Amoxicillin forms, strengths, and pill imprints
The bottle has to name amoxicillin and the prescribed strength. On the Chartwell product used for this review:
- Capsules: 250 mg, caramel cap and buff body, imprinted CE and 118. 500 mg, buff cap and body, imprinted CE and 114.
- Film-coated tablets: 500 mg, off-white, capsule-shaped, debossed 93 and 2263. 875 mg, off-white, capsule-shaped, scored, debossed 93 and 2264. The “93” stamp is a legacy Teva code carried on these products; other makers use different imprints.
- Chewable tablets: 125 mg, debossed 93 and 2267. 250 mg, debossed 93 with a partial bisect between the 9 and the 3, and 2268 on the reverse. Both are white to off-white.
- Oral suspension, mixed by the pharmacy: 125 mg or 250 mg per 5 mL (mixed berry), and 200 mg or 400 mg per 5 mL (pink, fruit gum). Shake well, measure with a calibrated oral syringe, and discard the remainder 14 days after mixing. Refrigeration is preferable, though not required.
For adults and children who weigh 40 kg (88 lb) or more, mild or moderate ear, nose, throat, skin, or genitourinary infections use 500 mg every 12 hours or 250 mg every 8 hours. Severe infections at those sites, and lower respiratory infections, use 875 mg every 12 hours or 500 mg every 8 hours. Standard US generic lines have no 250 mg film-coated tablet and no 875 mg capsule, so 250 mg every 8 hours is the capsule or the chewable, and 875 mg is the scored film-coated tablet. People with a glomerular filtration rate under 30 mL/min should not receive 875 mg. Dialysis schedules stay with the prescriber.
Capsules, 500 mg, beside film-coated tablets, also 500 mg, are the usual miss: the milligram number matches, while the dosage form does not. A bottle marked 250 mg per 5 mL is a liquid concentration.
Adult H. pylori treatment with duodenal ulcer disease uses 1 gram of amoxicillin per dose for 14 days, plus lansoprazole 30 mg. Triple therapy adds clarithromycin 500 mg, and all three drugs are taken every 12 hours. Dual therapy is amoxicillin plus lansoprazole every 8 hours, when clarithromycin cannot be used or resistance is known or suspected. Because there is no 1,000 mg single tablet, a 1-gram dose is dispensed as two 500 mg capsules or tablets taken together — an 875 mg tablet is not a substitute.
Take each dose at the start of a meal. Under 40 kg, the dose is milligrams per kilogram per day, split every 8 or 12 hours. Infants 3 months and younger have an upper dose of 30 mg/kg/day, divided every 12 hours. Match the product that was prescribed.
Amoxil vs. generic amoxicillin vs. Augmentin
Amoxil is the brand name shoppers still type. Brand Amoxil has been discontinued in the United States, so prescribers often write “Amoxil” as a familiar reference while licensed US pharmacies dispense FDA-approved generics under codes such as CE 114 or 93/2263. Online storefronts advertising a new brand-name Amoxil pack without a prescription are a counterfeit or unapproved-import red flag.
Augmentin is amoxicillin plus clavulanate. So are its generics, marked with two amounts on the strength line (such as 875 mg/125 mg or 500 mg/125 mg). The FDA-approved plain-amoxicillin label limits use to susceptible isolates that do not produce beta-lactamase. A sinus listing for the combination, unapproved fish or aquarium amoxicillin (“Fish Mox”) sold in 250 mg or 500 mg human-looking strengths, or a 100 mg tablet for dogs and cats, sits outside human FDA labeling for this prescription.
| What the listing shows | Why it matters | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Plain amoxicillin in the written form and strength, license already checked | Product and pharmacy both match | The pharmacist can dispense it |
| Same milligrams, different form | Capsule, film-coated tablet, chewable, and suspension are separate products | Ask the pharmacist before you pay |
| Augmentin or amoxicillin-clavulanate (two amounts on the strength) | Second active ingredient. Plain amoxicillin is for beta-lactamase-negative isolates | Do not swap. It needs its own prescription |
| No prescription, fish amoxicillin (“Fish Mox”), or a 100 mg pet tablet | FDA warning pattern, or a product outside human FDA labeling | Leave the listing |
Who should not take amoxicillin — and infections it does not treat
Amoxicillin is contraindicated after anaphylaxis or Stevens-Johnson syndrome from amoxicillin or another beta-lactam antibacterial. That includes penicillins and cephalosporins. A serious reaction to any penicillin or cephalosporin ends the order. A milder past reaction is a question for the prescriber before the fill. If a reaction starts, stop and get care. A spreading rash, mouth sores, or any new hypersensitivity sign means stop and report it.
A high percentage of people with mononucleosis who receive amoxicillin develop a red rash. Do not order it for someone who has mononucleosis.
The prescriber decides whether an infection fits these directions: ear, nose, and throat, genitourinary tract, skin, or lower respiratory tract, and only for susceptible beta-lactamase-negative bacteria. Adults may also receive amoxicillin with other drugs for H. pylori and duodenal ulcer disease. Sore throat, sinus pressure, or a cough is not, by itself, a reason to place the order.
Antibacterial drugs do not treat viral infections. That includes the common cold and influenza. For Streptococcus pyogenes, the label recommends at least 10 days. If the written days are shorter than that course, ask the pharmacy.
Check your current medication list with the pharmacist as well: amoxicillin can raise bleeding risk (INR) with warfarin and other oral anticoagulants, sharply increase rash rates when taken with allopurinol, stay higher in the blood alongside probenecid, and reduce the effectiveness of combined oral birth control pills.
Amoxicillin side effects: diarrhea, C. diff, and DIES
Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhea has been reported with nearly all antibacterial agents, including amoxicillin, from mild diarrhea to fatal colitis. It can show up more than two months after the last dose. If it is suspected, an antibacterial that is not treating C. difficile may need to stop.
Ordinary diarrhea often ends when the antibacterial stops. Trials saw diarrhea, rash, vomiting, and nausea in more than 1% of people. That is separate from colitis. Watery or bloody stools, with or without cramps and fever, mean contact a physician, and severe diarrhea means stop and seek care.
Drug-induced enterocolitis syndrome, mostly in people 18 and younger, is protracted vomiting one to four hours after a dose, without rash or breathing symptoms. Stop and get care.
Suspected reactions can be reported to the manufacturer listed on your pharmacy bottle (for Chartwell RX products, 1-845-232-1683) or to FDA MedWatch at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Confirm the pharmacy before you pay
If you do not already have a prescription, a telehealth visit with a licensed clinician who evaluates whether the infection needs an antibacterial can end with a prescription sent to a state-licensed pharmacy — the visit is not a cart checkbox that drops tablets without that evaluation.
Check the license while the product is still listed. On FDA’s page about how to buy medicines safely from an online pharmacy, a lawful pharmacy always requires a doctor’s prescription, posts a physical address and telephone number in the United States, has a licensed pharmacist who can answer questions, and is licensed with a state board of pharmacy. BeSafeRx is FDA’s hub for that check, including a locator for the state board’s database. If the pharmacy is not listed, do not use it.
A site that lists only a foreign address misses the US address, US phone, and state-board license. Amoxicillin is not sold over the counter in the United States, and a no-prescription offer fails FDA’s prescription rule. So does a package that arrives broken, in a foreign language, undated, or expired, and a deep discount that depends on skipping the prescription. Keep the bottle at 68°F to 77°F (20°C to 25°C). Report unlawful sales to the FDA and a reaction to MedWatch.
How much does amoxicillin cost online?
Generic film, capsule, or suspension courses are usually among the cheaper antibacterials at licensed US pharmacies. Line up quotes on the same form, strength, and count, or the same suspension volume. Cash, an insurance copay, a coupon, and a telehealth visit fee can each change the number. A price that appears only when the site skips the prescription, or that sits far above other licensed cash quotes for the same written bottle, is a reason to leave that listing out of the comparison.
Before you pay
- The prescription names amoxicillin or Amoxil, the form, and the strength.
- The listing shows that same form and strength.
- The name is plain amoxicillin. It does not add clavulanate, and the strength is a single amount.
- You have not had anaphylaxis or Stevens-Johnson syndrome from amoxicillin, another penicillin, or a cephalosporin, and you do not have mononucleosis.
- The pharmacy requires the prescription, lists a US street address and phone, and lets you reach a licensed pharmacist.
- You checked the license through the state-board locator on FDA BeSafeRx. If the pharmacy is not listed, you stop.
- You are not treating a cold or influenza with this order, and fish or pet amoxicillin is not the product.
- Warfarin, allopurinol, probenecid, and combined oral contraceptives are already on the pharmacist’s screen when they apply.
- Watery or bloody stools, cramps, or fever, including months after the last dose, mean you stop and contact a physician.