Cephradine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Cephradine is a medicine sold in the U.S. under 3 brand and generic names. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Capsule
- Sold as
- 3 products — Cephradine, Velosef '250' and Velosef '500'
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
Every cephradine product we track (3)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Capsule | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Suspension | No data | — | View → | |
| 3 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Capsule | No data | — | View → |
Cephradine and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for cephradine: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadLimited information indicates cephradine produces low levels in milk that are not expected to cause adverse effects in breastfed infants. Occasionally disruption of the infant's gastrointestinal flora, resulting in diarrhea or thrush have been reported with cephalosporins, but these effects have not been adequately evaluated. cephradine is acceptable in nursing mothers.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised November 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about cephradine
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 195 reports naming cephradine, and the FDA flagged 96% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- asthenia22 reports
- malaise22 reports
- hepatotoxicity18 reports
- constipation17 reports
- depressed level of consciousness17 reports
- gait inability17 reports
- hepatic failure16 reports
- incorrect product administration duration16 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean cephradine caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
Can you take cephradine with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run cephradine against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is cephradine sold under?
We track 3 cephradine-containing products in the U.S.: Cephradine, Velosef '250' and Velosef '500'. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does cephradine come in?
Across the brands we track, cephradine is currently marketed as capsule, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic cephradine?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic cephradine product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Cephradine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/cephradine
- MLA
- “Cephradine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/cephradine.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for cephradine on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.