Maybe you’ve heard that taking antibiotics can mess with your birth control. That’s wrong, because (with one very special exception) antibiotics have no effect on the most common forms of birth control.
This includes almost every type of antibiotic used to treat common bacterial infections, like:
- Amoxicillin
- Azithromycin
- Clarithromycin
- Doxycycline
- Metronidazole
- Quinolones (ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin)
Likewise, the antifungal drugs most commonly used to treat yeast infections (Fluconazole and Miconazole) will not stop your birth control from working.
What Can Interfere with Birth Control?
The one exception is rifamycin antibiotics (rifampin, rifabutin, rifapentine) that are mainly used to treat tuberculosis. These so-called “enzyme-inducing antibiotics” raise levels of enzymes in your body, and that can affect hormonal birth control methods like the pill, or a patch, implant, shot, or vaginal ring. Rifamycin antibiotics do not affect intrauterine birth control systems or devices like an IUD.
If you’re taking a rifamycin antibiotic, you should use a back-up birth control method, such as condoms or a diaphragm. You’ll need to use your back-up for 28 days after you finish your rifamycin antibiotic.
OB/GYN in Brownstown & Southgate, MI
Talk with your OB/GYN when you have questions about antibiotics and birth control. If you don’t have a provider for your women’s healthcare needs and live in the Downriver Michigan area, contact Northline Women’s Health Center to request an OB/GYN appointment at our Southgate or Brownstown, MI office.
