How to Treat Colitis With Antibiotics

While some antibiotics kill the good bacteria in the colon and provoke an episode of colitis, there are antibiotics used to alleviate the symptoms of some forms of colitis. The use of antibiotics to treat colitis depends on the type of colitis--allergic colitis, pseudomembranous colitis, bacterial colitis or ulcerative colitis.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Identify the Antibiotics to Treat Colitis

1. Manage bacterial colitis with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ, Bactrim, Septra). Sulfamethoxazole is a sulfonamide that is prescribed to prevent growth of bacteria in the body.

2. Consider antibiotics categorized as fluoroquinolones an option to treat colitis. Common brand names of fluoroquinolones include Avelox, Cipro, Floxin, Levaquin, Maxaquin, Noroxin and Tequin.

3. Add the broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotics as an option to treat bacterial or ulcerative colitis. Ceftriaxone (Rocephin) is an antibiotic widely used since it can be administered either by injection or intravenously.

4. Include commonly used brand names of cephalosporins such as Ancef, Ceclor, Cefotan, Duricef, Keflex, Kefzol, Mandol, Omnicef and Zinacef as antibiotics to treat bacteria associated with colitis.

5. Use antibiotics in conjunction with anti-inflammatory medications to treat ulcerative colitis. The antibiotic therapy is used to remove the abnormal bacterial growth while the anti-inflammatory medication reduces the swelling and irritation in the colon.

6. Expect to take vancomycin or metronidazole if colitis was caused by the use of other antibiotics. Some antibiotic therapy kills the good bacteria in the colon which allows the bad bacteria to take control and cause an infection. That kind of infection is treated with a different class of antibiotics.

Tips & Warnings

• Some antibiotics can cause an episode of colitis. Tell your doctor if you are taking any type of antibiotic therapy so he can determine the correct line of treatment.
• See your health-care practitioner if you experience any symptoms of ulcerative colitis such as anemia, fatigue, rectal bleeding, weight loss and joint pain. Early detection is critical in delaying or avoiding the need for colon surgery in future years.
• While sulfonamides are used to kill the bacteria associated with some types of colitis, they can also cause an increase in diarrhea. Notify your doctor immediately if your condition worsens or you have severe eruptions around the mouth or eyes, shortness of breath or joint pain.
• Seek immediate medical care if you experience swelling of the lips, closing of the throat or unusual bleeding or bruising.
• Tell your doctor if you're taking any other medication, since some drugs can have an adverse reaction when combined with fluorquinolones.

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