antibiotics/gelatin capsule

Hi,

I am suffering from a toothache and my dentist prescribed antibiotics-amoxicillin. The ones she prescribed come in a capsule with gelatin in it. I have to take it, but am a bit nervous about doing so, because I thought (through some research) that gelatin was one of the foods to avoid. I've been told it's a small amount, and my dentist did prescribe an alternative form(liquid) of the medication. I did contact my PCP and dentist and they thought it should be O.K. (I have HSV1 and HSV2-but have been mostly outbreak free-although I may have had one or some subclinical symptoms. I'm not having an outbreak right now.) I guess I'm wondering if I take the amoxicillin would the gelatin in the capsule cause an OB-has anybody any experience with this sort of thing or know if gelatin capsules can cause an outbreak? Or does it have to be a huge amount of gelatin? I take a 1000mg lysine supplement as well as vitamin C and a multi-no gelatin. Hope this is not too anxious. I would like to take it because I think it would be the most effective.

p.s. Thanks for any comments or advice-just also wondering what people have done in this particular situation-when you have to take something for medical reasons but might cause an outbreak. I'm still learning about all this, so I hope I haven't offended.

I haven't heard of gelatin causing problems, but it might just be something I haven't had trouble with....

I would say that if your pharmacist and doctor both agree that you'll be okay, trust their opinions in this case. Antibiotics are actually a pretty big deal. If you started a course, be sure to stick to the prescription and finish it completely and on time. If your doctor prescribes antibiotics, it is probably meant to save you serious medical problems in the near future.

@RegularGuy, thanks. I have been taking them, turns out tooth problem was different than was originally thought-which in this case is a good thing. I have read that gelatin is high in arginine-that's why I was concerned.

Oh, well I'm glad that your tooth problem isn't so bad after all!

Thanks for the info about arginine. I'll have to study up on that.

Hi! Yes, glad you are doing better. I had been meaning to comment and say that while gelatin is on the list of things to avoid during outbreaks because of it’s argenine content, something like a gelatin capsule is such a tiny amount that it should be fine. You can always take extra lysine if you’re still worried about it. All of the lysine I’ve bought so far has actually come in gelatin capsules, as well as the other things I’ve taken to battle H, such as oregano oil and olive leaf. I’m certain that they would not put lysine into gelatin capsules if that were a harmful amount of gelatin. Anyway, keep feeling better!

@Trying2Accept, thanks for your comments and good thoughts. I was worried about having an oral outbreak and that my dentist would have to postpone any surgery, luckily that turned out not to be the case. I might try the olive leaf-and if necessary, extra lysine-I guess it's all about balance. Thanks again.

-oops, forgot to add that I was also concerned about a genital outbreak as well. Again, thanks for the support.