Auro-Amoxiclav combines amoxicillin with clavulanic acid — commonly as a 125 mg / 31.25 mg per 5 ml paediatric suspension. It treats bacterial infections resistant to amoxicillin alone, including ear, sinus, chest, dental, urinary and bite wound infections. Take it with food, and expect more diarrhoea than with plain amoxicillin.
What is Auro Amoxiclav?
Auro-Amoxiclav contains two ingredients:
- Amoxicillin, a broad-spectrum penicillin antibiotic
- Clavulanic acid, which is not an antibiotic at all
The pairing solves a specific problem. Many bacteria have learned to produce beta-lactamase, an enzyme that breaks the chemical ring at the heart of penicillin, destroying it before it can act. Those bacteria are resistant to amoxicillin alone.
Clavulanic acid is a beta-lactamase inhibitor. It has almost no antibacterial activity of its own; instead it binds to and disables that enzyme, protecting the amoxicillin so it can work. It is a decoy that sacrifices itself.
That is why amoxiclav is not simply “stronger” amoxicillin. It restores amoxicillin’s effect against organisms that had escaped it, and it extends coverage to bacteria amoxicillin never covered well — including Staphylococcus aureus and many anaerobes.
The clavulanic acid is also the reason for the medicine’s main drawback: it causes considerably more diarrhoea than amoxicillin alone.
The same combination is sold as Augmentin, Curam and Ranclav. It is a Schedule 4 prescription medicine.
What is Auro Amoxiclav commonly used for?
- Middle ear infections, particularly where amoxicillin has already failed or the infection is recurrent.
- Sinusitis, where symptoms are prolonged or worsening.
- Chest infections, including pneumonia and flare-ups of chronic lung disease.
- Urinary tract infections, including some resistant ones.
- Dental infections and abscesses.
- Skin and soft tissue infections, including cellulitis and infected wounds.
- Animal and human bite wounds — one of its clearest indications, because bites introduce a mixture of organisms that amoxiclav covers particularly well.
- Infections after surgery.
The bite wound use is worth highlighting. Bites, particularly cat bites and human bites over the knuckles, carry a high infection risk and involve organisms that plain amoxicillin does not cover. Any bite that breaks the skin should be seen — it needs cleaning, an assessment of tetanus cover, and often this specific antibiotic.
Amoxiclav is generally a second-line choice, reserved for infections where amoxicillin alone would not work or has already failed. That is deliberate: using a broader antibiotic than necessary disturbs more of your normal bacteria and drives resistance further.
It does nothing for colds, flu or most coughs and sore throats, which are viral.
How Auro Amoxiclav fits into this medicine category
| Group | Examples | Common targets |
|---|---|---|
| Penicillin + beta-lactamase inhibitor | Amoxiclav (Auro-Amoxiclav, Augmentin) | Resistant ear, sinus, chest, dental, bite wounds |
| Broad-spectrum penicillins | Amoxicillin (Allmox, Moxymax) | First-line chest, ear, throat, dental |
| Narrow-spectrum penicillins | Penicillin V (Betapen), flucloxacillin | Strep throat; skin infections |
| Macrolides | Azithromycin | Used in penicillin allergy |
| Nitroimidazoles | Metronidazole | Anaerobic and dental infections |
See the antibiotics and antimicrobials hub.
What to check before using Auro Amoxiclav
Take it at the start of a meal. This genuinely reduces the diarrhoea and stomach upset the clavulanic acid causes, and it improves absorption.
Finish the entire course, even once symptoms improve.
For the suspension: shake the bottle well, use the measure supplied rather than a kitchen spoon, and check whether it needs refrigeration and how many days it keeps once made up — reconstituted amoxiclav has a short shelf life, typically about seven days.
Tell your prescriber or pharmacist if:
- You are allergic to penicillin or any beta-lactam antibiotic. This is the essential question.
- You have liver disease, or have had jaundice or liver problems after taking amoxiclav before. This matters more than with plain amoxicillin.
- You have kidney disease.
- You have glandular fever (infectious mononucleosis), where a widespread rash is very likely.
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- You take the contraceptive pill — vomiting or diarrhoea during a course can reduce its reliability.
- You take methotrexate, warfarin or allopurinol.
- The medicine is for a child — the suspension is dosed by weight, and the different strengths available are not interchangeable.
Follow the dispensing label. This page does not set doses.
Possible cautions and when to ask a pharmacist or doctor
Diarrhoea is common and is the usual reason people struggle with this antibiotic. It comes from the clavulanic acid. Taking each dose with food helps considerably. It is usually mild and settles after the course.
But severe, watery or bloody diarrhoea, particularly with fever and particularly if it begins after the course ends, can indicate Clostridioides difficile infection and needs medical attention rather than an antidiarrhoeal.
Liver effects deserve specific mention. Amoxiclav is one of the more common causes of medicine-related liver injury, usually a cholestatic pattern. It is more likely with longer courses, in older people and in men, and — unusually — it can begin up to several weeks after the course has finished. Report yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, pale stools, persistent itching, or unexplained nausea and abdominal pain, even after stopping.
Allergic reactions. Seek emergency care for swelling of the face, lips or tongue, difficulty breathing, or a widespread rash with faintness.
Thrush frequently follows.
If you are no better after two or three days, or worsen, go back.
Seek urgent medical attention for facial or throat swelling, difficulty breathing, a widespread rash — especially one that blisters or peels — severe or bloody diarrhoea, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine with pale stools, a high fever that is not settling, or an infection spreading despite treatment.
Related medicine guides
Frequently asked questions
What is Auro-Amoxiclav used for? Bacterial infections resistant to amoxicillin alone — ear, sinus, chest, dental, urinary and skin infections, and bite wounds. It contains amoxicillin and clavulanic acid.
What does the clavulanic acid do? It is not an antibiotic. It disables the enzyme resistant bacteria use to destroy amoxicillin, allowing the amoxicillin to work.
Is it stronger than amoxicillin? Not stronger so much as broader. It restores amoxicillin’s effect against resistant organisms and covers some that amoxicillin never did.
Why does it cause so much diarrhoea? The clavulanic acid. Taking each dose at the start of a meal reduces it considerably.
Can I take it if I am allergic to penicillin? No. Amoxicillin is a penicillin. Tell your prescriber so an alternative class can be used.
Does the suspension need refrigeration? Check your bottle — reconstituted amoxiclav usually does, and it keeps only about seven days once made up.