# Erythromycin in Nigeria Erythromycin has 20 active NAFDAC registrations in our October 2026 copy of the register, from 19 registration holders; 55 further listings have lapsed. - Source: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/erythromycin/ - Drug class: Macrolide antibiotic (Antibiotics) - Also known as: Erythromycin stearate, Erythrocin, Erythromax - Prescription required: yes - On the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines - Last updated: October 2026 ## Price in Nigeria As of October 2026, Erythromycin syrup sells for about ₦23 per ml online in Nigeria (packs ₦1,620–₦2,340; Erythro) at HealthPlus and Supermart.ng. The online price is roughly unchanged since August 2026. That figure is for Erythro; 20 other erythromycin brands are NAFDAC-registered and generic versions usually cost less. Open-market prices (e.g. Idumota, Ogbogwu) are often lower. ## What is Erythromycin? 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. It is well supplied in Nigeria. Our copy of the NAFDAC register shows around twenty active erythromycin registrations from about nineteen 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? - 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 Always follow a doctor's or pharmacist's instructions; this is general reference information. - 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: 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 (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 Do not take if: 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. 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. ## Brands in Nigeria Well-known NAFDAC-registered brands: MeCure's Erythromycin Tablets (Me Cure Industries Limited, made in Nigeria); RGI Erythro Caplet (Richygold International Limited, made in Nigeria); Rythroped Tablets (Evergreen Morning Star Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd, made in Nigeria); Acithromac Suspension (A.C. Drugs Ltd, made in Nigeria); Erythromax Tablets 500 mg (Everdestiny Pharmaceutical Ltd, made in India). Full searchable brand list: https://ogbogwu.com/drugs/erythromycin/brands/ ## How to verify it is genuine 1. Check 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. 2. Other registered products include Rythroped (A11-100342), Acithromac Suspension (04-1050) and Erythromax 500mg (B4-2465). 3. Confirm any brand with our NAFDAC checker — with around twenty-six companies holding active registrations, a genuine erythromycin should be findable. 4. Most registered erythromycin is made in Nigeria, so a locally made brand verified in the register is a sound choice. 5. Buy from a registered pharmacy and avoid loose tablets by the piece; antibiotics from open-market stalls carry a higher counterfeit and storage risk. Verify any NAFDAC number free (no login): https://ogbogwu.com/nafdac-checker/ ## FAQs ### Is erythromycin the same as azithromycin? They are close relatives — azithromycin was developed from erythromycin and belongs to the same macrolide family — but they are not interchangeable in practice. Azithromycin lasts much longer in the body, so it is taken once daily for three to five days rather than four times daily for a week, and it causes far less stomach upset. Erythromycin remains useful, is cheaper, is on the WHO essential list, and covers some situations azithromycin does not. Which one you need is a prescribing decision. ### Can I take erythromycin if I am allergic to penicillin? Yes — this is one of erythromycin's most important roles. It is chemically unrelated to penicillin, so a penicillin allergy does not cross over, and it covers many of the same organisms. That makes it a standard alternative for chest, throat and skin infections in people who cannot take amoxicillin, Augmentin or Ampiclox. Always tell the prescriber about the penicillin allergy and what form it took, since a mild rash and true anaphylaxis lead to different choices. ### Why does erythromycin upset my stomach so much? Because it does something no other common antibiotic does: it directly stimulates motilin receptors in the gut, the signal that drives stomach emptying and intestinal contractions. That produces cramping, nausea and diarrhoea in a substantial number of people. Taking it with food helps and is worth doing even though absorption is slightly better on an empty stomach. If it is still intolerable, ask about switching to azithromycin rather than abandoning the course halfway. ### Is erythromycin good for acne? It is used for acne, in long low-dose courses rather than short high-dose ones, and it works both by reducing the bacteria involved and by damping inflammation. It is not usually the first choice — doxycycline is generally preferred — and resistance to erythromycin in acne bacteria is now widespread after decades of use. It remains a reasonable option in pregnancy, where doxycycline cannot be used. Acne treatment takes months rather than weeks, and it is worth doing under medical guidance rather than buying repeat courses. ### Can I take erythromycin with my cholesterol tablet? Not without checking. Erythromycin substantially raises the blood level of simvastatin and, at higher doses, atorvastatin, and the result can be severe muscle breakdown that damages the kidneys. Doctors commonly pause simvastatin for the few days of an erythromycin course. If you take a statin, say so before you accept an erythromycin prescription — it is one of the interactions most likely to cause real harm. ### How much is erythromycin in Nigeria? It is among the more affordable antibiotics, with around twenty-six companies holding active NAFDAC registrations and most manufacturing locally, which keeps competition healthy and supply steady. Check the price section of this page for current sampled figures. Note that the paediatric suspension and the 500mg tablets are priced quite differently, and that a full seven-day course is what you should be pricing rather than a few tablets. ## Sources - NAFDAC Greenbook (official register of approved products in Nigeria) - WHO Model List of Essential Medicines - British National Formulary (BNF) - Nigerian Standard Treatment Guidelines (Federal Ministry of Health)