Side Effects Of Clarithromycin

Like all medicines, clarithromycin can cause side effects, although not everyone gets them.

Common side effects of clarithromycin

These common side effects of clarithromycin happen to more than 1 in 100 people. There are things you can do to help cope with them:

If this advice does not help and any of these side effects continue to bother you, keep taking the medicine, but tell your doctor or pharmacist.

Serious side effects

Serious side effects are rare and happen to less than 1 in 1,000 people.

Call a doctor or call 111 now if you get:

• a faster or irregular heartbeat
• pale poo, dark pee and a yellow colour to the whites of your eyes or skin (although this may be less obvious on brown or black skin) - these can be signs of liver problems
• severe pain in your stomach and/or back - this can be a sign of inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis)
• diarrhoea (perhaps with muscle cramps) that contains blood or mucus - if you have severe diarrhoea without blood or mucus for more than 4 days, also speak to a doctor
• hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there)

Serious allergic reaction

In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) to clarithromycin.

Call 999 now if:

• your lips, mouth, throat or tongue suddenly become swollen
• you're breathing very fast or struggling to breathe (you may become very wheezy or feel like you're choking or gasping for air)
• your throat feels tight or you're struggling to swallow
• your skin, tongue or lips turn blue, grey or pale (if you have black or brown skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet)
• you suddenly become very confused, drowsy or dizzy
• someone faints and cannot be woken up
• a child is limp, floppy or not responding like they normally do (their head may fall to the side, backwards or forwards, or they may find it difficult to lift their head or focus on your face)

You or the person who's unwell may also have a rash that's swollen, raised, itchy, blistered or peeling.

These can be signs of a serious allergic reaction and may need immediate treatment in hospital.

Other side effects

These are not all the side effects of clarithromycin. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicine packet.

Reporting side effects

You can report any suspected side effect using the Yellow Card safety scheme.

Visit the Yellow Card website for more information about reporting side effects.

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