What Happened to Z-Packs, the Only Antibiotics I Was Ever Excited to Take?

Like many kids, I was plagued withregular strep throat infections.

And, like some kids, my penicillin allergy prevented me from taking the first-lineantibioticsto treat those illnesses.

So, like manyprobablytoomanykids and adults, I got Z-Pack antibiotics.

ZPack antibiotics are a formulation of azithromycin.

Now, decades later, Im sad to say that basically never happens.

It was a solutionand I knew relief would come relatively quickly.

Z-Pack antibiotics, we were told, were safe and effective at treating approximately a billion different conditions.

So, what happened to Z-Packs?

And why am I stuck with long, boring courses of other antibiotics these days instead?

As it turns out, there are some pretty good reasons.

Wait, remind me what Z-Packs are?

That short time commitment was a huge part of their appeal.

The Z-Pack was a nice defined course and relatively short, she says.

So, if there were any worries about allergies, a Z-Pack was an obvious, nearly all-purpose choice.

To be clear, nothing really happened to Z-Packs specifically, Dr. Vyas says.

Theyre still around and still frequently prescribed to treat a few specific conditions.

All of this resulted in Z-Packs becoming a bit less unique and less suited for some common illnesses.

They were being given out like candy, Dr. Vyas says.

When bacteria are resistant to a medication, doctors need to use a different antibiotic to treat the infection.

Thats concerning because we have a limited number of antibiotic options available.

So, no, a Z-Pack is not the first-line option for strep throat, even if its easy.

Among the control participants, there were 41 cardiovascular deaths, 33 of which were sudden cardiac deaths.

That amounted to 24 deaths for every million control periods.

Theres no such thing as a completely harmless antibiotic, she says.

The way doctors think about prescribing all antibioticsnot just Z-Packshas evolved since these medications were introducted.

So, the novelty of the Z-packs short course is kind of lost today.

Any number of drugs would be fine in the same duration, Dr. Vijayan says.

There are still solid uses for azithromycin, including the treatment of chlamydia, Dr. Vijayan says.

But a long illness doesnt necessarily mean you need antibiotics.

It turns out we dont need antibiotics as often as we might think.

And when we do need an antibiotic, there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

And, sadly, a five-day course of bright pink pills isnt likely to fix that.