Can washing your hair with amoxicillin cure hair loss? Don't believe it!

Recently, a "life hack" with amoxicillin as the center has suddenly appeared on many social media platforms. Civilians are constantly developing its functions, including but not limited to removing dandruff, preventing hair loss, treating hair loss, cleaning floors, cleaning washing machines...

Network screenshots

These usages seem quite down-to-earth, but is amoxicillin really so versatile? Simply put, this is real pseudoscience and you should not believe it at all. As for the reasons, we can elaborate on them from the following five dimensions.

Amoxicillin is an antibiotic

Cannot be abused, easy to resist

Amoxicillin is a classic antibiotic belonging to the aminopenicillin class of the penicillin family. It was discovered in 1958 and entered medical use in the UK in 1972. Its only function is to treat bacterial infections, such as otitis media, streptococcal pharyngitis, some pneumonias, some skin infections, etc. Although antibiotics are very helpful in controlling bacterial infections, there is a risk of antibiotic resistance if they are abused. The World Health Organization (WHO) lists antibiotic resistance as one of the top ten threats to global public health.

Take amoxicillin as an example. Abuse will directly lead to the evolution of drug-resistant genes in bacteria. When amoxicillin is really needed to treat bacterial infections, it may become ineffective due to premature abuse. The WHO pointed out that as drug resistance spreads around the world, antibiotics are becoming less and less effective, making infections more difficult to treat and causing death. Antibiotic resistance has become a global concern. For this reason, the US CDC once clearly warned that the use of antibiotics for non-medical purposes will accelerate the emergence of "super bacteria", which is by no means sensational. If you trust the life tips on the Internet and abuse amoxicillin, the outcome may be like this.

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In order to respond to the challenges brought by antibiotic resistance and better protect people's health, my country's National Health Commission and 13 other departments have even jointly formulated the "National Action Plan for Containing Microbial Resistance (2022-2025)". The pseudo-science circulating on the Internet is exactly what we should stay away from. Their potential risks are too great.

In daily life

We don't need strict sterility.

I believe that many people who use antibiotics to clean floors or washing machines think that floors and washing machines are too dirty and need antibiotics to kill bacteria. In fact, this view is untenable, because in daily life, we do not need strict sterility. The environment we live in is full of bacteria, viruses and fungi. We do not live in a vacuum and do not need a sterile environment. Even the skin, mouth and other parts of a healthy human body have symbiotic bacteria that form a natural barrier. We should not regard external bacteria as enemies. Many times, we live in harmony with these environments.

There is a concept in medicine called microecology, which refers to the state of balance between humans and microorganisms such as bacteria. Using amoxicillin to "disinfect" floors or washing machines is excessive sterilization, which may destroy the balance of the microecology.

A 2011 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that exposure to microorganisms in the living environment (such as living on a farm) can help prevent children from developing allergic diseases (such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, etc.). This study further confirms the "hygiene hypothesis" widely circulated in the medical community. The core of the "hygiene hypothesis" is that children's early exposure to a moderate amount of microorganisms (such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc. in the environment) helps the normal development of the immune system, while excessive cleaning or lack of microbial exposure may increase the risk of allergies and autoimmune diseases.

In other words, being "dirtier" may be healthier, or the immune system needs an environment to be "trained."

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Many diseases have nothing to do with bacteria.

Amoxicillin doesn't help

We have seen too many products or medicines that have been mythical. In the past, it might have been iodine tincture or ten drops of water, and this time it is amoxicillin. One of the flaws in myths is that many diseases have nothing to do with bacteria, and amoxicillin can't help. Amoxicillin is only helpful for some bacterial infections. This is like water can never be turned into oil.

For example, using amoxicillin to treat dandruff does not make sense in theory. This is because dandruff is mainly related to scalp inflammation and excessive growth of Malassezia (a fungus), and is usually not a bacterial infection. Amoxicillin is also completely unable to prevent or treat hair loss. There are many types of hair loss, and the most common ones are either related to stress, genetics, or autoimmunity, but have nothing to do with bacterial infection. If amoxicillin can have this effect, then everyone can watch videos to treat diseases, and there is no need for dermatologists, and there is no need to go to the trouble of scientific research and clinical trials to screen new treatment options.

Here I want to remind everyone that professional matters should be left to professionals - if you are sick, it is best to see a reliable doctor. Be vigilant about cross-border videos that teach people how to treat diseases, and don't believe them easily.

If you want to disinfect, you can use disinfectant

Not antibiotics

Another reason why many people misuse amoxicillin is that they confuse antibiotics with disinfectants. Although they have some similarities, the greater difference is between the two. Antibiotics need to act on specific bacterial targets (such as cell wall synthesis) through metabolism in the body, and amoxicillin is one of them; while disinfectants kill bacteria and fungal microorganisms indiscriminately through chemical reactions. Common ones include chlorine-containing disinfectants (84 disinfectant), peroxide disinfectants (hydrogen peroxide), alcohol disinfectants (disinfectant alcohol), iodine-containing disinfectants (iodine tincture, povidone iodine), phenolic disinfectants (parachlorometaxylenol in "Dettol" products), etc.

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Certain disinfectants can be used to clean floors or washing machines, but the misuse of amoxicillin does not achieve satisfactory results. This is because the effective concentration of amoxicillin cannot be maintained (a specific pH and temperature environment is required), the contact time is insufficient, and more importantly, the "Technical Specifications for Hospital Disinfection" has never included amoxicillin, an oral antibiotic, in the environmental disinfection program.

Amoxicillin is a prescription drug

Don't use it casually

Finally, let me emphasize a health common sense. Amoxicillin is a prescription drug. Do not use any prescription drug casually. Prescription drugs, as the name implies, are drugs that need to be prescribed by a doctor according to the law. The reason why they are managed in this way through laws and regulations is to prevent abuse and reduce risks. The risk of amoxicillin is not only drug resistance, but also allergies. The most common is skin allergies, and there is also the possibility of anaphylactic shock in very rare cases. Using prescription drugs without indications is illegal to some extent, and treating medical drugs as "little tricks for life" is essentially a misunderstanding of the modern medical system. Amoxicillin is a common oral antibiotic that mainly treats bacterial infections. The "little tricks" such as using amoxicillin to wash your hair and prevent hair loss that are circulated on the Internet are very different from its correct application, and are simply distorted to an astonishing degree. These misleading pseudo-science popularizations not only waste drug resources, but may also pose a serious threat to the health of the masses who do not know the truth. In order to ensure health and safety, everyone should not blindly follow the trend.

Looking in the mirror of rumors

The misuse of antibiotics is a serious public health problem. We need to note that antibiotics are only effective against bacterial infections, and are ineffective against viral infections, fungal infections, etc. Antibiotics are prescription drugs and must be used under the guidance of a doctor. Patients should strictly follow the doctor's advice to choose the appropriate antibiotics and complete the entire course of treatment.

References

[1] Wikipedia. Amoxicillin. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/

[2] World Health Organization. Antimicrobial resistance. https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance

[3] CDC. 2019 Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report. https://www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/data-research/threats/index.html

[4] Department of Health Administration. National Action Plan for Controlling Antimicrobial Resistance (2022-2025). http://www.nhc.gov.cn/yzygj/s7659/202210/2875ad7e2b2e46a2a672240ed9ee750f.shtml

[5] National Medical Administration Bureau. Hospital Infection Management Standards. http://www.nhc.gov.cn/yzygj/s3593/200804/463eaed2307840129912e5278833d2b3.shtml

[6] Interpretation of national standards for common disinfectants. https://cdc.fuzhou.gov.cn/zz/jkjy/xdysc/202208/t20220802_4408651.htm

[7] Patterson RA, Stankewicz HA. Penicillin Allergy. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025.

Planning and production

Author: Tang Jiaoqing, MD, attending physician of dermatology

Reviewer: Liu Ziqi, Chief Pharmacist, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University

Feng Jun, deputy chief physician of the Dermatology Department of Sinopharm Tongmei General Hospital

Planning丨Yang Yaping

Editor: Yang Yaping