ERYTHROMYCIN is a macrolide antibiotic. Erythromycin kills certain bacteria or stops their growth.

Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully and take the medicine by mouth swallowing with a glass of water. Take erythromycin exactly as directed.

Report to your prescriber or health care professional as soon as possible:

•diarrhea
•loss of appetite
•nausea, vomiting
•stomach pain
•dark yellow or brown urine
•difficulty breathing
•hearing loss
•pain on swallowing
•ringing in the ears
•severe or watery diarrhea
•skin rash or itching
•swelling of face or neck
•yellowing of eyes or skin

•astemizole
•carbamazepine
•cisapride
•colchicine
•cyclosporine
•certain medicines for anxiety or difficulty sleeping
•other antibiotics, like grepafloxacin or sparfloxacin
•oral contraceptives (birth control pills)
•paricalcitol
•pimozide
•'statin' medicines for reducing cholesterol (atorvastatin, cerivastatin, lovastatin, simvastatin, and others)
•terfenadine
•theophylline
•warfarin
•digoxin
•dihydroergotamine
•dofetilide
•doxercalciferol
•entacapone
•ergotamine

Tell your prescriber or health care professional about all other medicines you are taking and or nutritional supplements.

In case of overdose, call your local poison control center. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services.

If you get severe or watery diarrhea, do not treat yourself. Tell your prescriber or health care professional if your symptoms do not improve in 2 to 3 days.

Take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one.

Erythromycin is used to treat certain infections caused by bacteria, such as bronchitis, diphtheria, Legionnaires' disease, pertussis (whooping cough), pneumonia; rheumatic fever, venereal disease (VD), & ear, intestine, lung, urinary tract, & skin infections.

This medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

Store at room temperature between 15 and 30 degrees C (59 and 86 degrees F). Keep container tightly closed.

Inform your health care professional if you have any of these conditions:

•hearing problems
•heart disease
•liver disease
•stomach problems (especially colitis)
•other chronic illness
•an unusual or allergic reaction to erythromycin, foods, dyes, or preservatives
•breast-feeding