Azithromycin 500mg Tablets – Chlamydia Course or Travellers' Diarrhoea Standby

Azithromycin is a prescription-only macrolide antibiotic. At Ways Pharmacy it is supplied through two separate pharmacist-led services, each with its own pack: a 3-day course for chlamydia confirmed by a laboratory test, and a standby course for travellers' diarrhoea to carry with you on a trip. Choose the option that matches your situation. Azithromycin is supplied only after a pharmacist has assessed you and confirmed that it is suitable.

How to access this medicine

The steps depend on which service you need.

Travellers' diarrhoea standby course

1. Start your free online assessment. Answer the health questions online, including questions about your trip, and confirm your identity (upload photo ID, or show it on a video call).
2. Pharmacist reviews and speaks with you. A GPhC-registered pharmacist contacts you by phone or video. The travellers' diarrhoea service is for adults aged 18 and over only.
3. If suitable, order and pay on this page. Once the pharmacist confirms the medicine is suitable, you select the travellers' diarrhoea standby option (3 tablets) and pay on this page, or call 020 8106 7084. If the option you chose does not match your situation, the pharmacist changes it and refunds or charges the price difference. If it is not suitable — including when the pharmacist recommends self-care instead — you pay nothing, and the pharmacist explains your other options. If you have already paid and the pharmacist finds the medicine is not suitable, you receive a full refund.
4. We post your medicine or you collect it. Orders placed by 3pm on a weekday are posted the same day (see our shipping policy), or you can collect from Holborn.

Chlamydia

1. Choose and pay. Select the chlamydia option (4 tablets) and check out. If the option you chose does not match your situation, the pharmacist changes it and refunds or charges the price difference.
2. Online health questionnaire and ID check. After payment you complete a short questionnaire and confirm your identity by uploading photo ID or showing it on a video call. Please have your positive test result ready to share.
3. Pharmacist speaks with you. A GPhC-registered pharmacist contacts you by phone or video. Chlamydia consultations are confidential, and if you are 16 or 17 you can use this service without a parent or guardian.
4. If suitable, supplied the same day. Orders approved by 3pm on a weekday are posted the same day (see our shipping policy), or you can collect from Holborn once approved. If the medicine is not suitable — including when the pharmacist recommends self-care instead — you receive a full refund.

There is no separate consultation fee. If the medicine you chose is not suitable, the pharmacist may suggest another option.

About this medicine

Option 1: chlamydia treatment (4 tablets)

Doxycycline is the usual first choice for chlamydia. Azithromycin is used when doxycycline is not suitable — for example in pregnancy, or if you cannot take tetracycline antibiotics. It is supplied only if you have a positive chlamydia result from a laboratory NAAT test, and is not supplied "just in case". If you have not been tested — including if a partner has tested positive but you have not — please book a chlamydia test first, or visit an NHS sexual health clinic. Rapid tests that give a result in minutes are not accepted.

• Day 1: take 1g (2 tablets) together as a single dose
• Days 2 and 3: take 500mg (1 tablet) once a day
• Swallow with water, with or without food. Do not take at the same time as indigestion remedies containing aluminium or magnesium
• Finish the whole course, even if you feel well

Avoid all sex, including oral sex, until your treatment is finished, any symptoms have gone and your recent partners have been tested and treated — the pharmacist will tell you how long to wait after azithromycin. If you are pregnant, a test of cure is needed no earlier than 3 weeks after finishing treatment; the pharmacist will also tell you if you need one for other reasons. People under 25 are advised to test again around 3 months later because reinfection is common. See our chlamydia treatment service for full details.

Option 2: travellers' diarrhoea standby course (3 tablets)

This is for adults aged 18 and over, weighing at least 45kg, who are travelling to an area where travellers' diarrhoea is more common and for whom a standby antibiotic is appropriate — for example on remote trips or where medical care is hard to reach. Most travellers' diarrhoea is mild and settles with fluids alone. Antibiotics are never used to prevent diarrhoea.

• Only if moderate or severe diarrhoea develops, as explained at your consultation: take one 500mg tablet once a day for 1 to 3 days
• You can stop once you have recovered within that time. Never take more than one tablet in 24 hours
• Drink plenty of fluids, ideally oral rehydration solution, whether or not you take the antibiotic
• Do not share the tablets with anyone

Using azithromycin for travellers' diarrhoea is supported by travel-health guidance but is outside the UK product licence; the pharmacist will explain this before supply. The single 1g dose regimen is not used in this service.

Do not rely on the standby course, and get medical help, if you have blood or a lot of mucus in your stool, a temperature of 38°C or above, severe or persistent stomach pain, vomiting that stops you keeping fluids down, signs of dehydration, yellowing of the skin or eyes, confusion, or no improvement within 48–72 hours. Any fever after visiting a malaria area needs same-day medical assessment. See our travellers' diarrhoea service for full details.

Warnings and who should not take this medicine

• Anyone allergic to azithromycin, erythromycin or any other macrolide or ketolide antibiotic
• People with QT prolongation or a previous serious heart rhythm problem, low potassium or magnesium, or who take medicines that increase the risk of heart rhythm problems
• People with severe liver disease
• People taking medicines that interact with azithromycin, such as digoxin, colchicine, ciclosporin, warfarin or other blood thinners, or medicines for heart rhythm — always tell the pharmacist everything you take
• Chlamydia: people under 16, anyone without a positive NAAT result, and anyone with pelvic or lower tummy pain, pain during sex, testicular pain or swelling, fever or feeling unwell — these need a sexual health clinic or GP. A positive gonorrhoea result at the same time needs separate treatment — see our gonorrhoea treatment page
• Travellers' diarrhoea: people under 18 or weighing less than 45kg
• Tell the pharmacist if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, have kidney problems or myasthenia gravis, or have had C. difficile infection or diarrhoea with antibiotics before

Possible side effects

Common side effects include diarrhoea, feeling sick, stomach pain, vomiting and headache. Dizziness and rash can also occur. Get urgent medical help if you have palpitations or fainting, a severe skin reaction, swelling of the face, lips or throat, difficulty breathing, severe or persistent diarrhoea, or yellowing of the skin or eyes.

Regulatory information

• Legal status: Prescription-only medicine (POM), supplied under a Patient Group Direction after pharmacist assessment
• Pharmacy: Ways Pharmacy, 77 Southampton Row, London WC1B 4ET · GPhC-registered premises 9012227
• Patient information leaflet: electronic Medicines Compendium (emc)
• Report suspected side effects through the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme

This page gives factual information about a prescription-only medicine and is not an advertisement to the public. It is supplied only after a pharmacist has assessed that it is suitable for you.