# Medication question: Clindamycin **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 20, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152 "2020-04-20T00:18:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/1 "2020-04-20T00:18:53Z")
About 11 days ago I came down with a case of conjunctivitis bad enough that the swelling from my lower lid on up to my eyebrow caused people to do double-takes and prevented my eye from staying open. 10 days later the antibiotics are done and it’s mostly gone but there are still a couple spots on the outer lids and inside the lower eyelid that they decided to start me on a different antibiotic. The stuff prescribed for the second round is called Clindamycin, and I’m supposed to take it every 6 hours. I have questions. I should have asked then, but I didn’t think to, so I’m hoping someone can wander by and answer them: [ul] [li]Do I really have to set an alarm for 2 in the morning to maintain the every 6 hour schedule?[/li] [li]The directions say to take it with a large glass of water. Can it be taken with milk, soda, or juice, or does it have to be water only?[/li] [li]What if I were drinking something other than water before I take it? How soon can I drink something other than water after taking it with water?[/li] [li]Just how much is a “large glass” of water when it’s in ounces?[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/2 "2020-04-20T00:54:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Take the capsule with a full glass (8 ounces) of water. This is to prevent irritation of the esophagus (tube between the throat and stomach). [https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/clindamycin-oral-route/proper-use/drg-20110243](https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/clindamycin-oral-route/proper-use/drg-20110243) One would think that any other product which is overwhelmingly water would have the same result. And consequently it wouldn’t matter what else you drink before or after you took the medicine–the goal is simply to prevent irritation of the esophagus when you are taking the medicine. The above site states every 6 hours. But for penicillin I see the following answer: > [@](#): > > In an ideal world - every 6 hours is best. In hospital they would dose you every 6 hours. This is what you should do if your infection is severe. > > In the real world it is more practical or realistic that most people take it only during waking hours. If you do this then take your first dose as soon as you wake up and then the last dose just before bed and then try and space the other 2 doses out as evenly as possible during the day. Make sure you take your antibiotic until they are all finished, even if you feel 100% before your course is finished. > **[How important is penicillin dose timing?](https://www.drugs.com/medical-answers/penicillin-timing-1074560/)** > > Official answer: In an ideal world - every 6 hours is best. In hospital they would dose you every 6 hours. This is what you should do if... > [@](#): > > The severity of the need for the medication may also determine the timing. For an infection such as a strep throat, medication may be prescribed four times daily while awake. For a life-threatening infection, in contrast, it’s important to take medication at set intervals (for example, every 4 hours) to make sure your blood levels of the drug are never below therapeutic levels. > **[Deciphering Dosage Timing With 4-Times-a-Day or Every 6 Hours](https://www.verywellhealth.com/my-doctors-prescription-4-times-a-day-or-every-6-hours-1124041)** > > The medical abbreviations QID and Q6H tell patients how often they need to take a medication each day. For medications marked QID or QD, take it four times a day. For medication marked Q6H, take the medication every six hours. Learn about these and... Since you don’t have a life-threatening situation you can probably get away with taking it 4 times spread out during waking hours. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/3 "2020-04-20T00:57:56Z")
Medical advice is best suited to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/4 "2020-04-20T00:58:11Z")
Medical advice is best suited to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/5 "2020-04-20T02:21:14Z")
I generally just tell my patients to take it 3 times a day when I prescribe it for them. Or for 4x/day stuff I generally tell 'em to take it breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime. My sources indicate 3x/day is adequate for all but severe infections. Frankly, if it’s going to work, it’ll work with that dosing regimen. I also tell 'em to take some active culture yogurt while they’re on it to reduce the risk of C. Difficile diarrhea hitting. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/6 "2020-04-20T02:51:42Z")
Did they do a culture? What were you taking before? I’m surprised they didn’t just keep you on it, unless a culture revealed that clindamycin would hit it better. Qadgop is right - breakfast, lunch, supper, and bedtime. No need to wake up in the middle of the night to take it, and eat yogurt with live cultures or take a probiotic to prevent diarrhea. (or do both, if you’re so inclined) Taking it with a full glass of water ensures that it was washed down and won’t dissolve in your esophagus and irritate it. Also, if you are a woman, BOLO for vaginal yeast infections. I got an awful one when I was on it years ago for a dental infection. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/7 "2020-04-20T02:53:41Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I generally just tell my patients to take it 3 times a day when I prescribe it for them. Or for 4x/day stuff I generally tell 'em to take it breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime. My sources indicate 3x/day is adequate for all but severe infections. > > Frankly, if it’s going to work, it’ll work with that dosing regimen. > > I also tell 'em to take some active culture yogurt while they’re on it to reduce the risk of C. Difficile diarrhea hitting. I had a few rounds of C.Difficile. Listen to the Doc. You definitely don’t want it. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/8 "2020-04-20T03:51:48Z")
_C.diff_ damn near killed my dad in the short term, and made his life a bedridden misery for its last 4 years. I \*know \*I don’t want it. I have some Dannon Light & Fit which has _L. acidophilus_ in it. Only 4 though. I may check the CVS nearby to see if they have probiotics. Suggestions on how many yogurts or how much probiotic to take in a day? Thanks, **Qadgop**. I appreciate the advice. The infection is certainly not severe (any more), so I think I’ll do the 3x for today (this was the first day) and call the clinic tomorrow to confirm that’s okay. No, **nearwildheaven** , there was no culture. I’m not even sure how they’d get one, since it seems to have started out as (and ended up at) styes. I don’t want people poking in my eyeballs if I can avoid it. I don’t know why they changed the prescription. The 10-day course of Augmentim almost knocked it out, so I’d have thought a few more days would have finished the job, but I’m not a doctor. There may be reasons I wot not of. I \*am \*female, and I have a couple tubes of generic Monistat ointment that can be smeared in the appropriate places. Already being applied, actually, during the first 10 day course. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/9 "2020-04-20T05:29:45Z")
If the stye had come to a head, a culture could have been made. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/10 "2020-04-20T11:53:06Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > If the stye had come to a head, a culture could have been made. I did not know that. But then, I’m not certain they could do that sort of thing at a walk-in clinic, and for current event reasons, styes aren’t considered emergencies so it’s unlikely they’d have sent me somewhere that could. My suspicion is that they decided that since it’s a stye and it hasn’t gone away after 10 days of one drug, they’d try a different one. And I’m not about to walk into a hospital emergency room right now. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/11 "2020-04-20T15:18:17Z")
As hoped, the doctor said I could take it 3x a day at equally spaced intervals, which is what \*\*Qadgop \*\*suggested. Actually, they said every 8 hours, but that works out to 8 a.m., 4 p.m., and midnight, so I suspect it’ll be 8 a.m., 4 p.m., and right before bed. And any liquid will do as long as it’s about 8 ounces (or more). ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medication-question-clindamycin/852152/12 "2020-04-21T08:18:07Z")
I just finished a round of that for a tooth problem. But I was told to take it just twice a day, preferably 12 hours apart. Which I did, and it seemed to work fine.