Antibiotics

[OzeMike]

This is true particularily for a long course of antibiotics. To recover your good gut bacteria quicker take a probiotic like Yakult every day or yogurt. 

[Dave Hounddriver]

13 hours ago, Yeochief said:

When I was young, iodine was a cure all for cuts.  Don't see it used that often anymore.

New improved iodine is called iodopovidone and sold under many trade names, such as Betadine in the Philippines

[i am bob]

Ever heard of MRSA..?  An infection that none of the 'cillan group of antibiotics will touch..?  Almost killed me a few months ago...  It, and a few other antibiotic resistant infections are becoming more common...  Why..?  Overtreatment and eventual resistance is developed by common infections...  And the SuperBugs prevail...

[RBM]

As Tommy advised, clean the wound use betadine which I have had 100% success with. Stop the infection before it starts, this is especially relevant to any wound below the the knee. ...As others say ovoid antibiotics if possible, to freely given out here.

[GeoffH]

12 hours ago, i am bob said:

Ever heard of MRSA..?  An infection that none of the 'cillan group of antibiotics will touch..?  Almost killed me a few months ago...  It, and a few other antibiotic resistant infections are becoming more common...  

I got a small wound below my knee, it got inflamed.  The doctor prescribed amoxycillan without any effect, then a second anti-biotic which had an initial effect in making it less painful and shrinking the red area but it was still there in my lower leg (and increasingly painful) at the end of the prescription so I went back.  My doctor looked concerned and said he'd try a third anti-biotic but if this one didn't work there wasn't anything else he could do and I'd have to go to hospital and go onto intravenous drugs.  By this time I had radiating lines away from the inital small wound stretching from the wound for about 15cm  but luckily the third tablet type anti-biotic worked.

Your situation sounds like it was even worse 

 

I grew up in a time where a dose of penicillan would kill any bacteria but those days are long gone and this incident showed me I had to be a lot more careful about cleaning small cuts and wounds than I used to be.  Betadine and topical anti-biotic cream are a normal part of my house hold first aid kit now.

 

Edited January 8, 2020 by GeoffH

[Snowy79]

Sadly I lost a friend to what started out as a minor cut last week.  He got a small cut in his foot which he ignored.  This got a simple to treat infection which again he ignored.  Within 5 days the infection had spread up his leg and became sepsis.  He was taken to the hospital on Tuesday and died of organ failure on Wednesday leaving 3 teenage boys behind.  

The hospital said it was easily avoidable with basic treatment.  I've seen a few minor cuts go bad here.  More so in people with diabetes.  Never take chances with your health. 

[hk blues]

8 hours ago, Freebie said:

Most doctors will prescibe antibiotics for most ailments here. Standard practice.... but the ey wont prescribe more than twice a year , or maybe its no more than twice in 6 months...but, not taking antibiotics doesnt stop the bodies immunity to them though. Every farm raised animal that we eat , is full of them so they are in your body whether you take them or dont.......

My experience is a little different as regards the amount of antibiotics that will be prescribed.  In Hong Kong I suffered from a chronic condition and antibiotics were prescribed on a regular basis but not the same ones each time.  Antibiotics are many and varied and each have different purposes.  Here, my doctor gave me a 2 x 2 week courses but he said at the outset that up to 12 weeks was possible for this particular antibiotic.   

Like most (maybe all of us) on here, I'm no doctor but I would always advise someone to take the advice of their doctor - they are the professionals and, whilst not always right, have way more knowledge than us in terms of all things medical.  

[jimeve]

I went to two Hospitals, first one 6 hour wait so went to a second, waited for 1.5 hours then went to see why the delay....Sorry sir the doctor is unable to come to the hospital. That's when I got a bit frustrated.

Wife got talking to a Filipina and said I could go to a medical center near the town hall. So I went there, only was in about 20 minutes.

Good job nothing serious or I could be in trouble health wise. Doctors in my province are not as professional as Cebu or Manila.

[Tommy T.]

Several years ago I was put on antibiotics to prevent infection when undergoing a root canal procedure in Manila. I think it was clarithromycin? Anyway, whatever it was, a side effect - as noted above in a previous post @roddavis- was that it killed most of the good bacteria in my gut. What it did not kill was Clostridium difficile bacteria.  "(CDI) is due to a toxin-producing bacteria that causes a more severe form of antibiotic associated diarrhea. The disease ranges from mild diarrhea to severe colon inflammation that can even be fatal. ... C. difficile is a gram positive bacterium." - from online medical website.

There is a treatment for this - a nasty antibiotic too - called Flagyl. It, thankfully, cleared it up. Then it was on to repopulating everything by eating yogurt with the natural bacteria in it - also as suggested in a previous post here @OzeMike...

Edited January 8, 2020 by Tommy T.

[earthdome]

12 hours ago, hk blues said:

My experience is a little different as regards the amount of antibiotics that will be prescribed.  In Hong Kong I suffered from a chronic condition and antibiotics were prescribed on a regular basis but not the same ones each time.  Antibiotics are many and varied and each have different purposes.  Here, my doctor gave me a 2 x 2 week courses but he said at the outset that up to 12 weeks was possible for this particular antibiotic.   

Like most (maybe all of us) on here, I'm no doctor but I would always advise someone to take the advice of their doctor - they are the professionals and, whilst not always right, have way more knowledge than us in terms of all things medical.  

Depending on what medical issue you have it may be worthwhile to get a second or even third opinion. For me I am glad I got those extra opinions when I needed a surgery.  First doctor was going to do it the old way where they just cut you way open with a very long recovery time. Never mentioned there were alternatives. Some search on the internet and I found a great second opinion which recommended a newer type of surgery which greatly reduced my time in the hospital and for recovery.

Your health ultimately is up to you. Doctors can make mistakes or perhaps be ignorant of better solutions for your problem.

I am very glad I searched the internet to learn more and got a second opinion.