Erythromycin is the original macrolide antibiotic, in use since the 1950s and still on the WHO essential medicines list. It stops bacteria making the proteins they need to multiply, and it covers much the same ground as penicillin — which is precisely its main role. For anyone who cannot take penicillin, erythromycin has been the standard alternative for seventy years.
In the NAFDAC register
75 registered products
from 56 registration holders
What it costs online
about ₦1,630
≈₦23 per ml (syrup/suspension)
Sampled from 3 listings across HealthPlus and Supermart.ng · August 2026
Full price breakdown →Brands of Erythromycin in Nigeria
Comes as
- Tablet500 mg· 18 makers
Those 75 products from 56 registration holders include combination products and older listings; below are the most common brands.
| Brand Name | Manufacturer | Strength | Form | NAFDAC Reg. No. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MeCure's Erythromycin Tablets | Me Cure Industries Limited | 500mg | Tablet | A11-0263 |
| RGI Erythro Caplet | Richygold International Limited | 500mg | Caplet | A4-2574 |
| Rythroped Tablets | Evergreen Morning Star Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd | 500mg | Tablet | A11-100342 |
| Acithromac Suspension | A.C. Drugs Ltd | 125mg/5ml | Suspension | 04-1050 |
| Erythromax Tablets 500 mg | Everdestiny Pharmaceutical Ltd | 500mg | Tablet | B4-2465 |
Erythromycin Price in Nigeria
As of August 2026, Erythromycin syrup sells for about ₦23 per ml online in Nigeria (packs ₦1,620–₦2,340) across HealthPlus and Supermart.ng. That figure is for Erythro; 25 other erythromycin brands are NAFDAC-registered and generic versions usually cost less. Open-market prices (e.g. Idumota, Ogbogwu) are often lower.
Online retail (sampled)
₦1,620 – ₦2,340median ₦1,630
3 listings across HealthPlus + Supermart.ng — brands and pack sizes vary · August 2026.
syrup: about ₦23 per ml (₦16–₦32), from the 3 listings that state a pack size.
First tracked August 2026.
How to Verify Your Erythromycin is Genuine
- 1Check the NAFDAC number on the pack — MeCure's Erythromycin carries A11-0263 and RGI Erythro Caplet carries A4-2574 in our copy of the register.
- 2Other registered products include Rythroped (A11-100342), Acithromac Suspension (04-1050) and Erythromax 500mg (B4-2465).
- 3Confirm any brand with our NAFDAC checker — with around twenty-six companies holding active registrations, a genuine erythromycin should be findable.
- 4Most registered erythromycin is made in Nigeria, so a locally made brand verified in the register is a sound choice.
- 5Buy from a registered pharmacy and avoid loose tablets by the piece; antibiotics from open-market stalls carry a higher counterfeit and storage risk.
Where to Buy
Buying Erythromycin by the carton
Cartons are bought at Nigeria's four open drug markets. Each guide names the sellers there you can contact, and how to buy safely:
No shop we list has Erythromycin on its confirmed product list yet — the market guides still tell you where the trade happens and how to buy there safely.
Wherever you buy, buy only from licensed pharmacies and verified distributors — not roadside vendors — and verify the pack's NAFDAC registration before you pay. Buying Erythromycin in bulk or for resale? See how to buy medicines in bulk in Nigeria safely.
Need Erythromycin in bulk, or can't find it near you?
Tell us what you need and we'll connect you with a verified, NAFDAC-registered source.
What is Erythromycin?
It is well supplied in Nigeria. Our copy of the NAFDAC register shows around twenty-five active erythromycin registrations from about twenty-four companies — an unusually flat field, with almost every company holding a single product — and a striking share are made here: MeCure, Richygold, Evergreen Morning Star, A.C. Drugs, Artemis Laboratories and others.
Its weakness is the stomach. Erythromycin irritates the gut more than any other common antibiotic, because it directly stimulates the receptors that drive stomach emptying — nausea, cramping and diarrhoea are frequent enough that many people abandon the course. Azithromycin, its descendant, keeps most of the antibacterial activity, is taken once daily for three to five days instead of four times daily for a week, and is far gentler. Where both are available and appropriate, that convenience usually wins.
What is Erythromycin used for?
In Nigeria, Erythromycin is commonly used for:
- Chest infections, bronchitis and community-acquired pneumonia
- Throat and tonsil infections, including streptococcal sore throat
- Skin and soft-tissue infections
- Acne vulgaris, in extended low-dose courses
- Whooping cough (pertussis), including for close contacts
- Chlamydia and some other sexually transmitted infections, as an alternative regimen
- The standard alternative wherever penicillin is indicated but cannot be given
Dosage
IMPORTANT
Always follow your doctor's or pharmacist's instructions. The information below is for general reference only.
Adults
The usual adult dose is 250mg to 500mg every six hours — four times a day — for five to seven days, depending on the infection. Severe infections may need up to 4g daily in divided doses. Take it with food if the stomach upset is troublesome; erythromycin stearate is absorbed better on an empty stomach, but a dose taken with food and kept down beats a dose taken correctly and vomited.
Children
Children are dosed by weight, usually 30 to 50mg per kg per day divided into four doses, given as the 125mg/5ml suspension. Shake the bottle well, measure with a proper syringe or measuring spoon rather than a kitchen spoon, and refrigerate the reconstituted suspension, which normally keeps for about seven days. Confirm the dose against the child's weight with a pharmacist.
Elderly
No routine dose change for age, but older adults are more likely to be on medicines erythromycin interacts with, and more vulnerable to the heart-rhythm effects those interactions can cause. A full medicine list matters here.
Complete the course. A four-times-daily antibiotic is genuinely hard to keep to, and erythromycin's stomach effects make it harder — but a half-finished course of an antibiotic is how resistance is bred, and Nigeria already has some of the highest resistance rates recorded. If the nausea is unbearable, ask about switching rather than simply stopping. And note that erythromycin does nothing for malaria or for viral coughs and colds, which are the commonest reasons it is bought over the counter.
Side Effects
Common side effects
- •Nausea, vomiting and stomach cramps — the most frequent problem with this antibiotic
- •Diarrhoea
- •Loss of appetite
- •Rash
- •Oral or vaginal thrush after a course
Serious side effects — seek medical help immediately
- QT prolongation and dangerous heart rhythm disturbance, particularly combined with other QT-prolonging drugs
- Cholestatic hepatitis — jaundice with abdominal pain, more associated with the estolate form
- Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhoea — severe, persistent or bloody
- Severe allergic reactions
- Reversible hearing loss at very high doses, especially in kidney or liver impairment
- Pyloric stenosis in newborns given erythromycin in the first weeks of life
When to see a doctor
Seek urgent care for palpitations, fainting or an irregular heartbeat, for facial swelling or difficulty breathing, and for severe or bloody diarrhoea. See a doctor for yellowing of the eyes or skin, dark urine, or hearing changes. If a baby under a month old has been given erythromycin and starts forceful vomiting after feeds, that needs same-day assessment.
Warnings & Precautions
Do not take Erythromycin if you have:
- Known hypersensitivity to erythromycin or other macrolides
- Existing QT prolongation or a history of dangerous heart rhythms
- Use with simvastatin, atorvastatin at high dose, or ergot medicines
- Severe liver impairment
- Use with caution in myasthenia gravis, which erythromycin can worsen
Drug interactions
- •Simvastatin and atorvastatin — erythromycin raises their levels sharply, risking severe muscle damage; simvastatin should be paused during the course
- •Warfarin — the INR rises and bleeding risk increases
- •Carbamazepine and theophylline — levels rise toward toxicity
- •Other QT-prolonging drugs, including some antimalarials, antipsychotics and amitriptyline
- •Ergotamine for migraine — risk of severe blood-vessel constriction
- •Colchicine and ciclosporin — levels rise substantially
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
Erythromycin is one of the antibiotics with the longest record of use in pregnancy and is generally considered acceptable when an antibiotic is needed, though the estolate form is avoided. It passes into breast milk in small amounts and breastfeeding is usually continued, with one caution: erythromycin given directly to a newborn in the first weeks of life is associated with pyloric stenosis, a blockage at the stomach outlet that needs surgery.
Related Resources for Erythromycin
Guides, articles, and tools related to Erythromycin and other antibiotics medicines in Nigeria.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
- •NAFDAC Greenbook — the official database of all products registered with Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. Brand-level NAFDAC numbers for Erythromycin on this page were cross-referenced against the Greenbook.
- •WHO Model List of Essential Medicines — Erythromycin is included in the WHO's list of essential medicines, meaning it is considered essential for basic healthcare needs.
- •British National Formulary (BNF) dosing and interaction guidance for Erythromycin.
- •Nigerian Standard Treatment Guidelines (Federal Ministry of Health).
Daily puzzle: Meddle — pair five brands with their medicines. New game at midnight.