Taking your medications at the proper intervals during the day. Try to divide up your dosing times as evenly as possible throughout the day: for example, every 12 hours for a drug that needs to be taken twice a day, or every 8 hours for a drug that needs to be taken three times a day.

Is it okay to take antibiotics 4 or 5 hours earlier than 12 hours?

The general rule is if you are more than 50% of the way toward your next dose, you should skip. So for example, if you are supposed to take your antibiotic every 12 hours, you could take it if it's less than six hours away from your next scheduled dose.

Is 3 times a day every 8 hours?

“Take every 8 hours” generally means the medicine should be taken 3 times a day. Even when your child begins to feel better, continue to give as much medicine as the doctor prescribed. If you are giving your child an OTC medicine, it is usually okay to stop when your child feels better.