I was diagnosed with chlamydia and given 1000 mg of Zithromax. I know the dr's say to abstain for 7 days. What I'm trying to find out is how quickly the drug can actually kill the bacteria. Obviously, they wouldn't tell you 7 days of, in trials, it actually takes seven days. Otherwise, normal, statistical variations would fall outside of this recommendation. It is also obvious that this would work faster in people with a faster metabolism as they are metabolizing the drug more quickly.
So I have two questions. Question 1 is - how much fluff is built into the 7 day recommendation? As in, not how long should you abstain, but how long does it take to actually kill the bacteria? And what is the range for people of varying metabolisms? Question 2 is - is the dead bacteria in your system that is being flushed out contagious?