Azithromycin 500mg
Standby antibiotic, Azithromycin 500mg x 3 tablets for treatment of travellers' diarrhoea for use when needed, available to buy online from Dr Fox Pharmacy.
Start orderBuy Azithromycin online in UK
How to order Azithromycin online for UK delivery:
- Read medical information about travellers' diarrhoea
- Answer medical questions to check for eligibility
- Reviewed by doctors - posted from UK pharmacy (Royal Mail Tracked 24)
Prices
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Azithromycin | Quantity | Cost |
---|---|---|
Azithromycin 500mg | 3 tablets (1 course) | £8.90 |
Prescription issued online - small prescription fee per order.
Compare prices: Dr Fox prices are 25%-50% lower cost than other online clinics.
Prescription fees
Dr Fox supplies medicine on prescription and charges a small prescription fee based on the order value of each prescription.
Prescriptions are issued by our doctors online and sent electronically to our pharmacy.
Order value | Prescription fee |
---|---|
up to £10 | £1.00 |
up to £20 | £2.00 |
up to £40 | £3.00 |
over £40 | £4.00 |
If you have your own private paper prescription please post to our pharmacy (details).
Dr Fox prices are 25%–50% lower than other UK online clinics.
Medication | Dr Fox* | PostMyMeds | ASDA Online Doctor | The Independent Pharmacy | Cloud Pharmacy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Azithromycin 500mg | £8.90 | £12.49 | £27.00 | £19.99 | £16.99 |
UK delivery | £2.90 | £3.95 | Free | £4.45 | £4.29 |
Delivery charges
UK delivery only: £2.90 per consultation via Royal Mail Tracked 24 Signed For (1-3 working days with tracking).
Parcel forwarding services are not permitted. Use only UK home or work delivery address.
Returns and refunds - unwanted items can be returned within 14 working days for a full refund.
About azithromycin
- Azithromycin is a prescription-only antibiotic used to treat infections such as travellers' diarrhoea.
- Take 500mg daily for 3 days.
- Read the patient leaflet for a full list of side effects, cautions, and interactions with other drugs.
- Note: The dose of azithromycin to treat travellers' diarrhoea is different to that required to treat chlamydia. Dr Fox does NOT provide azithromycin to treat other conditions including sore throats, gonorrhoea, and mycoplasma.
Azithromycin is effective in reducing the symptoms of travellers' diarrhoea, particularly if taken with loperamide. This is an off-label use of azithromycin, but it has been prescribed for travellers' diarrhoea for many years. The symptoms of travellers' diarrhoea should improve within 24 hours of starting antibiotics.
It is recommended that you consider carrying standby antibiotics for travellers' diarrhoea:
- Travel to a high risk country which includes Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and most parts of Asia.
- If you are going to a remote location with little or no access to good medical assistance.
- If you are at high risk of the diarrhoea leading to severe illness, e.g. poorly controlled diabetes, renal impairment, heart failure, or another condition causing reduced immunity.
- If you have a pre-existing bowel problem where infection may trigger a relapse, e.g. ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and previous bowel surgery.
Dr Fox limits orders for azithromycin for travellers' diarrhoea to a maximum of 1 order in 3 months as they should not be taken regularly to reduce the risk of antibiotic resistance.
For further information see NHS - Azithromycin.
How to take azithromycin
Treatment with azithromycin is one 500mg tablet daily for 3 days. Start as soon as you get diarrhoea, not before. It is not a preventative.
The tablets should be taken with a glass of water, with or without food, at the same time of day.
Cautions
If you have a known allergy to azithromycin, erythromycin, or clarithromycin you should not take azithromycin for travellers' diarrhoea.
There are some medical conditions where you should not take azithromycin:
- A tendency to irregular heartbeat.
- Myasthenia gravis.
- Liver disease.
- Severe kidney disease.
It is not recommended to take azithromycin when trying to conceive, or during pregnancy and breastfeeding, without first discussing it with your own GP. See Best use of medicines in pregnancy - Azithromycin for further information.
Azithromycin tablets contain lactose.
Other medicines and azithromycin
Do not use the following medications at the same time as azithromycin:
- Larium (mefloquine) - used for malaria prevention.
- Avomine (promethazine) - an anti-sickness medication.
- Please check this list and the patient information leaflet for other medications which have a possible risk of causing an abnormal heart rhythm.
You may be able to take azithromycin but you should consult your own GP if you are taking the following medications:
- Ciclosporin - for reducing immunity after transplant.
- Digoxin - for irregular heart or heart failure.
- Terfenadine - antihistamine for hay fever and allergy.
- Theophylline - for asthma, used rarely.
- Rifabutin - anti-tuberculosis antibiotic used rarely
- Colchicine - for gout.
- Warfarin, edoxaban, ticagrelor, or any similar medicines - to prevent blood clots.
- Talazoparib, topotecan - specialist cancer drugs.
- Quinolone antibiotics, e.g. moxifloxacin, levofloxacin, ciprofloxacin.
- Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine - used for autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or to treat malaria.
Antacids for indigestion can be taken but leave at least 2 hours after taking the antacid before taking azithromycin.
Side effects
If there are any side effects the most common are stomach upset, headache, nausea, and diarrhoea. For more details see the patient information leaflet supplied with the tablets.
Seeking help
Symptoms should start to improve within 24 hours of starting azithromycin. Medical advice should be sought if symptoms are not improving after 2 or 3 days, or are worsening, or if any of the following occur:
- Profuse diarrhoea and vomiting leading to dehydration.
- Blood and green or yellow slime in the motions with severe abdominal pains.
- Diarrhoea associated with rashes.
- High fever and headache with diarrhoea (particularly in malarial areas).
Managing the symptoms of diarrhoea
- The antidiarrhoeal loperamide can also reduce symptoms.
- Try to get plenty of rest.
- Drink plenty of fluids, even if vomiting (at least 3-4 litres daily).
- Continue to eat simple foods such as rice and dried bread, appetite permitting.
- Pay attention to personal hygiene, to prevent spread.
Patient Information Leaflet

The Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) is the leaflet included in the pack with a medicine and must be read before taking the medicine. It is written for patients and gives information about taking or using a medicine.
Antibiotic guardianship

To combat antibiotic resistance please:
- Only use antibiotics when needed.
- Never share antibiotics.
- Always complete course as instructed.
- Take unused medicine to local pharmacy for disposal.

Authored 22 March 2010 by Dr Tony Steele
MB ChB Sheffield University 1983. Former hospital doctor and GP. GMC no. 2825328
Reviewed by Dr C. Pugh, Dr B. Babor
Last reviewed 05 June 2025
Last updated 11 June 2025
Editorial policy
References
- Aurobindo Pharma - Milpharm, 2025, Azithromycin 500mg: Summary of Product Characteristics, accessed 05 June 2025
- NICE, 2023, Diarrhoea - prevention and advice for travellers, accessed 05 June 2025
Recent Azithromycin reviews
Azithromycin rated 4.69/5 in 88 product reviews
See over 50,000 service reviews of Dr Fox
Fantastic, the only medication I have ever had that completely relieved my symptoms from travellers diahorea quickly, allowing me to enjoy the rest of my holiday without any problems.
19 May 2022
Anonymous
Verified
Recent trip to Azerbaijan. Drank bottled water which I soon discovered was being topped up from a nearby stream !! This product killed my TD overnight after an horrendous day! Would highly recommend.
24 September 2018
Anonymous
Verified
Very good
09 February 2025
C. Grant
Verified
Did the job!
15 December 2024
R. Ayling
Verified
Successful use for severe diarrhea whilst working in west Africa.
08 December 2024
Anonymous
Verified
The order process
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