Birth control and antibiotics - is it really a myth?
I'm sure most of you saw John's recent post in the forum about "11 Health Myths" (if you haven't, go check it out! They might surprise you).
Reading Tara Parker Pope's article over on the Well Blog last week, I was most surprised to hear antibiotics decreasing the effectiveness of birth control pill is, apparently, a health myth.
I've heard this over and over again from health professionals, from friends in the health field, and from members of the online community. I decided to do some digging, and I'm hoping the wonderful women in this community might be able to lend some advice or recommend some resources.
A quick Google search shows that this is a hot topic in online health communities, and it seems like there is a lot of potentially contradictory information out there.
I did find a few articles that agree this is a health myth. One in over at the Mayo Clinic, and another from Columbia's Health Center. There was also an informative article over on iVillage.
With many sources saying that only a few, specific types of antibiotics have been shown to impact the effectiveness of oral contraceptives, it really made me wonder about the persistence of this myth. Are we all just being superstitious? Is it that this situation is one that's too big to take any kind of risk?
What other resources have you found on this topic? What have you recommended when people came to you for advice?
Reading Tara Parker Pope's article over on the Well Blog last week, I was most surprised to hear antibiotics decreasing the effectiveness of birth control pill is, apparently, a health myth.
I've heard this over and over again from health professionals, from friends in the health field, and from members of the online community. I decided to do some digging, and I'm hoping the wonderful women in this community might be able to lend some advice or recommend some resources.
A quick Google search shows that this is a hot topic in online health communities, and it seems like there is a lot of potentially contradictory information out there.
I did find a few articles that agree this is a health myth. One in over at the Mayo Clinic, and another from Columbia's Health Center. There was also an informative article over on iVillage.
With many sources saying that only a few, specific types of antibiotics have been shown to impact the effectiveness of oral contraceptives, it really made me wonder about the persistence of this myth. Are we all just being superstitious? Is it that this situation is one that's too big to take any kind of risk?
What other resources have you found on this topic? What have you recommended when people came to you for advice?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dawn - About.com Contraception on -
Hi Marie –
This is both a myth and a reality:
See: Medications and Inhibitors that Lower Hormonal Contraception Effect...
I researched this article and dug deep for the truth – plus, it was reviewed by About’s medical review board as being medically accurate.
The bottom line – only certain antibiotics lower the pill’s (or any hormonal birth control's) effectiveness. They are: Rifampin, Rifabutin, Tetracycline, Rifapentine cephalosporin (Keflin). The article explains what they are use for as well as lists other types of drugs and supplements that can lower effectiveness.
Hope this answers your question!
Dawn Stacey
Guide to Contraception
http://contraception.about.com
About.com | Guidance. Not Guesswork.
About.com is part of The New York Times Company
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Permalink Reply by dindin on -
Is it that this situation is one that's too big to take any kind of risk?
In general, yes. In the community I moderate, we take a fairly simple position: if pregnancy is not an option for you, you should take precautions as if antibiotics will interfere with your (estrogen based) birth control.
While the evidence seems to be leaning towards antibiotics not interfering, the manufacturers instructions are still to use backup protection, and that's the source we use when advising our members. Our primary mission is to protect our members, so we're very clear on what the evidence is, and why we're telling them what we are.
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