Skip to content
Independent analysis of NHS open data
PharmaInsight

Lymecycline vs Nitrofurantoin

National NHS prescribing compared (Prescription Cost Analysis)
Data updated May 2026

Nitrofurantoin was dispensed 5.2× as often as Lymecycline in May 2026 — 333,741 items versus 63,620 in England.

63,620items

Lymecycline · May 2026

NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis

333,741items

Nitrofurantoin · May 2026

NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis

Figure 1. Lymecycline versus Nitrofurantoin: national items dispensed by month

▬ Lymecycline   ·   ╌ Nitrofurantoin

0 204k 408k Jan 2021 Nov 2021 Oct 2022 Aug 2023 Jun 2024 Apr 2025 May 2026 Nitrofurantoin 63,620 Jan 2021: 87k Feb 2021: 84k Mar 2021: 96k Apr 2021: 89k May 2021: 83k Jun 2021: 87k Jul 2021: 86k Aug 2021: 80k Sep 2021: 86k Oct 2021: 80k Nov 2021: 82k Jan 2022: 81k Feb 2022: 77k Mar 2022: 88k Apr 2022: 79k May 2022: 82k Jun 2022: 79k Jul 2022: 76k Aug 2022: 75k Sep 2022: 75k Oct 2022: 75k Nov 2022: 76k Dec 2022: 71k Jan 2023: 77k Feb 2023: 72k Mar 2023: 81k Apr 2023: 72k May 2023: 77k Jun 2023: 77k Jul 2023: 73k Aug 2023: 73k Sep 2023: 73k Oct 2023: 73k Nov 2023: 74k Dec 2023: 70k Jan 2024: 76k Feb 2024: 73k Mar 2024: 74k Apr 2024: 77k May 2024: 76k Jun 2024: 72k Jul 2024: 75k Aug 2024: 71k Sep 2024: 71k Oct 2024: 74k Nov 2024: 70k Dec 2024: 68k Jan 2025: 73k Feb 2025: 65k Mar 2025: 71k Apr 2025: 69k May 2025: 70k Jun 2025: 68k Jul 2025: 70k Aug 2025: 63k Sep 2025: 69k Oct 2025: 70k Nov 2025: 64k Dec 2025: 67k Jan 2026: 69k Feb 2026: 63k Mar 2026: 71k Apr 2026: 68k May 2026: 64k

Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis, to May 2026

Lymecycline versus Nitrofurantoin, May 2026
Measure Lymecycline Nitrofurantoin
Items, May 2026 63,620 333,741
Items, last 12 months 804,749 4,416,505
Net ingredient cost, May 2026 £595,272 £2,268,636

See the full profile for Lymecycline or Nitrofurantoin.