I think my doctor prescribed me the wrong medicine what do I do?

Question

I have a skin infection on the back of my neck ad I called my doctor to switch antibiotics and they told me I would be taking augmentin but I went to get my medicine at the pharmacy it said amoxicilin and I already took one pill should I keep taking it or call the doctor...is amoxicilin and augmentin the same thing or different?

Answer 1

AUGMENTIN: is an oral antibacterial combination consisting of the semisynthetic antibiotic amoxicillin and the (beta)-lactamase inhibitor, clavulanate potassium (the potassium salt of clavulanic acid).

Amoxicillin: is an analog of ampicillin, derived from the basic penicillin nucleus, 6-aminopenicillanic acid.

Answer 2

They are both penicillin-type antibiotics.  Augmentin contains amoxicillin.  However, Augmentin also contains clavulanate potassium.  Clavulante potassium protects the amoxicillin from degradation.  Though you didn't go into detail regarding your skin infection, neither antibiotic are the best choice for most skin infections, particularly ones caused by MRSA.  I would definitely call your doctor and report the possible error.  If this is something you've been treating with antibiotics for sometime, you may want to consider a second opinion.

Answer 3

Augmentin is amoxicillin and clavulanic acid.  The clavulanic acid basically just makes the amoxicillin work better.

If the label says something like "amoxicillin/clavulanic acid" then that is Augmentin.  If it only says "amoxicillin", it might be worth checking into.

Answer 4

Augmentin is Amoxicillin Clavulanate. Augmentin in the brand name and the Amoxicillin Clav. is the generic name. Dont worry.

Answer 5

better safe than sorry call your doctor asap before taking any more.

Answer 6

Augmentin is amoxicillin with clavulanate. So yes, they're the same, and yes, they're different. Nothing like simplicity, huh?

Typically, plain amoxicillin sucks for skin things (rosacea excepted), so it'd be nice if there were something like "clav" on the label next to the amoxicillin.

Answer 7

I think augmentin is a specific type of amoxicillin, like augmentin is amoxicillin with something else, or slightly chemically different.  I'm not 100% sure on that though.  Better call your doctor to make sure!