Medically reviewed by Bandela Mgoqi (B.Pharm, M.Pharm, MPS). Last updated on September 17, 2026.
Clacee is an antibiotic belonging to a group called macrolides. Antibiotics stop the growth of bacteria (bugs) which cause infections. Its use is described below.
Clacee is used to treat infections such as:
Do not take Clacee tablets:
Take special care with Clacee:
Taking Clacee with food and drink:
Clacee can be taken at mealtimes if this is most convenient, as it may be taken either with or without food.
If you are pregnant or breast feeding a baby, do not take Clacee tablets without consulting your doctor, pharmacist or other health care professional for advice first, as the safety of Clacee tablets in pregnancy and breastfeeding is not known.
Instructions on how to use Clacee:
Take Clacee with at least half a glass of water.
For chest infections, throat or sinus infections and skin and soft tissue infections: The usual dose of Clacee for adults and children over 12 years of age is 250 mg twice daily for seven days, eg. one 250 mg tablet in the morning and one in the early evening. Your doctor may increase the dose to 500 mg twice daily in severe infections. These tablets are not suitable for children under 12 years of age as liquid medicines are generally preferable – your doctor will prescribe another suitable medicine for your child.
For the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection associated with duodenal ulcers: There are a number of effective treatment combinations available to treat Helicobacter pylori in which Clacee tablets are taken together with one or two other drugs. These combinations include the following:
The treatment combination you receive may differ slightly from the above. Your doctor will decide which treatment combination is the most suitable for you. If you are unsure which tablets you should be taking or how long you should be taking them for, please consult your doctor, pharmacist or other health care professional for advice.
Do not stop taking Clacee tablets because you feel better. It is important to take the tablets for as long as the doctor has told you to, otherwise the problem might come back.
If you forget to take Clacee: If you forget to take a Clacee tablet, take one as soon as you remember and then continue dosing as normal. Do not take more tablets in one day than your doctor has told you to. If you are concerned about having missed one or more doses of medicine, consult your doctor or pharmacist.
If you take more Clacee than you should: If you accidentally take more Clacee tablets in one day than your doctor has told you to, or if a child accidentally swallows some tablets, seek medical advice urgently - in the event of overdosage, consult your doctor or pharmacist. If neither is available, contact the nearest hospital or poison control centre. An overdose of Clacee tablets is likely to cause vomiting and stomach pains, and there is a possibility of allergic reactions.
Possible Side-Effects: Not all side-effects reported for this medicine are included in this leaflet. Should your general health worsen while taking this medicine, please consult your doctor, pharmacist or other health care professional for advice.
Clacee can sometimes cause stomach problems such as feeling sick, vomiting, stomach pain, indigestion or diarrhoea. You may also experience numbness or a feeling of ‘pins and needles’. Headache, joint pain or muscle pain, or loss of muscle tissue have also been reported. If you develop severe or prolonged diarrhoea, which may have blood or mucous in it, during or after taking Clacee tablets, consult your doctor immediately.
If you have a blood test while taking Clacee it may show raised liver enzymes. These levels usually return to normal, and it is unlikely that you will show any symptoms. However, Clacee can rarely cause jaundice and other liver or gall bladder disorders, which can be severe or even fatal in extremely rare circumstances. If you feel generally unwell or develop yellow skin and/or eyes, or pale stools with dark urine, consult you doctor immediately. Kidney problems, including raised levels of protein normally excreted by the kidneys, and rarely kidney failure, have also been reported. Occasionally, a blood test may also show low levels of white blood cells.
Allergic reactions including rashes have been reported with Clacee. In very rare cases, difficulty in breathing, fainting and swelling of the face and throat can occur which may need emergency treatment. Allergic rashes may range in severity from mild, itchy skin eruptions to a rarer, more serious condition called Stevens-Johnson syndrome (which causes severe illness with ulceration of the mouth, lips and skin) or toxic epidermal necrolysis (which causes severe illness and sloughing of the skin).
Some people taking Clacee notice a funny taste in their mouth, or a change in their sense of taste and smell. However, these are only temporary effects and you should not stop taking the tablets because of them. Very rarely, the teeth become discoloured, but in most cases this can be removed by professional dental cleaning. There have also been reports of Clacee causing the tongue to swell or darken, sore mouth or tongue and ‘thrush’ in the mouth.
There have also been some reports of dizziness, loss of bearings, ‘ringing’ in the ears, difficulty in sleeping, hallucinations (seeing things), bad dreams, confusion, change in sense of reality and panicking. These effects are usually short-lived and soon disappear. Very rarely, fainting due to low blood sugar, and mood and behavioural disorders have been reported, which in severe cases have required hospitalisation. Very rarely, some patients may experience unexpected bruising and their blood may take longer to clot after a cut to the skin. Changes in heart rhythm, inflammation of the pancreas and convulsions have also been reported rarely. There have been rare reports of hearing loss with Clacee, which is a temporary effect and is usually reversible on stopping treatment. Consult your doctor immediately if you develop any of these problems or have any other unexpected or unusual symptoms.
Storage and disposal information (how should Clacee be stored?): Do not use these tablets after their ‘use - by’ (expiry) date, which is printed on the box and indented on the blister strip. If the tablets are out of date, return them to your pharmacist and, if necessary, get a new prescription from your doctor.
Store at room temperature (below 25°C) in a dry place, protected from light. Store in the original package. Store all medicines out of reach of children – keep this medicine in a safe place where children cannot reach it.
If your doctor decides to stop your treatment with Clacee, return any remaining tablets to a pharmacist.
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