Erythromycin Coupons & Prices

Looking for an erythromycin coupon? Erythromycin is a long-established macrolide antibiotic that is available as a generic, but the cash price you pay can swing widely from one pharmacy to the next for the exact same prescription. Rx.com compares cash prices at more than 60,000 pharmacies nationwide and gives you a free discount coupon you can show at the counter, with no insurance and no membership required. Enter your ZIP code above to see today's price for your form and quantity and find the lowest-cost pharmacy near you.

What is erythromycin and how does it work?

Erythromycin is a macrolide antibiotic. It works by binding to the 50S subunit of the bacterial ribosome, which blocks bacteria from making the proteins they need to grow and multiply. It is prescribed for infections caused by susceptible bacteria, including upper and lower respiratory tract infections (such as strep throat and tonsillitis, and pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae or Legionnaires' disease), whooping cough, diphtheria (as an adjunct to antitoxin, and to prevent and clear the carrier state), erythrasma, skin and soft-tissue infections, listeriosis, and intestinal amebiasis caused by Entamoeba histolytica (oral forms only; amebiasis outside the intestine requires other medicines). It is also approved for uncomplicated chlamydia of the urethra, cervix, or rectum when a tetracycline cannot be used, nongonococcal urethritis due to Ureaplasma urealyticum, and primary syphilis in people allergic to penicillin. It is approved to help prevent recurrent rheumatic fever in penicillin-allergic patients. The label also covers acute pelvic inflammatory disease caused by N. gonorrhoeae in penicillin-allergic patients, but that regimen begins with intravenous erythromycin lactobionate in a healthcare setting and only then continues with oral erythromycin, so oral tablets alone are not the approved treatment for it. Worth knowing: the chlamydia, gonococcal pelvic inflammatory disease, and syphilis entries are label indications, and current CDC guidelines generally favor other antibiotics for these infections. Your prescriber decides what fits your case.

Erythromycin comes in several salt and ester forms, and the label differs by form: erythromycin base (including delayed-release, enteric-coated tablets), erythromycin ethylsuccinate (E.E.S.), erythromycin stearate, and erythromycin lactobionate for intravenous use. There are also topical and ophthalmic formulations. Because the forms are not interchangeable, always fill and take exactly what your prescriber wrote. Erythromycin is not a controlled substance, and it does nothing for viral illnesses such as colds or the flu; using antibiotics when they aren't needed only helps bacteria become resistant.

Erythromycin coupon: what it costs without insurance

Erythromycin has been available as a generic for decades, but that does not mean it costs the same everywhere. Cash prices for the identical erythromycin prescription can differ substantially between a chain drugstore, a grocery-store pharmacy, and an independent down the street, and they also change depending on the salt form (base vs. ethylsuccinate vs. stearate), the tablet strength, and how many tablets your course calls for. Prices vary by pharmacy, so it pays to compare rather than assume.

There is no manufacturer savings card for generic erythromycin. What you can use is a free discount coupon: enter your ZIP code above, pick your form, strength, and quantity, and Rx.com will show you today's cash price across more than 60,000 pharmacies so you can take the coupon to the cheapest one. The coupon is not insurance, and it cannot be combined with your insurance benefit on the same fill, but you can compare the coupon price against your copay and simply use whichever is lower. If you have insurance, it is always worth checking both.

Erythromycin vs. other antibiotics

Erythromycin is the original macrolide. Azithromycin and clarithromycin are newer macrolides in the same family; they are generally dosed less often and tend to be easier on the stomach, though they are not identical drugs and are not automatically interchangeable. Depending on the infection, a prescriber may instead choose a different class entirely, such as amoxicillin or penicillin VK (penicillins), cephalexin (a cephalosporin), doxycycline (a tetracycline), clindamycin, or metronidazole.

Erythromycin is often a fallback for people with a penicillin allergy, which is why it still appears in labels for strep throat, primary syphilis, and rheumatic fever prophylaxis in penicillin-allergic patients. Keep in mind that a drug being on the label is not the same as it being today's preferred choice: for sexually transmitted infections in particular, current guidelines usually point to other antibiotics. Which antibiotic is right depends on the organism, the site of infection, your allergies, and your other medicines, so this is a conversation for your prescriber, not a swap to make on your own. If you are switched to a different antibiotic, you can compare its cash price here the same way.

Erythromycin safety, side effects, and interactions

Standard oral erythromycin labels do not carry a boxed warning, but there are real risks worth knowing. Erythromycin can prolong the QT interval and, uncommonly, cause serious heart-rhythm problems including torsades de pointes and ventricular arrhythmias; the risk is higher if you have electrolyte abnormalities, existing QT prolongation, or take other QT-prolonging medicines. Erythromycin is a moderate but clinically significant CYP3A4 inhibitor (the FDA classifies erythromycin as a moderate CYP3A inhibitor; clarithromycin is the strong one in this family), so it still interacts with many drugs. It should not be taken with cisapride, pimozide, ergotamine or dihydroergotamine, terfenadine, astemizole, or with lovastatin or simvastatin (risk of rhabdomyolysis). Caution and monitoring are needed with warfarin, colchicine, digoxin, carbamazepine, theophylline, benzodiazepines, and calcium-channel blockers. Give your pharmacist a full list of everything you take, including over-the-counter products and supplements.

The most common side effects are gastrointestinal: nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. Less commonly, erythromycin can cause liver injury, including cholestatic hepatitis and, rarely, liver failure. It can also cause Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhea, which can occur even more than two months after you finish the course, so report severe or persistent watery diarrhea no matter how long ago you took the antibiotic. Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis has been reported in babies under 6 weeks old treated with erythromycin, and erythromycin can worsen myasthenia gravis. Serious allergic reactions and rare severe skin reactions are possible; get medical help right away for trouble breathing, swelling, or a spreading rash. This page is general information, not medical advice, so talk with your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.