Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List
| | A | | | B | | | C | | | D | | | E | | | F | | | G | | | H | | | I | | | J | | | K | | | L | | | M | |
| | N | | | O | | | P | | | Q | | | R | | | S | | | T | | | U | | | V | | | W | | | X | | | Y | |
Treatment of Amoebiasis
Amoebiasis is usually treated with a course of antibiotics. The most common antibiotic used for this condition is metronidazole. The standard dose is 750mg tablets, three times a day for between seven and ten days.
Other antibiotics used include tinidazole 800mg tablets, three times daily for five days and paromomycin in 25-25mg/kg, three times daily for seven days. Children will usually be prescribed much smaller doses.
Pregnant women should avoid taking antibiotics unless the condition is threatening the long-term health of the mother or baby.
If you develop an amoebic liver abscess and have not responded well to antibiotic treatment after seven days, or there is a high risk that the abscess may rupture, your doctor may suggest a small operation to drain the abscess. This will involve placing a small rubber tube called a catheter in the abscess to drain out the fluid.
In very rare cases, when there are serious complications such as peritonitis (when bacteria from the intestine spills into the peritoneum), surgery may be necessary to help the doctor understand more fully what is happening inside the abdomen.
