Bactrim is a sulfonamide and is made up of 2 drugs called trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole.
Bactrim stops growth of certain kinds of bacteria which cause infections and it blocks 2 steps in the production of nucleic acids and proteins that bacteria require to survive.
The main use of sulfonamides are for preventing infections of burns and treating urinary tract infections.
Sulfonamides are still used but mostly for treating urinary tract infections and preventing the infections of burns.
The use of sulfonamides have diminished though because of the availability of antibiotics which are more effective and safer because of an increased instance of drug resistance.
People who should not take sulfa drugs are people that have AIDS or HIV or people who are allergic to sulfa or have a weaker immune system that can also be at higher risk for sulfa allergies.
You should also not take sulfa drugs if you have G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) deficiency as sulfa can trigger hemolytic anemia.
Examples of sulfonamide drugs are Sulfamethoxazole, Sulfadiazine, Sulfamethizole, Sulfasalazine, Chlorthalidone, Sulfisoxazole, Tolbutamide, Zonisamide Oral, Indapamide, Mafenide, Metolazone, Probenecid, Sulfacetamide, Sumatriptan, Azulfidine, Bumetanide, Furosemide, Gantrisin, Hydrochlorothiazide and Sulfaguanidine
Sulfonamide drugs are a functional group that is the basis of several groups of drugs, that are called sulphonamides, sulfa drugs or sulpha drugs.
The original antibacterial sulfonamides are synthetic antimicrobial agents that contain the sulfonamide group.
Sulfa drugs, also called sulfonamides, include antibiotics as well as other types of drugs.
Allergies happen most often with antibiotics.
Commonly prescribed sulfonamide drugs include include sulfasalazine (Azulfidine, Azulfidine EN-tabs), acetazolamide xr (Diamox Sequels), acetyl sulfisoxazole pediatric suspension (Gantrisin), sulfisoxazole (Trixazole), and Zonegran (zonisamide (Zonegran).
Sulphonamides are an important class of antibiotic drugs with a wide range of activity, being very effective against gram-positive and certain gram-negative bacteria.
Sulfonamides may cause your skin to be more sensitive to sunlight than it is normally.
Exposure to sunlight, even for brief periods of time, may cause a skin rash, itching, redness or other discoloration of the skin, or a severe sunburn.
Drugs that should be avoided with a sulfa allergy include.
Sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (Septra, Bactrim)
Erythromycin-sulfisoxazole.
Today, sulfonamides are seldom used as monotherapy because their spectrum is limited and resistance develops rapidly.
Combined with a folate antagonist such as trimethoprim or pyrimethamine, sulfonamides are indicated among others in the treatment of toxoplasmosis and malaria.