Inside ‘Amoxicillin’ And How The Drug Became A TikTok Joke

If you’re an avid TikToker, you’ve most likely seen the word “Amoxicillin” in the comment section of the social media platform as people joke about their hope for something not to contain the substance.

The inside TikTok joke about Amoxicillin appeared to initially start with the TikTok user Geneva Brown posting a video on TikTok earlier this month.

The video featured her neighbor’s kid, who was named Max, who was invited over for dinner, asking about allergies before she got to the buttermilk biscuits. He refuses, mentioning he is allergic to Amoxicillin. This was done as a joke by the channel’s creator and not as a serious concern. 

According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Amoxicillin is a type of penicillin antibiotic that treats infections caused by bacteria.” It is a parasynthetic antibiotic made from penicillin. This means that the drug was altered from its penicillium fungi based cousin to its current form. 

This didn’t stop it from going viral, with multiple channels as well as a flood of comments referencing the meme. That isn’t to say allergies are impossible, but according to the Very Well Health website, only 10% of people report it as an issue while less than 1% have a reaction. This is due to an antibody, called IgE (or Immunoglobulin E) that protects the body against parasitic infections. 

The others, as noted by the NIH, are often attributed to pseudoallergic or anaphylactoid that mimic allergic symptoms but do not involve the IgE. 

Ironically, serious concerns have been raised as well, the direct opposite in fact making the “inside joke” real. Medical professionals on TikTok, at large and by the National Institute of Health have seriously warned against using it as frequently as people do, citing antimicrobial resistance.

This drastically lessens its effectiveness as the microbes they should be treating have evolved to resist the medication. This is not the only medication that people have tried to medicate away their problems. 

This is a problem for those that are immunocompromised, meaning their immune system is weaker than the average. These can happen due to diabetes, various cancers, AIDS, and viral hepatitis. There’s also age related concerns, making sure the elderly and newborn avoid contact with infections imperative. This means that you have one side avoiding it due to misunderstanding a joke meme, and the other warning against using it too much.