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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Does Long Term Use Of Antibiotics Cause High Sed Rate?

does long term use of antibiotics cause a high sed rate? I have been diagnosed with a fungus infection in my lung and prescribed 500 mg of ethambutol three times a day. is that.. excessive? my sed rate is high but i have been on antibiotics for four months.
Mon, 14 Nov 2016
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi & Welcome.

Long term use of antibiotics does not increase sedimentation rate.

A high ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) is suggestive of certain chronic inflammatory conditions or infections like tuberculosis. It is indicative of an active inflammatory process.

Ethambutol is an antibiotic which is usually prescribed in combination with other medicines such as Isoniazide, Rifampicin, and Pyrazinamide for the eradication of tuberculosis infection.

It is not effective in treating fungus infection.

Based on the history you seem to have tuberculosis infection of the lung for which you need a combination of most effective antibiotics as suggested above.

So, in view of the above I would advise you to consult a physician for proper evaluation and certain lab tests such as Chest X-ray, Sputum for AFB, CBC to diagnose your condition and to start appropriate treatment accordingly.

Hope this will help.
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Does Long Term Use Of Antibiotics Cause High Sed Rate?

Hi & Welcome. Long term use of antibiotics does not increase sedimentation rate. A high ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) is suggestive of certain chronic inflammatory conditions or infections like tuberculosis. It is indicative of an active inflammatory process. Ethambutol is an antibiotic which is usually prescribed in combination with other medicines such as Isoniazide, Rifampicin, and Pyrazinamide for the eradication of tuberculosis infection. It is not effective in treating fungus infection. Based on the history you seem to have tuberculosis infection of the lung for which you need a combination of most effective antibiotics as suggested above. So, in view of the above I would advise you to consult a physician for proper evaluation and certain lab tests such as Chest X-ray, Sputum for AFB, CBC to diagnose your condition and to start appropriate treatment accordingly. Hope this will help.