Taking Antibiotics
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Question
Good evening, I currently have a stomach infection and am taking a strong antibiotic along with 2 other medications to eliminate the bacteria. I am 35 years old and have been fasting for the past two days due to severe stomach pains. What is the Halacha regarding fasting?
Answer
Shalom and blessings
Eat and drink as usual.
I am attaching the instructions of our teacher, the Gaon, Rabbi Avraham Fried, shlita, regarding fasting with antibiotics
If there is a fever, or if you feel weak, or unwell - eat and drink as usual.
If there is no fever and you feel well - in the first five days take the antibiotic on Tisha B'Av without eating and drinking beforehand, as most types of antibiotics do not require eating and drinking, except for the types mentioned below.
[Types of antibiotics that require eating beforehand are: sulfa, strong antibiotics for inflammation of the gallbladder or kidneys, and then you are exempt from fasting and eat and drink as usual].
After five days, if there is no fever and you feel well - generally, the instruction is to take before the fast and after the fast.
There is a distinction between types of pills: there are pills taken twice a day, such as Augmentin, and then the pill taken twice a day is taken already before the fast begins, the night pill [and even if this is fewer hours than the usual instructions], and after the fast, take the pill for the fast, and four hours after that take an additional pill [and it is possible to skip one pill, as skipping once a day is not significant].
There are pills taken three times a day, such as Cefovit. And then before the fast begins, take the second pill of that day, skip the third pill of that day, and do not take pills during the fast, and after the fast ends take one pill, and four hours after that another pill, and skip one pill, and there is an option to take two pills immediately after the fast ends, and four hours after that another pill [either way is possible, according to the person's preference].
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