Antibiotic medicines can cause diarrhea, which may be a sign of a new infection. If you have diarrhea that is watery or bloody, call your doctor before using anti-diarrhea medicine. Use Cephalexin Keflex exactly as directed on the label, or as prescribed by your doctor. Do not use in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended. Follow all directions on your prescription label and read all medication guides or instruction sheets. Use the medicine exactly as directed.

Measure liquid medicine carefully. Use the dosing syringe provided, or use a medicine dose-measuring device not a kitchen spoon. Use this medicine for the full prescribed length of time, even if your symptoms quickly improve.

Skipping doses can increase your risk of infection that is resistant to medication. Cephalexin will not treat a viral infection such as the flu or a common cold. Do not share cephalexin with another person , even if they have the same symptoms you have. This medicine can affect the results of certain medical tests. Your doctor will choose the antibiotic based on which bacteria they think is causing your infection.

Cefalexin can only be given as capsules, tablets or a liquid, but some other antibiotics can be given as injections. Cefalexin does not affect contraceptive pills working, including the combined pill and emergency contraception. However, if cefalexin makes you vomit or have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, your contraceptive pills may not protect you from pregnancy. Look on the pill packet to find out what to do.

Read more about what to do if you're on the pill and you're being sick or have diarrhoea. There is no firm evidence to suggest cefalexin will affect fertility in men or women. However, speak to a pharmacist or your doctor before taking it if you're trying to get pregnant.

Page last reviewed: 20 March Next review due: 20 March Cefalexin - Brand name: Keflex On this page About cefalexin Key facts Who can and cannot take cefalexin How and when to take it Side effects How to cope with side effects Pregnancy and breastfeeding Cautions with other medicines Common questions. About cefalexin Cefalexin is an antibiotic. Help us improve our website Can you answer a quick question about your visit today?

You'll usually start to feel better in a few days, depending on the type of infection you have. The most common side effects of cefalexin are feeling sick nausea and diarrhoea. You can drink alcohol while taking cefalexin. It's important to keep taking cefalexin until you've completed the course, even if you feel better. Cefalexin can be taken by most adults and children. Dosage The dose of cefalexin can vary but for most infections you will take mg, two or three times a day.

The dose may be higher for severe infections and lower for children. Important Keep taking this medicine until you've completed the course, even if you feel better.

How to take it Cefalexin can be taken with or without food. What if I forget to take it? What if I take too much? Non-urgent advice: Contact your doctor if:.

Common side effects These common side effects happen in around 1 in 10 people. Keep taking the medicine, but talk to your doctor or pharmacist if these side effects bother you or do not go away: feeling sick nausea diarrhoea stomach pain Serious side effects Serious side effects are rare and happen in less than 1 in 1, people. Call your doctor immediately if you get: severe diarrhoea that lasts for more than 4 days or contains blood or mucus pale poo and dark pee, yellowing of your skin or whites of your eyes — this may be a sign of liver problems bruised skin Serious allergic reaction In rare cases, cefalexin can cause a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis.

Information: You can report any suspected side effect to the UK safety scheme. What to do about: feeling sick — eat simple meals and do not eat rich or spicy food while you're taking this medicine.

It might help to take your cefalexin after a meal or snack. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully. Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated pediatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of cephalexin in children. Appropriate studies performed to date have not demonstrated geriatric-specific problems that would limit the usefulness of cephalexin in the elderly. However, elderly patients are more likely to have age-related kidney problems, which may require caution and an adjustment in the dose for patients receiving cephalexin.

Studies in women suggest that this medication poses minimal risk to the infant when used during breastfeeding. Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur.

In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking this medicine, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below.

The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive. Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.

Using this medicine with any of the following medicines may cause an increased risk of certain side effects, but using both drugs may be the best treatment for you. Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur.

Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco. The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine.

Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:. Take this medicine only as directed by your doctor. Do not take more of it, do not take it more often, and do not take it for a longer time than your doctor ordered. Ellie refrained from giving her last name.

Now he is on an immunosuppressant medication, cyclosporine, that tastes and smells like skunk! Crisler said many kids in the bone marrow transplant unit struggle to take the medicine. Forbes said poor compliance -- meaning patients don't take their medicine -- is very common for children taking oral solutions such as the antibiotic Augmentin. Most pharmacies have the ability to flavor an oral solution to increase palatability and compliance," said Forbes. Forbes also pointed out that not all metformin pills will have the fishy smell, and some generic brands are particularly more pungent than others.

It's important to note there has been no correlation between an odor and the efficacy of metformin which has been on the market in the US since ," BMS spokesman Ken Dominski said in a statement to ABCnews.