication may be expired.
2. There may not be enough medication left to treat the infection, which will return and worsen.
3. The dosage may not be suitable for your height/weight or infection. The infection will return and worsen.
4. You may be allergic to the medication. Do you know exactly what's in tetracyclines? Do you have other medication allergies? This can be dangerous!

Source(s):

I am in healthcare education.