Taking ciprofloxacin for strep throat will generally be effective but is not always the best treatment option. The chemical action of ciprofloxacin, which is sometimes known as cipro, does work against the variety of bacteria that causes strep throat. Some bacterial populations, however, may have mutated and become resistant to this antibiotic. Other antibiotics are commonly used before ciprofloxacin, both because of the need to limit the development of drug resistance and because of the side effects of ciprofloxacin, which can be quite serious.
Ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic and is effective against a wide variety of different bacterial infections. Like all antibiotics, it does nothing to combat a viral infection. It works by interfering with some of the chemicals that many types of bacteria need in order to develop and reproduce. This drug will typically kill or weaken a large percentage of a bacterial population, and the body’s immune system can then generally handle any surviving bacteria.
The variety of streptococcus bacteria that is responsible for strep throat is normally susceptible to treatment with ciprofloxacin. This drug will normally be prescribed for seven to ten days and is typically taken twice daily. It is important to space doses of this drug at even 12 hour intervals, because this will maintain a steady and effective level of antibiotics in the bloodstream. If the concentration of ciprofloxacin or any other antibiotic drops too low, then bacteria populations may be able to recover, which can lead to the development of resistant strains?
Penicillin and other antibiotics are often prescribed instead of ciprofloxacin for strep throat. This is because the bacteria that cause strep throat often respond to other antibiotics just as effectively and because the side effects of ciprofloxacin can be more serious than those associated with some other antibiotics. Cipro interacts with several other medications, and some patients will not be able to take it if they have had negative reactions to the class of antibiotics that it belongs to.
In a small number of cases, taking ciprofloxacin for strep throat may prove to be ineffective due to bacterial resistance. This is fairly uncommon because bacteria need to undergo a rather complicated mutation in order to develop such immunity, but it is not unheard of. If this drug is ineffective due to bacterial immunity, then some other antibiotic will typically be used instead. More powerful and newer antibiotic drugs often produce even more serious side effects.