{"id":337,"date":"2022-09-28T08:29:52","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T08:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/?p=337"},"modified":"2022-10-01T08:31:42","modified_gmt":"2022-10-01T08:31:42","slug":"reference-guide-for-penicillins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/penicillins\/reference-guide-for-penicillins\/","title":{"rendered":"Reference Guide for Penicillins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Highlights<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Penicillin was first discovered in 1929 and is still widely used today.<\/b><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>There are four classes of penicillins, used for a variety of antibiotic purposes.<\/b><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>BidRX can help you find the best prices on penicillin drugs.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Penicillins were among the first modern drugs and remain some of our most important antibiotics. While penicillin itself is relatively rare, a wide range of drugs derived from it are in common use. In this article, we\u2019ll discuss the classes of penicillins and what you most need to know about them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Penicillin: History and Current Use<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Penicillin was famously discovered by accident, when scientist Alexander Fleming found that a type of mold in the Penicillium genus creates substances that kill bacteria, allowing the mold to flourish. By the 1940s, penicillin was in wide use, treating a wide range of infections.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the original penicillin is out of use due to antibiotic resistance, many drugs derived from it continue to help thwart infection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The classes of penicillins include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Natural penicillins<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Penicillinase-stable penicillins<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aminopenicillins<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extended-spectrum penicillins, sometimes subdivided into ureidopenicillins and carboxypenicillins<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For all classes of penicillin, there are a few points to keep in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Allergy to one type of penicillin is a strong indicator that you are allergic to other forms. If you\u2019ve had an allergic reaction in the past, request an allergy panel before taking penicillins.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You must take the complete course of medication prescribed unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Even if you feel better before the course is finished, completing the course is crucial to preventing the rise of microorganisms resistant to antibiotics.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Antibiotics, including penicillins, are only effective against bacteria. Illnesses caused by viruses or fungi generally aren\u2019t affected by antibiotics, and they shouldn\u2019t be taken \u201coff-label\u201d to treat them.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to the way they function, penicillins may cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, or rash as side effects. While these are expected symptoms, review possible signs of an opportunistic infection, particularly a viral or fungal one, with your doctor and call immediately if you find them.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some penicillins are only effective against specific infections and should only be used on those infections.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Natural Penicillins<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-345 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/2.jpeg-68-1.jpg\" alt=\"Woman holding up a pill and a glass of water\" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Natural penicillins are still \u201charvested\u201d from penicillium molds in sterile conditions where they\u2019re fermented, recovered, and treated. Benzylpenicillin, also called <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/monograph\/penicillin-g.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">penicillin G<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and phenoxymethylpenicillin, or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/penicillin.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">penicillin V<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, are the two natural penicillins on the market as of this writing.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Benefits \u2014 Natural Penicillins<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Natural penicillins remain effective against a fairly wide range of bacteria, including common ones such as pneumonia, staph infections, strep throat, as well as more dangerous ones such as tetanus and gangrene. They\u2019re also well understood by doctors, as they\u2019ve been available for decades.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Risks \u2014 Natural Penicillins<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to being on the market so long, the risk of antibiotic-resistant strains emerging is growing over time. Natural penicillins also are an allergy risk and have the highest risk of penicillin resistance, where the body fights the drug.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Penicillinase-stable Penicillins<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-344\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/3.jpeg-66-1.jpg\" alt=\"Glass ampule\" width=\"512\" height=\"353\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Soon after penicillin was introduced, some people were found to have high levels of penicillinase, an enzyme found in the liver, which breaks down the drug so quickly that it becomes ineffective. Some bacteria may also generate enzymes that perform a similar function as they become resistant to an antibiotic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To combat this, scientists created \u201csemisynthetic\u201d penicillins, modifying natural penicillins to create new drugs that last longer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of this writing, there are three penicillinase-stable antibiotics available in the U.S.:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/mtm\/dicloxacillin.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dicloxacillin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/cdi\/oxacillin.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oxacillin<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/cdi\/nafcillin.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nafcillin<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Benefits \u2014 Penicillinase-stable Penicillins<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main benefit of these drugs is that they resist penicillinase, giving these antibiotics time to work in the system. They also are more effective against strains that have evolved to be resistant to natural penicillins.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Risks \u2014 Penicillinase-stable Penicillins<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Due to their structure, these antibiotics may not be safe if you have liver problems or liver damage. Familiarize yourself with possible signs of liver damage and liver failure before taking these medications.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Aminopenicillins<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the 1950s, a British pharmaceutical company found a way to derive a substance called 6-APA from penicillin G, which opened the way to synthesizing new types of penicillins. Aminopenicillins add a charged amino group to the standard penicillin chemical structure, which grants it more effectiveness against a broader range of microorganisms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first aminopenicillin was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/mtm\/ampicillin.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ampicillin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which was derived from penicillin G. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/amoxicillin.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amoxicillin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was introduced in 1972.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Benefits \u2014 Aminopenicillins<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aminopenicillins were among the first antibiotics to be effective against gram-negative bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria have different cellular structures than their gram-positive counterparts, making it difficult for some antibiotics to penetrate them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Risks \u2014 Aminopenicillins<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite their broad-spectrum effectiveness, aminopenicillins are still subject to penicillin resistance. They are also more likely to trigger potentially dangerous allergic reactions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Extended-spectrum Penicillins<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-343 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/4.jpeg-26-1.jpg\" alt=\"Petri dishes\" width=\"512\" height=\"342\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extended-spectrum penicillins are semisynthetic penicillins that target the widest range of bacteria. One sub-class in particular, ureidopenicillins, are effective against and almost exclusively used on the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pseudomonas<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> genus, one of the most common post-surgical infections.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Currently, only <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drugs.com\/cdi\/piperacillin.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">piperacillin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is still available in the U.S. It\u2019s usually paired with tazobactam to increase effectiveness, although other extended-spectrum penicillins are available overseas.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Benefits \u2014 Extended-spectrum Penicillins<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main benefit of extended-spectrum penicillins is the wide range of bacteria that they affect. They also are more resistant to attempts by bacteria to break them down.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Risks \u2014 Extended-spectrum Penicillins<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extended-spectrum penicillins have generally been phased out in favor of other antibiotics due to the need for higher doses leading to higher risk of side effects and toxicity. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Get the Lowest Price for Penicillins With BidRx<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you\u2019re in need of antibiotics, the last thing you need is to worry about the price of filling a prescription. BidRx helps you find the best price on your medications. Once you create a bid on the site, pharmacies across the country bid on it, and you choose the best price. Then it\u2019s shipped directly to your door, or you can pick it up if you choose a local drug store, so you can focus on getting better.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To find the lowest price, visit <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/home\/ailment_details\/?ailment=Antibiotics\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">our antibiotics page<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to get started. When you see how simple it is to get the best possible price, you\u2019ll never shop anywhere else.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highlights Penicillin was first discovered in 1929 and is still widely used today. There are&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":342,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-penicillins"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions\/350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidrx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}