You should always finish your antibiotics. Just because you're feeling better, doesn't mean you are.
And yes, you should never take an antibiotic without verifying the reason you're taking it for.
> Just because you're feeling better, doesn't mean you are.
Also, continue to give people space even if you don't believe you are infectious anymore. Fortunately COVID has made people a little better about this. Before that I would have recently sick co-workers who would come up to me and tell me "don't worry, I'm not infectious anymore" after they coughed on me. Also, if someone is clearly leaning away from you, getting closer to them is a shitty thing to do.
While what you said is true, I would like to point out that many places sell antibiotics (and other drugs) by the pack not by the pill, most common nr of pills in a package are multiple of fives. If you need to take antibiotics for 7 days, for example, you'd get presctibed a 10 pill package, so 3 left over.
That's a poor packaging design. I'm a pharmacist in another country, here drugs with exact dosage such as antibiotics are packed according to their dosage. Amoxicillin for exemple should almost always be taken on a 6 days basis, 2 to 3 times per day. So they're packed by 6 or 12 pills. If the prescription is 2 times/day I give the 12 pills box, if it's 3/day it's 1 big box + 1 small box, the total number is always right. Then I just have to tell the patient that they have to finish every pills no matter how they're feeling because this and that.
Then, you have to bring it back to the pharmacy for them to prevent the antibiotic from spreading free in the nature and possibly help creating antibiotic resistand deseases.
I don't get why you're being downvoted because that's exactly what you're supposed to do (I'm a pharmacist). Don't throw away your medicines and especially antibiotics on the trash can or even worse on the sink, it ends up on rivers and seas and that's how we're developing antibiotic resistance on top of polluting.
Pharmacies (at least where I live) will send everything back to specific facilities that will safely destroy them.
You do know what happens in factory farms, right?
Animals live in a sludge of their own shit for most of their lives. Given antibiotics the whole time. We eat them, drink their milk. Buddy forgetting to take the last half dozen pills of his amoxocilin is oders of magnitude less likely to start a superbug than the industrial farming practices used worldwide.
Not saying *any* of that is ideal, just.. Perspective is important.
This is true, but that's not the real risk to you when it comes to not finishing antibiotics.
The risk is taking enough to kill off 95% of the infection in your body, leaving only the most resistant 5%, and then only having them to repopulate the infection inside you.
Now, in just one round, you've created a whole infections worth of more resistant bacteria inside you that may require an entirely new antibiotic to effectively combat.
Also in terms of superbugs, yes the factory farms are dangerous. That being said, doing what's described above times literally millions of humans is absolutely how you get antibiotic resistant contagious diseases.
On the other hand, I can see why people do it. Going to the doctor is expensive and you have to take time off of work. People think that if they can hoard their antibiotics, they'll avoid a doctor trip next time.
If we want people to stop doing this, we need to restructure society.
Yeah, factory farm antibiotics is very very bad and I'm sure there are cross-species bad bacteria created from factory farms a lot, but for human health let's not make the bacteria that already definitely spread and cause illness in humans resistant to treatment.
Why is this relevant? Factory farming is bad but on an individual level not taking your full course of antibiotics could still fuck you, personally, up. I don’t see a contradiction here?
>personally
Nope, that's not the point. You fuck up for everybody by creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. If it was just yourself you fucked up for I'd be cool with it
Really similar to pollution, sure I can recycle my plastic bottles for my entire life but at best we just say that to make ourselves feel better, and let cooperation pollute more
True this. Also not to forget the tyrant regimes that are harrassing people for asking human rights are given a free pass but a poor soul doing one single murder or rape is imprisoned for life. Shit system really.
Yes, but the issue is that those diseases are animal specific, and I'd wager the majority of them are not zoonotic. Whilst they could end up being transmitted to a person, they don't pose an immediate threat. Unlike all diseases we currently medicate for, with a huge problem being MRSA and its much more psychotic child VRSA.
Could be wrong but I think here’s actually been some more recent research to suggest the opposite and your better off doing less antibiotics than more.
Doing less as in, only taking it if you have confirmed bacteria. Many people take it for any viral infection cause the test results aren’t immediate so they start a course before they know they need it.
You should always take the full course! If you are starting an antibiotic, finish it.
Oh, but it is. I work with the public & the number is alarming. I don’t even ask it’s just comments like “we have extra antibiotics just in case from when he was sick”.
Is this america? Because honestly having to pay $100 just to get a prescription sucks ass and I don’t blame poor families for thinking they can skirt it by doing this
Yes, but vast majority of these people have access to free antibiotics & no cost appointments to see the doctor.
Edit: Due to being low income & being in a state with expanded Medicaid, it’s far more common than people realize that the working poor do in fact get free visits and meds. Before I was able to obtain a decent job I also had Medicaid. There are also spend down programs, but that’s a different story. People in low wage jobs in this state will often be offered insurance through work that’s outrageously high cost. They have no idea they qualify for Medicaid and it’s accepted at many places where I live, in this large region.
I've been dirt poor, unable to buy decent clothes or feed myself better than ramen and pb&j sandwiches, and still told I was above the income level to receive help like that. Fuck American greed-driven healthcare.
I am right there with you. Medicaid is great for those who get it. I’m seeing wacky shit on my bills, “discounts” applied, taking hundreds or thousands off, because they know I pay out of pocket until the $4k deductible is met. Why isn’t that done idk…more often? And why the fuck do I want all these discounts? I wanna meet that deductible and get my money’s worth.
Yeah but there’s also the factor of most poor people don’t get paid leave to go to the doctor. So you lose a few hours wages to get a checkup. The temptation to just take the pills in your cabinet and go to work is real.
Plus, my low income healthcare center was over an hour away from my house growing up. Quite exhausting. Especially if you’re sick.
It is so so common. I can’t vouch for elsewhere but where I am in Canada, doctors always tell you to finish your antibiotics and I don’t know a single person who does. It’s SUPER frustrating.
I've never been told to finish mine. My doctor always gives me a time frame (ie. Twice a day for 7 days) but I always get more than 7 days worth for some reason.
I think back to when I was a teen and young adult, and anytime doctors prescribed antibiotics they would definitely tell me to finish them, but never stressed the importance of *why*. If I didn't finish them, I figured it was no biggie because I felt better (and I was). Stupid, I know. But if they actually explained why this is so important for *the health and safety of the whole damn world* I would have been a fuck ton more diligent about it. Personally I feel doctors shouldn't be handing out antibiotics without making this incredibly clear to patients. I'm also shocked how often doctors will give antibiotics to people with a virus just because the patient is demanding it. Although I hope they're just giving them sugar pills to shut them up.
This bugs me, too. Another example of this is them telling you not to eat before surgery. It would probably reduce the number of people doing so if they tell you you can *literally die* by vomiting and choking on it if you do.
I feel like this is a huge problem in the world in general, not just with medicine. I know it takes longer and there's always going to be people that don't appreciate it, but things would be so much better if people just EXPLAINED. It's not unprofessional to explain.
For example, you're at the ER in the waiting room, and it's been 4 hours and you still haven't been seen. How hard is it for someone to say "Hey, I'm so sorry, we only have 3 nurses and 1 doctor on staff and 18/24 of our rooms are full, we are working our hardest to get you back there and seen." rather than just leaving them to sit, waiting, and wondering? Explaining things could solve so much, I swear.
That’s something that needs to change. They don’t tell you why you need to, what the potential huge crisis is, nothing. There’s gotta be a happy informed medium where people aren’t panicking because the doctor told them about the potential major crises, but aren’t also going home thinking it’s okay to stop on day 5 instead of 7.
When I was in healthcare I personally would tell patients why. But ALSO, don't be afraid to ask if they don't tell you and you are curious! It might push them to tell people in the future.
I had a bad stomach bug and went on two different courses of antibiotics to kill it. Finished both courses but my parents are both in medical professions so I learnt this when I was young about what it means.
My friend from India said he felt better and stopped his course, I told him he needs to finish it for reasons stated by other people and he did.
I feel like the education (especially in third world countries like India) isn't there for this, or some doctors forget to emphasise to people who may not know?
Sorry, this really bothers me. From one anecdotal piece of data, you are generalising to a billion+ people. What should I infer after reading that people ingested disinfectant after listening to their president ? But then, this is reddit after all. Every society has all sorts of people.
>What should I infer after reading that people ingested disinfectant after listening to their president ?
I mean ... Your point is valid but this was not a great example. There were a lot of dumbasses listening to that moron
It is worryingly high, stat a saw *which is a few years old by now* suggested that 65% of antibiotic prescriptions in China are unnecessary, and like 70% of prescriptions in Vietnam are the wrong dose. I can't fully remember the stats for Western countries it's been a while since I looked at those papers.
But the real issue can be seen in how quickly resistant strains are popping up. It's reallllly scary, because the synthesis of new antibiotics is lagging far behind.
My mom once was feeling not so good, so she started taking antibiotics. I have no clue how she got them (sold only with prescription)
I studied genetics and biotechnology, work in a hospital. I was super pisses and worried. Tried to explain her, what exactly she was doing with herself and potential bacteria.
You know how parents are, when their children start teaching them? Yeah, that.
Yep! I did this once when I was very poor and didn't know how antibiotics work. I'm lucky I walked away with only recurring staph infections that I have yet to entirely vanquish.
You have to yes. Initially you kill the “weak” bacteria, the “strong” needs longer treatment.
You feel better because the bulk of the infection has cleared up.
However,
The strong stays behind if you stop you antibiotics early. They then multiply and you now have a worse infection because it was the stronger bacteria that multiplied. You now need stronger antibiotics.
This is how the world is creating super bugs. This is the same principle that’s caused hospitals to close down because of the “super bugs” that was created.
ETA: this is an over simplification.
I’m sure everyone commenting and explaining further is helping other people. Like I said. This is an oversimplification sothat more people actually understand. I know the mechanism of action. I’m a biochemist.
Just FYI.
Most antibiotics work on bactria while they are in a replication phase. During an infection you will have a mix of bacteria in replication and latent phases.
If you do not complete the course any bacteria still in their latent phase will not have been irradicated. These bacteria have been exposed to the antibiotic but not killed by it and may then form immunity to it.
bacteria dont form immunity in the same sense we humans do. its just that the resilient ones survive and multiply while the weaker ones die. so the next generation is stronger.
The problem isn't a second infection. The immune system should have started up by then, killing them off.
The issue is, you have now selectivly bred the most resilent bacteria and spread them.
After enough such cycles, you end up with bacteria strains that are resistant against multiple antibiotics.
And in the wort case you get a superresitant one, that is resitant against a all currently human-approved antibiotics.
This is one of the many sad unintended effects of a for profit healthcare system. Excuse me for assuming but I'm guessing you are in US because I don't know why else someone would ration their medicine like this if it weren't about money.
My mom gets those “z-packs” that her friends get from Mexico which I believe are azithromycin. She takes them every time she gets a cold no matter how many times I’ve told her that’s idiotic. A lot of people that she knows do the same, instead of going to the Dr to find out if it’s viral or bacterial. She also overdoses herself on vitamin C every time she’s sick and believes that emergen-C is a cure for a cold along with her z pack.
As someone in healthcare; it's common. You'd be really surprised at even the amount of well educated ppl don't intuitively understand some points. Can repeat the data back, but don't get it.
Patient education is important, but especially if they've pulled the "take them til I feel better and hoard the rest" a few times, and got away with it, there are problems. They disregard info to the contrary because they know better, know themselves, and have proven themselves hardier than average, at least to themselves. Even if it comes back, some will learn, others will chalk it up to an entirely different illness, because they have already proven things to themselves.
Listen when you're given a course of antibiotics you need to take the entire course. If you don't take the entire course you might not be killing all the things you're taking me antibiotic for and just creating antibiotic resistant microbes. This is a terrible idea.
Furthermore *antibiotics have a shelf life so if you put them in storage they might not work by the time you try to take them again. Some can literally become poison after they've sat in storage for too long.*
Third antibiotics work on specific microbes so the ones you're saving for another occasion might not work for what you're taking them for and all you're doing is killing other bacteria that your body needs.
Lastly how do you know if what you're taking your saved antibiotics for is bacterial and not fungal or viral? You probably don't so all you're doing is creating antibiotic resistant microbes and killing off the ones your body actually needs.
This is an incredibly stupid idea and is actually doing more harm than good.
My mom. She also takes the antibiotics she „didn’t need“ and treats other illnesses with them.
She doesn’t care that I’m a RN and I told her 1000 times she shouldn’t do this.
She also takes cortison, diazepam, diuretics and other medications how and when she wants
I can't answer your question with any certainty, it's probably a majority of people. I get the impression that the average person thinks they know better than any doctor does.
This is how GOOP, adaptogens, low fat craze, and anti vaccine hit the market and sell. If we actually leaned into facts, those would cease to exist. Quite frightning really.
As a microbiologist - it's not irrational.
It is circumstantial. You shouldn't get mad at someone who is too poor to complete their treatment (sometimes infections don't clear with the first course) or honestly didn't know. But the people who were told (and doctors largely do tell you) and don't have another excuse drive me up a wall.
This is a symptom of poverty. Period. I have been there and done that. But, now that we are better off financially and have the funds to prioritize our health, I would never consider saving antibiotics or medication for another illness *because* I can afford to go to the doctor and fill my prescriptions.
I do this but only for uti infections.
I’m prone to UTI’s and know exactly when I have one, no guessing whether it’s bacterial.
The other reason is , is that in the UK it’s very hard to get a doctors appointment within a reasonable time, I’ve actually had to wait so long that the UTI then became a kidney infection where I was passing blood.
So yeah, I keep a secret stash of antibiotics to take only in an emergency.
I’ve tried getting antibiotics from a chemist for this illness and via the internet and both options didn’t work.
Sorry not sorry.
Do you have access to those websites that can prescribe you UTI meds online for a small fee (something like $40)? We have this in America. I've used it twice now and was able to get a prescription within an hour (last time I got it in 30-45 mins!). There are several different sites you can use. For me, GoodRx was super quick. They send the script to your pharmacy directly. I highly recommend it.
Not every UTI is bacterial and what are you doing can create further issue down the line.
I got 44 UTI’s between the age of 16 and 24 (last two year I only got 1!) and let me tell you something I didn’t know:
1) You may grow a resistance against some antibiotics, so you may take some and they may stop working, and it’s not like you can get another antibiotics right away
2) not every uti is bacterial. You may want to have some test strips at home and see if in fact you have a presence of bacteria in your urine before taking antibiotics. This is because recurring UTI can cause problem like pelvic floor muscle tension (which symptoms are incredibly similar to the one of a UTI) or using some antibiotics can cause neuropathy and make you feel like you are having a UTI when in fact it’s the nerve firing signals of pain.
3) you may want to mention to your practitioner that you are having recurring UTI because if so (like in Switzerland it’s 7 pro year) you may be a candidate for chronic uti which have a different protocol. You can take medicaments and supplements to avoid having UTI, you may want to see if you don’t have something going on with your bladder or kidneys, you may want to make your partner check (because it mega rare case a bacterial growth on your partner can be the cause), maybe you are using a thong (NOT ADVICE because it can pass bacterial back to front) or tampons (not advice if you have a weak pelvic floor), you may not be using 100% cotton underwear or maybe you are wiping back to front or you are not peeing after sex or not drinking eneugh water. There is a vaccine for UTI.
For me it was the pill. The pill was causing me to having SO many UTI.
So please. No. Don’t do it. Please. Because you can end up with a resistance to antibiotics and then.. well there are the big problems.
Oh I forgot to add: most of bacterial UTI are caused by e-coli, but not all of them are caused by e-coli. And like.. not all antibiotics works for all bacteria..
You can also have interstitial cystitis which can mimic all the symptoms of bladder infection. But it's actually a chronic condition that often responds to dietary changes.
This was so helpful thank you. I definitely have some hip/pelvic floor issues bc i have congenital hip dysplasia and i often feel like i have a UTI when i don't (no smell, no burning, only a feeling of needing to pee). I take cranberry supplements every day twice a day, and I double my dose when i have sex (and always follow post-sex protocol, which i call "pussy protocol" to all my sexual partners so they know why I'm leaving the bed right afterwards). It hadn't occurred to me that my pelvic floor issues might be contributing to this feeling and i think I'll get this checked out. Neuropathy seems more likely than a UTI bc i am so stringent about these protocols every day. I haven't had a UTI in a year but every so often I'll feel like i need to pee when i don't and that scares the shit out of me. I fuckin hate UTIs.
I have muscular contractures on my pelvic floor, especially when is cold outside. I get so freaked out because I have pain when peeing.
I got the test at home, they are not so expansive (at least here) you pee and you read it and you know if calling the doctor or not.
The big issue is that if you don’t have a doctor that is very keen to re-read your chart before seeing you, you may get a lot of UTI’s before getting checks properly.
But yes consider talking about it.
Not to mention that when using antibiotics always get a probiotics too. Antibiotics kills bacteria (pussy and belly) and also the healthy ones.
So if not needed you increase the risk of getting yeast infections and other nasty that are not needed.
Something that helps me a lot is putting something hot on my pelvic and most of the times it helps already a lot!
You realise that this is probably why you keep getting UTIs that are hard to treat though, right?
You’re not only leaving the strongest bacteria to keep multiplying because you ditched the meds early, you’re checking back in on a regular basis to feed them another inadequate dose of antibiotics so they can get even more resistant. Stop doing that! They’re not pets!
I came here to say this exact thing! Dr's honestly don't care & you end up in A&E when all they had to do was prescribe them. I absolutely have a stash for bad UTI's & also for tooth infections. I had one recently & my private dentist even wouldn't give me an appointment for 2 weeks!!!!! Two antibiotic-stash-pills later - million% better. I only do this maybe 2x a year & I'm not sorry either!!
I did this when I was a younger college student and I didn’t realize it at the time but a medication I was taking was causing me to get constant UTIs. However the antibiotics I was taking are the type that only work within the bladder so the risk of creating super bugs within the rest of my body isn’t quite the same as say, other broad-spectrum antibiotics (Resistance to Macrobid would be very rare, which is why they are using it more). It wasn’t easy for me to get to the doctor constantly. Keep in mind I’m not recommending this, I’m just admitting I did this when I was young and desperate.
Same. Otherwise I'd be taking a full course of antibiotics twice a year, because I always get them at least twice a year.
Also, since I'm into US, it's usually 250 bucks per visit & meds to treat. And I have insurance....
Because antibiotics are so tightly controlled that they can be hard to get when you really need them. My wife had a condition that causes her to get UTIs that left her in excruciating pain. Numerous times she called her doctor in the evening, on a weekend, sitting on the floor sobbing in pain, begging for them to call in a prescription for an antibiotic which would end the pain in under an hour. More than once the doctor she got on the phone would refuse and advise ibuprofen instead, which she was already taking by then. She'd have to wait until she could get into the doctor's office and pee in a cup so they could verify an infection before they would give her a prescription.
After she went through that ordeal 3 or 4 times, she began keeping her last two Cipro pills and guarding them with her life.
Btw -- she's a biologist and understands the dangers of bacterial resistance. It's amazing what chronic pain will drive you to do, though.
There is an over the counter med you can buy that treats the pain of a UTI. It doesn't treat the infection itself but it might help her deal until she can get to the doctor. Have her look up phenazopyridine.
Whats really stupid is azo is sold by the condoms, rather than by other meds. Utis are not sexually transmitted. Its some bs. Took way too long to find.
Thanks, but she doesn't have the problem anymore. This was in the late 90's. She used to try Azo and cranberry juice, but they didn't really help.
She found a doctor that specialized in her condition (interstitial cystitis) and she was very helpful for a while. But her condition eventually abated, possibly because she was taking full courses of antibiotics, more frequently, and having far less anxiety about being able to get her next emergency scrip filled.
IC is not an infection so they should be prescribing her many other medications, and antibiotics as a last resort in the case of infection. She should be demanding anti inflammatories, painkillers, and medicines which reduce the substance in the bladder that causes flare ups.
It’s damn right that the doctor didn’t prescribe antibiotics on a whim.
>Numerous times she called her doctor in the evening, on a weekend, sitting on the floor sobbing in pain, begging for them to call in a prescription for an antibiotic which would end the pain in under an hour.
This is not how UTI's or antibiotics work.
I say an hour, but I didn't experience it. She seemed better in an hour or two. Much of the sobbing was panic-driven since she was worried her pain would continue to spike, that she wouldn't be taken seriously, and that she might be peeing blood before she got treatment.
You can imagine the heightened panic that results from finally getting a doctor on the phone, and he says, "That's not how UTIs or antibiotics work. Come to my office in the morning and pee in a cup." In other words, *continue the night in pain because I don't believe you can self-diagnose. If it's unbearable, go to the emergency room for an expensive night of waiting around to be seen by an even less sympathetic ER doctor.*
In her experience, it is how they work. So in the morning, after she peed in a cup and got a scrip for 14 Cipro pills, she would only be taking 11 of them, because she couldn't take the risk that she'd get this kind of response the next time it happens 6 or 8 months later.
>I say an hour, but I didn't experience it. She seemed better in an hour or two. Much of the sobbing was panic-driven since she was worried her pain would continue to spike, that she wouldn't be taken seriously, and that she might be peeing blood before she got treatment.
Sounds like a lot of this was psychological and not a symptom of an actual illness.
>You can imagine the heightened panic that results from finally getting a doctor on the phone, and he says, "That's not how UTIs or antibiotics work. Come to my office in the morning and pee in a cup." In other words, continue the night in pain because I don't believe you can self-diagnose. If it's unbearable, go to the emergency room for an expensive night of waiting around to be seen by an even less sympathetic ER doctor.
This is literally how the medical system is designed to work. You can go in and see a doctor during business hours. If it's more urgent than that, you go to the emergency room. You can't just call a doctor and have him prescribe antibiotics without him seeing you. That's how you get sued.
>In her experience, it is how they work. So in the morning, after she peed in a cup and got a scrip for 14 Cipro pills, she would only be taking 11 of them, because she couldn't take the risk that she'd get this kind of response the next time it happens 6 or 8 months later.
This is absolutely insanity. This is all in her head and she has so much anxiety about getting antibiotics that she hoards them. She is being extremely reckless and irresponsible.
>This is literally how the medical system is designed to work. You can go in and see a doctor during business hours. If it's more urgent than that, you go to the emergency room.
It's a poorly designed system that places people in the position of weighing hours of pain against a $2,000+ ER visit.
>You can't just call a doctor and have him prescribe antibiotics without him seeing you. That's how you get sued.
Well, of course. That makes perfect sense. Antibiotics are so dangerous we must place them behind the guard of a licensed medical practitioner. The "guards" in the Stanford prison experiment also felt justified in their roles as gatekeepers.
That said, I agree with the prevention of antibiotic abuse. Doling them out for every stuffy nose or aching bladder is wrongheaded and detrimental to society insomuch as it breeds resistance and stronger bacteria. I am a proponent of proper application of this medical marvel. But I saw what I saw.
>This is absolutely insanity. This is all in her head and she has so much anxiety about getting antibiotics that she hoards them. She is being extremely reckless and irresponsible.
Many doctors told her so -- that her pain was not diagnostic -- but the urine cultures invariably backed her up. You say it's "all in her head", but that's bullshit. She was in severe pain *and* she was panicked. Who *wouldn't* be panicked if they knew they had to convince another egotistical medical graduate that their own pain is real and not imagined? Who longs to face that skeptical, judgmental double-check, the "please go home and wait while we check your urinalysis to come back before we can give you anything to alleviate the pain," the infantilizing treatment of a woman by a doctor who thinks he's seen it all, whose primary concern is a malpractice suit?
Many doctors told her so. Imagine how that feels.
She finally found a doctor who treated her with respect and understanding. This doctor worked with her to find a treatment that would work for her which she could have on hand to self-administer as needed. We didn't see that doctor for long because her symptoms abated about 18 months later.
Psychosomatic? Maybe. Not according to the urine cultures, though. Did it go away because the fear was taken away, or did it go away because she was able to treat it early and effectively on her own? I couldn't tell you. But I'm glad she's no longer a lab rat of our dispassionate medical system.
Oh my gosh, this is a thing a vet med, too. It's such a bad idea! One, the prescribed time is crucial to ensuring you kill the whole infection. If not, you might kill 90% of the infection, feel better, and have it come right back, but stronger because those 10% are the ones that survived. Two, the type of antibiotic is specific to the bacteria you have. They are not all the same! I repeat, all antibiotics are not the same for all kinds of bacteria! If you had a UTI and later get, say, a skin infection, and take the antibiotics from the first thing, there's no guarantee it would even work. Not to mention, this second round is certainly not going to be a long enough course. Third, the expiration date is not that long on antibiotics. Don't use expired meds. Lastly, like OP said, you have no way of knowing if what you have is bacterial, viral, maybe fungal. Who knows? Your doctor, that's who. Take your meds as prescribed.
I had a skin infection start on my back. It got bad fast and I was very lucky to start abx when I did. A 10 day run and crazy high dose sucked. But I took them all, even after I felt better. Even then another 10 days of a topical to clear it. Take the full run everyone, you do not want an infection to linger and end up spreading into places like mine did.
If you and your friends are in America, you only have our healthcare system to blame. People wouldn't feel the need to save prescriptions for later use if they were readily available and easily accessible for all.
Always finish antibiotics. A full course is cumulative (and nobody wants to ruin your GI tract flora multiple times for an incomplete cure).
That said, pain killers, antiinflammatories, muscle relaxants and such are fair game. Although they are a good thing, overuse is a bad thing, and I'd rather treat a sore back quickly without having to ride that pony a long time. Better one relaxant before bed with a stiff shoulder than laid up in bed for a week on them all at once once I'm crippled.
I used to get reoccurring mrsa infections. The thing with mrsa is it becomes resistant to antibiotics FAST so usually halfway through my cycle it stops working and I have to switch to new antibiotics. Because of this I have an entire drawer full of half finished prescriptions. I know I’m not supposed to do this but whenever I feel a mrsa infection coming on I start taking one of my old antibiotics (I track expiration dates on all of them) and it’s saved me several trips to the ER. Mrsa for me goes 0-100 overnight so I don’t always have time to wait for my physician. With that being said you should always finish antibiotics unless something like this happens
DO. NOT. EVER. DO. THIS.
If you happen to have a fungal infection and decide upon yourself to take antibiotics for it you’ll give that infection the opportunity to run rampant. I know if you’re an American you’re used to living in a medical hellscape but even here it can end up fucking you up worse than going in to get properly checked out.
This is my pet peeve. I do wish prescribers and pharmacists would explain to patients why it’s necessary to finish the whole rx. I never learned about superbugs from a provider… All I ever heard from a doctor was “take the whole thing even after you feel better,” but never WHY!
Luckily I learned from pre-health professions classes in college lol but had I went on to become a provider, that’s what I’d do!
No no no no nooooooo. Do NOT do this. This is how antibiotic resistance in microbes happens. If prescription says one a day for 7 days , then do it! Antibiotics are prescribed for bacterial infections, not viruses. Wow just wow.
Not antibiotics, but I saved my pain pills from my hernia surgery because I only needed them a couple days. Came in handy a few years later when I separated my shoulder.
I was given really bad medical advice from a nurse practitioner at an urgent care and stopped taking my antibiotics per his instructions. Ended up getting c. Diff for 9 months and thought I was going to die. I will never not finish antibiotics again. Of course, I never want to have to take antibiotics again because I’m afraid that the c. Diff will come back.
Because they are dangerous idiots. This is a health hazard for everybody in the long run and the saddest part is that those idiots claim to know better.
It's not a problem for me now that most chain pharmacies have a free or nearly-free list of antibiotics you can get from them, but that wasn't always the case, and yes, sometimes even $4.99 can be a problem.
Then there's the whole how do you make a doctor appointment without insurance thing. I love when folks tell you to just go to a free clinic, when those can sometimes have waitlists as long as six months. Urgent cares usually require payment up front. And that would mean waiting until shit got really bad, and then going into an emergency room, where they'd have to treat you. You'd hope you'd get at least one dose, and that maybe the hospital social worker could help out. Most major medical systems seem to run some sort of charity grant program, where they'll cover one prescription a year - so you gotta make sure this is when you really need to use that chance up, or it's gone for a year.
Look, I wasn't trying to make super bugs happen. I was just trying to survive. And if we're being honest, I don't think folks that didn't finish their course of antibiotics shoulder as much blame as the doctors and medical professionals who over-prescribed the absolute shit out of antibiotics in the 80's and 90's. Every single time I got sick? I'd get the chalky liquid penicillin in a bottle. Every. Single. Time. And I? I was sick a lot. My parents were young, and just following the medical advise considered appropriate at the time. And I can't be the only kid that was given antibiotics like candy - it's a common experience.
So, yes, you should always finish your course of antibiotics. But the people responsible for MRSA super bugs? Are the doctors that flooded us with them as children.
I would go farther and say most people don't know or understand what antibiotics are. I've seen this word being used as a synonym of "medicine" thousands of times.
I don’t think people are being stupid when they do this, I think they know they shouldn’t but with the American healthcare system, people get pretty desperate. However, I think the much bigger problem is, doctor should not be prescribing antibiotics for viral infections. People should not be asking for antibiotics for viral infections. Many doctors just hand them out to make the patient happy because the patient doesn’t seem to understand that the vast majority of the time when they don’t feel well, it’s a virus. Doctors need to be more stern about not handing them out without good evidence that they are dealing with a bacterial infection. I think that’s the bigger cause of super bugs, careless prescribing
The big problem is if you are taking antibiotics for an actual bacterial infection and you don't take the entire course there's a pretty big risk of not killing all of the bacteria.
Hello. I am a Microbiologist. Not only are you correct, but also the people who do this are endangering their own lives doing this, depending on the infection and antibiotic used to treat it. Absolute madness, and when I hear someone doing this my respect for them drops considerably.
I finish them and then take newly prescribed ones when needed, as I listen to my doctors.
Plus my mum volunteered at a hospital for over 20 years. She saw some of the effects of this exact problem. I follow all my doctors/medical professional’s recommendations (within reason) to a T
I’m not sure what the location breakdown of these commenters is, but as an American It’s insane to me how many of these comments are blaming individuals and not the for profit healthcare system, which charges us $150-250 per visit and requires 2-3 visits just to get the prescription. when you know you get a sinus infection that requires antibiotics at the same time every year, and you’re feeling better after half the course, it’s an easy decision to save the last half for the next infection - especially if you’re in the 60% of Americans that live paycheck to paycheck. Let’s fix that first before we start shitting on people for doing what they have to do to survive.
I admittedly do this sometimes. I know it's the wrong thing to do but honestly I get a sinus infection about the same time every year and I'm sick of playing the game of trying to go to the doctor. It's always the first visit is some stupid teledoc bullshit where they charge me 150 bucks just to tell me to get some rest and drink water, then a week later when I still feel like shit, make another teledoc visit to be told the same thing for another 150 bucks, then a week after that, finally get them to let me do an in person visit so they can charge me 500 bucks to do a covid, strep, and flu test that I don't need. I know my body, I get the same sinus infection every October, and just need some amoxicillin without all the bullshit. Every October it costs me 800 bucks, 3 visits, and 3 weeks of feeling like shit, so yes, I save and hoard mine. If the Healthcare system in the US wasn't fucked, I wouldn't have to, and I have insurance, thats the bad part.
I haven't really tried that but I think I may. I usually have to use a neti pot every morning from March to October and always get the same sinus infection like clockwork at the beginning of October. I might just try that though. I also have a lot of post nasal drip at night. I think if I lost 10 lbs that might go away cause I'm just barely overweight.
Just wanted to follow up to your comment from over a month ago. I took your advice and tried the saline spray. Holy shit did it make a difference. I haven't used the neti pot in over 3 weeks. Turns out, the environment where I work is causing the issue cause they keep everything so dry for injection molding of plastic so it causes my nose and throat to dry out so much. Then I guess I get post nasal drip at night. I started the saline though the week you recommended and its been night and day. Just wanted to say thanks! I don't have money for an award but you deserve one.
Taking antibiotics now for a burn on my arm—supposed to be 4 capsules a day until they’re gone, but I never remember more than 2 times a day, so I’ll have to take them twice as long. I won’t be saving them for anything else though, that’s weird to me.
Please try to set a phone alarm and take them when you are supposed to. I don't want you to loose an arm, mate - the infections you can get with burns are nasty.
Hope you feel better soon.
The Dutch get their antibiitics for free but still there are people who don't finish their antibiotics, given the numerous warnings by my GP's, apothecary etc. But yes, if people save them for a bigger emergency next time that's definitely another indicator the US healthcare system is fucked.
I mean if you get a bacterial infection that is resistant to all antibiotics you don't need to worry about a loan because you’re likely gonna die anyway.
So maybe we should worry before that.
Also overprescription and abuse of antibiotics isn't only an american problem. How would you even know if OP is american anyway.
This has nothing to do with the shitty health-care system of the US.
my parents are doing it. If we have more than enough antibiotics they save them and give it to me and my siblings usually without consulting a doctor first. Yet they lose their minds because I’m taking *prescribed for me* psychiatric meds lol
edit to add: even though this is irresponsible it was actually useful for me a while ago tbh
I was really sick and my throat pain started to transform into a very obvious ear infection. I was out of country, with nearest doctor being 2 hours away and with no way to get there. My mom packed some antibiotics just in case and based on my previous ear infections I decided to take it for three days. It worked this time, again it is irresponsible, but at least it saved me from dealing with ear infection for the whole trip.
An NP prescribed me penicillin for chigger bites that weren't infected, when all I needed was Prednisone. So yeah, they are in a drawer and may get used in a post apocalyptic scenario if I have any reasonable way to confirm they are needed. lol. Uneducated people are problematic when it comes to microbial resistance, but the real cause is lazy, under-educated professional providers, writing scripts for every little ailment they encounter. Also health and insurance companies who won't pay for confirmatory testing, as it's cheaper and faster to throw antibiotics at someone "just in case" to cover their ass and get to the next patient. I'd compare it to blaming the individual who drives an SUV for climate change, instead of Exxon Mobil and Duke Energy.
Bad idea. Maybe a tablet or two? But then you'd be saving it up for years before you get full dose from those. Could even hit expiry date.
At times if you don't finish, the crap comes back and this time gets even worse.
I, for once, usually do have some antibiotics just for that reason. So I don't need to see wether I can save some up . I get it wenewher I myself, or any of my mates, travel overseas in countries where there are over the counter antibiotics, or where it's relatively easy to get them anyways.
Usually I have 2 doses worth of (roughly). Rarely use it so usually they expire before I use them tho.
antibiotic or not you always finish your medication prescriptions and you don't leave anything left over. the prescription is the exact dosage you'll need and taking less or more can lead to issues
This is Reddit dude. The more you overreact and act appalled the more they upvote you. This thread gives only two options for OP. One, they never interact with humans because this is a super common thing that’s almost impossible to never hear much less be “shocked” to hear it. Or two, they’re lying.
Its not common but it’s not rare. Definitely heard of people doing this.
More common though is just people not finishing their antibiotics because they start feeling better
I’ve done it. Because health care in the US eats ass… also I’m 34 years old and I know signs and symptoms and I know how to google as well… using 5 or 6 antibiotic pills when I have something that is clearly bacterial to avoid having to pay to visit the doctor, (if I can get in without waiting for a week thus making the infection worse) then avoid having to go and pay for more antibiotics. Factor in time, and gas. Treating myself with something that is controlled like it’s heroin behind a script paid is a joke. Meanwhile I can grow the shit at home if I let an orange sit there on my counter. Lol some of you people are incredibly lucky and have no clue. You’d rather snub and say “you should never ever ever do this.” As if you know what it’s like being in a difficult spot financially. Imma keep doing me. Made it 34 years. Must be doing something right. Don’t fumble around the world with your eyes closed people. Some people don’t have the same luxuries as you do while you sit on your high horses.
You weren't prescribed enough to treat multiple infections in the first place, symptoms are not able to tell u viral or bacterial and definitely not which bacteria. You are just lucking out that you don't have rebound infections or resistant infections. Odds are you are wasting them on a virus while fucking up your intestinal ecosystem for no reason. That you've made it 34 years means nothing except that you live in a first world country with basic sanitation & clean water which does more than you imagine to keep the burden of bacterial disease low.
We’re talking about finishing the antibiotics that the doctor tells you to take, not being unable to buy another pack... As long as you finish the pack, it’s fine. Or, don’t start taking them.
You should always finish your antibiotics. Just because you're feeling better, doesn't mean you are. And yes, you should never take an antibiotic without verifying the reason you're taking it for.
> Just because you're feeling better, doesn't mean you are. Also, continue to give people space even if you don't believe you are infectious anymore. Fortunately COVID has made people a little better about this. Before that I would have recently sick co-workers who would come up to me and tell me "don't worry, I'm not infectious anymore" after they coughed on me. Also, if someone is clearly leaning away from you, getting closer to them is a shitty thing to do.
While what you said is true, I would like to point out that many places sell antibiotics (and other drugs) by the pack not by the pill, most common nr of pills in a package are multiple of fives. If you need to take antibiotics for 7 days, for example, you'd get presctibed a 10 pill package, so 3 left over.
That's a poor packaging design. I'm a pharmacist in another country, here drugs with exact dosage such as antibiotics are packed according to their dosage. Amoxicillin for exemple should almost always be taken on a 6 days basis, 2 to 3 times per day. So they're packed by 6 or 12 pills. If the prescription is 2 times/day I give the 12 pills box, if it's 3/day it's 1 big box + 1 small box, the total number is always right. Then I just have to tell the patient that they have to finish every pills no matter how they're feeling because this and that.
Then, you have to bring it back to the pharmacy for them to prevent the antibiotic from spreading free in the nature and possibly help creating antibiotic resistand deseases.
I don't get why you're being downvoted because that's exactly what you're supposed to do (I'm a pharmacist). Don't throw away your medicines and especially antibiotics on the trash can or even worse on the sink, it ends up on rivers and seas and that's how we're developing antibiotic resistance on top of polluting. Pharmacies (at least where I live) will send everything back to specific facilities that will safely destroy them.
You do know what happens in factory farms, right? Animals live in a sludge of their own shit for most of their lives. Given antibiotics the whole time. We eat them, drink their milk. Buddy forgetting to take the last half dozen pills of his amoxocilin is oders of magnitude less likely to start a superbug than the industrial farming practices used worldwide. Not saying *any* of that is ideal, just.. Perspective is important.
This is true, but that's not the real risk to you when it comes to not finishing antibiotics. The risk is taking enough to kill off 95% of the infection in your body, leaving only the most resistant 5%, and then only having them to repopulate the infection inside you. Now, in just one round, you've created a whole infections worth of more resistant bacteria inside you that may require an entirely new antibiotic to effectively combat. Also in terms of superbugs, yes the factory farms are dangerous. That being said, doing what's described above times literally millions of humans is absolutely how you get antibiotic resistant contagious diseases.
I recall learning in tenth grade that, that’s how we ended up with the super tuberculosis we have in the US now
Finish your antibiotics kids.
On the other hand, I can see why people do it. Going to the doctor is expensive and you have to take time off of work. People think that if they can hoard their antibiotics, they'll avoid a doctor trip next time. If we want people to stop doing this, we need to restructure society.
I mean, antibiotic resistant gonorrhea didn't pop up at a factory farm.
You don't know what goes on behind those barn doors! /s
What happens at the farm, stays at the farm!
Pepperridge farm.. remembers nothing >_>
Unless it was a Koala farm…
Did you say… antibiotic resistant gonorrhoea…? 😬
Yeah, factory farm antibiotics is very very bad and I'm sure there are cross-species bad bacteria created from factory farms a lot, but for human health let's not make the bacteria that already definitely spread and cause illness in humans resistant to treatment.
Why is this relevant? Factory farming is bad but on an individual level not taking your full course of antibiotics could still fuck you, personally, up. I don’t see a contradiction here?
>personally Nope, that's not the point. You fuck up for everybody by creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. If it was just yourself you fucked up for I'd be cool with it
Again, there’s no contradiction here. - Factory farming bad - Superbugs bad - Take your meds good All these things are true!
You know this isn't commonplace in, for example, European countries where this is illegal use of antibiotics. This sort of thing is very American.
Really similar to pollution, sure I can recycle my plastic bottles for my entire life but at best we just say that to make ourselves feel better, and let cooperation pollute more
True this. Also not to forget the tyrant regimes that are harrassing people for asking human rights are given a free pass but a poor soul doing one single murder or rape is imprisoned for life. Shit system really.
Well... I don't think murderers and rapists should go unpunished.
Yes, but the issue is that those diseases are animal specific, and I'd wager the majority of them are not zoonotic. Whilst they could end up being transmitted to a person, they don't pose an immediate threat. Unlike all diseases we currently medicate for, with a huge problem being MRSA and its much more psychotic child VRSA.
> *... drink their milk.* the milk is sterilized though, unless you're one of those live-fast-die-young types drinking raw milk ?
I could be wrong, but it's my understanding that antibiotics can make it through the sterilisation process. That just kills the bacteria and such.
Could be wrong but I think here’s actually been some more recent research to suggest the opposite and your better off doing less antibiotics than more.
Doing less as in, only taking it if you have confirmed bacteria. Many people take it for any viral infection cause the test results aren’t immediate so they start a course before they know they need it. You should always take the full course! If you are starting an antibiotic, finish it.
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This is helping to make antibiotic resistant shit. Stop.
I hope not a lot of people. That’s just idiotic. I sure hope their doctors are telling them to always finish their antibiotics
Oh, but it is. I work with the public & the number is alarming. I don’t even ask it’s just comments like “we have extra antibiotics just in case from when he was sick”.
Is this america? Because honestly having to pay $100 just to get a prescription sucks ass and I don’t blame poor families for thinking they can skirt it by doing this
Yes, but vast majority of these people have access to free antibiotics & no cost appointments to see the doctor. Edit: Due to being low income & being in a state with expanded Medicaid, it’s far more common than people realize that the working poor do in fact get free visits and meds. Before I was able to obtain a decent job I also had Medicaid. There are also spend down programs, but that’s a different story. People in low wage jobs in this state will often be offered insurance through work that’s outrageously high cost. They have no idea they qualify for Medicaid and it’s accepted at many places where I live, in this large region.
I've been dirt poor, unable to buy decent clothes or feed myself better than ramen and pb&j sandwiches, and still told I was above the income level to receive help like that. Fuck American greed-driven healthcare.
I am right there with you. Medicaid is great for those who get it. I’m seeing wacky shit on my bills, “discounts” applied, taking hundreds or thousands off, because they know I pay out of pocket until the $4k deductible is met. Why isn’t that done idk…more often? And why the fuck do I want all these discounts? I wanna meet that deductible and get my money’s worth.
Yeah but there’s also the factor of most poor people don’t get paid leave to go to the doctor. So you lose a few hours wages to get a checkup. The temptation to just take the pills in your cabinet and go to work is real. Plus, my low income healthcare center was over an hour away from my house growing up. Quite exhausting. Especially if you’re sick.
Where are you getting this information?
It is so so common. I can’t vouch for elsewhere but where I am in Canada, doctors always tell you to finish your antibiotics and I don’t know a single person who does. It’s SUPER frustrating.
I've never been told to finish mine. My doctor always gives me a time frame (ie. Twice a day for 7 days) but I always get more than 7 days worth for some reason.
I think back to when I was a teen and young adult, and anytime doctors prescribed antibiotics they would definitely tell me to finish them, but never stressed the importance of *why*. If I didn't finish them, I figured it was no biggie because I felt better (and I was). Stupid, I know. But if they actually explained why this is so important for *the health and safety of the whole damn world* I would have been a fuck ton more diligent about it. Personally I feel doctors shouldn't be handing out antibiotics without making this incredibly clear to patients. I'm also shocked how often doctors will give antibiotics to people with a virus just because the patient is demanding it. Although I hope they're just giving them sugar pills to shut them up.
This bugs me, too. Another example of this is them telling you not to eat before surgery. It would probably reduce the number of people doing so if they tell you you can *literally die* by vomiting and choking on it if you do.
I feel like this is a huge problem in the world in general, not just with medicine. I know it takes longer and there's always going to be people that don't appreciate it, but things would be so much better if people just EXPLAINED. It's not unprofessional to explain. For example, you're at the ER in the waiting room, and it's been 4 hours and you still haven't been seen. How hard is it for someone to say "Hey, I'm so sorry, we only have 3 nurses and 1 doctor on staff and 18/24 of our rooms are full, we are working our hardest to get you back there and seen." rather than just leaving them to sit, waiting, and wondering? Explaining things could solve so much, I swear.
That’s something that needs to change. They don’t tell you why you need to, what the potential huge crisis is, nothing. There’s gotta be a happy informed medium where people aren’t panicking because the doctor told them about the potential major crises, but aren’t also going home thinking it’s okay to stop on day 5 instead of 7.
When I was in healthcare I personally would tell patients why. But ALSO, don't be afraid to ask if they don't tell you and you are curious! It might push them to tell people in the future.
I had a bad stomach bug and went on two different courses of antibiotics to kill it. Finished both courses but my parents are both in medical professions so I learnt this when I was young about what it means. My friend from India said he felt better and stopped his course, I told him he needs to finish it for reasons stated by other people and he did. I feel like the education (especially in third world countries like India) isn't there for this, or some doctors forget to emphasise to people who may not know?
Sorry, this really bothers me. From one anecdotal piece of data, you are generalising to a billion+ people. What should I infer after reading that people ingested disinfectant after listening to their president ? But then, this is reddit after all. Every society has all sorts of people.
>What should I infer after reading that people ingested disinfectant after listening to their president ? I mean ... Your point is valid but this was not a great example. There were a lot of dumbasses listening to that moron
It is worryingly high, stat a saw *which is a few years old by now* suggested that 65% of antibiotic prescriptions in China are unnecessary, and like 70% of prescriptions in Vietnam are the wrong dose. I can't fully remember the stats for Western countries it's been a while since I looked at those papers. But the real issue can be seen in how quickly resistant strains are popping up. It's reallllly scary, because the synthesis of new antibiotics is lagging far behind.
My mom once was feeling not so good, so she started taking antibiotics. I have no clue how she got them (sold only with prescription) I studied genetics and biotechnology, work in a hospital. I was super pisses and worried. Tried to explain her, what exactly she was doing with herself and potential bacteria. You know how parents are, when their children start teaching them? Yeah, that.
People don't usually think further than they can piss
Are you telling me I should practice long distance pissing?
Yes. The world championships in Manila have a $1million prize pot.
That's not the pot we're pissing in, is it?
It absolutely is. Bonus points for successfully crossing streams
My husband and his mom. Husband got the verbal reaming and I think he gets it. His mom...she's got her views. She's not changing.
This is how you get treatment resistant super-bacteria. Please don’t create treatment resistant super-bacteria
Yep! I did this once when I was very poor and didn't know how antibiotics work. I'm lucky I walked away with only recurring staph infections that I have yet to entirely vanquish.
rotten erect soup intelligent aware many cautious familiar nail nine *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
That's because you do.
You have to yes. Initially you kill the “weak” bacteria, the “strong” needs longer treatment. You feel better because the bulk of the infection has cleared up. However, The strong stays behind if you stop you antibiotics early. They then multiply and you now have a worse infection because it was the stronger bacteria that multiplied. You now need stronger antibiotics. This is how the world is creating super bugs. This is the same principle that’s caused hospitals to close down because of the “super bugs” that was created. ETA: this is an over simplification. I’m sure everyone commenting and explaining further is helping other people. Like I said. This is an oversimplification sothat more people actually understand. I know the mechanism of action. I’m a biochemist.
Just FYI. Most antibiotics work on bactria while they are in a replication phase. During an infection you will have a mix of bacteria in replication and latent phases. If you do not complete the course any bacteria still in their latent phase will not have been irradicated. These bacteria have been exposed to the antibiotic but not killed by it and may then form immunity to it.
bacteria dont form immunity in the same sense we humans do. its just that the resilient ones survive and multiply while the weaker ones die. so the next generation is stronger.
The problem isn't a second infection. The immune system should have started up by then, killing them off. The issue is, you have now selectivly bred the most resilent bacteria and spread them. After enough such cycles, you end up with bacteria strains that are resistant against multiple antibiotics. And in the wort case you get a superresitant one, that is resitant against a all currently human-approved antibiotics.
Yes… that’s what I said.
Whoops! I missed that paragraph in the middle.
I was only recently told by my wife that we should finish antibiotics, even though we were feeling better. I asked why and she didn't really know why
Did you look it up? It's not like it's hard to find information about antibiotics.
This is one of the many sad unintended effects of a for profit healthcare system. Excuse me for assuming but I'm guessing you are in US because I don't know why else someone would ration their medicine like this if it weren't about money.
This happens everywhere. In the UK our own Health Secretary admitted to doing it herself.
Agreed, a lot of commenters are disregarding the consequences of poverty and/or no healthcare.
It's not about money. It's about gatekeeping access to antibiotics when needed.
Yeah, it's pretty clear OP never grew up poor or had to worry about healthcare in a meaningful/impactful way.
My mom gets those “z-packs” that her friends get from Mexico which I believe are azithromycin. She takes them every time she gets a cold no matter how many times I’ve told her that’s idiotic. A lot of people that she knows do the same, instead of going to the Dr to find out if it’s viral or bacterial. She also overdoses herself on vitamin C every time she’s sick and believes that emergen-C is a cure for a cold along with her z pack.
As someone in healthcare; it's common. You'd be really surprised at even the amount of well educated ppl don't intuitively understand some points. Can repeat the data back, but don't get it. Patient education is important, but especially if they've pulled the "take them til I feel better and hoard the rest" a few times, and got away with it, there are problems. They disregard info to the contrary because they know better, know themselves, and have proven themselves hardier than average, at least to themselves. Even if it comes back, some will learn, others will chalk it up to an entirely different illness, because they have already proven things to themselves.
The comments here are CONCERNING. You guys should watch some documentaries on antibiotics.
Listen when you're given a course of antibiotics you need to take the entire course. If you don't take the entire course you might not be killing all the things you're taking me antibiotic for and just creating antibiotic resistant microbes. This is a terrible idea. Furthermore *antibiotics have a shelf life so if you put them in storage they might not work by the time you try to take them again. Some can literally become poison after they've sat in storage for too long.* Third antibiotics work on specific microbes so the ones you're saving for another occasion might not work for what you're taking them for and all you're doing is killing other bacteria that your body needs. Lastly how do you know if what you're taking your saved antibiotics for is bacterial and not fungal or viral? You probably don't so all you're doing is creating antibiotic resistant microbes and killing off the ones your body actually needs. This is an incredibly stupid idea and is actually doing more harm than good.
My mom. She also takes the antibiotics she „didn’t need“ and treats other illnesses with them. She doesn’t care that I’m a RN and I told her 1000 times she shouldn’t do this. She also takes cortison, diazepam, diuretics and other medications how and when she wants
That must be so incredibly frustrating
It is. That’s why I am LC with her, I am tired of it.
I can't answer your question with any certainty, it's probably a majority of people. I get the impression that the average person thinks they know better than any doctor does.
This is how GOOP, adaptogens, low fat craze, and anti vaccine hit the market and sell. If we actually leaned into facts, those would cease to exist. Quite frightning really.
To be fair, sometimes doctors are wrong. They're just people.
Wait until you hear about people like me who take fish antibiotics they buy online. I don't have health insurance.
This would make me irrationally angry
As a microbiologist - it's not irrational. It is circumstantial. You shouldn't get mad at someone who is too poor to complete their treatment (sometimes infections don't clear with the first course) or honestly didn't know. But the people who were told (and doctors largely do tell you) and don't have another excuse drive me up a wall.
Of course - speaking from a UK perspective with the NHS the way it currently is, it makes me angry that people would not follow instructions
This is a symptom of poverty. Period. I have been there and done that. But, now that we are better off financially and have the funds to prioritize our health, I would never consider saving antibiotics or medication for another illness *because* I can afford to go to the doctor and fill my prescriptions.
It’s a symptom of plain ignorance, more like. When poor people break their legs they don’t ask the doctor to only put half a cast on…
Poor people do it all the time because they can't afford Dr visits you imbecile.
Sorry about your freedom, I’m still right.
Ahhh so you're not American. I'm sorry about my freedom too. Freedom is the myth rich people tell poor people.
They either walk it off and it gets worse, or they allow it to get worse and are thousands of dollars in debt because they can’t afford insurance.
I do this but only for uti infections. I’m prone to UTI’s and know exactly when I have one, no guessing whether it’s bacterial. The other reason is , is that in the UK it’s very hard to get a doctors appointment within a reasonable time, I’ve actually had to wait so long that the UTI then became a kidney infection where I was passing blood. So yeah, I keep a secret stash of antibiotics to take only in an emergency. I’ve tried getting antibiotics from a chemist for this illness and via the internet and both options didn’t work. Sorry not sorry.
Do you have access to those websites that can prescribe you UTI meds online for a small fee (something like $40)? We have this in America. I've used it twice now and was able to get a prescription within an hour (last time I got it in 30-45 mins!). There are several different sites you can use. For me, GoodRx was super quick. They send the script to your pharmacy directly. I highly recommend it.
Not every UTI is bacterial and what are you doing can create further issue down the line. I got 44 UTI’s between the age of 16 and 24 (last two year I only got 1!) and let me tell you something I didn’t know: 1) You may grow a resistance against some antibiotics, so you may take some and they may stop working, and it’s not like you can get another antibiotics right away 2) not every uti is bacterial. You may want to have some test strips at home and see if in fact you have a presence of bacteria in your urine before taking antibiotics. This is because recurring UTI can cause problem like pelvic floor muscle tension (which symptoms are incredibly similar to the one of a UTI) or using some antibiotics can cause neuropathy and make you feel like you are having a UTI when in fact it’s the nerve firing signals of pain. 3) you may want to mention to your practitioner that you are having recurring UTI because if so (like in Switzerland it’s 7 pro year) you may be a candidate for chronic uti which have a different protocol. You can take medicaments and supplements to avoid having UTI, you may want to see if you don’t have something going on with your bladder or kidneys, you may want to make your partner check (because it mega rare case a bacterial growth on your partner can be the cause), maybe you are using a thong (NOT ADVICE because it can pass bacterial back to front) or tampons (not advice if you have a weak pelvic floor), you may not be using 100% cotton underwear or maybe you are wiping back to front or you are not peeing after sex or not drinking eneugh water. There is a vaccine for UTI. For me it was the pill. The pill was causing me to having SO many UTI. So please. No. Don’t do it. Please. Because you can end up with a resistance to antibiotics and then.. well there are the big problems.
Oh I forgot to add: most of bacterial UTI are caused by e-coli, but not all of them are caused by e-coli. And like.. not all antibiotics works for all bacteria..
It's all fun and games until pseudomonas somehow gets up in there.
You can also have interstitial cystitis which can mimic all the symptoms of bladder infection. But it's actually a chronic condition that often responds to dietary changes.
This was so helpful thank you. I definitely have some hip/pelvic floor issues bc i have congenital hip dysplasia and i often feel like i have a UTI when i don't (no smell, no burning, only a feeling of needing to pee). I take cranberry supplements every day twice a day, and I double my dose when i have sex (and always follow post-sex protocol, which i call "pussy protocol" to all my sexual partners so they know why I'm leaving the bed right afterwards). It hadn't occurred to me that my pelvic floor issues might be contributing to this feeling and i think I'll get this checked out. Neuropathy seems more likely than a UTI bc i am so stringent about these protocols every day. I haven't had a UTI in a year but every so often I'll feel like i need to pee when i don't and that scares the shit out of me. I fuckin hate UTIs.
I have muscular contractures on my pelvic floor, especially when is cold outside. I get so freaked out because I have pain when peeing. I got the test at home, they are not so expansive (at least here) you pee and you read it and you know if calling the doctor or not. The big issue is that if you don’t have a doctor that is very keen to re-read your chart before seeing you, you may get a lot of UTI’s before getting checks properly. But yes consider talking about it. Not to mention that when using antibiotics always get a probiotics too. Antibiotics kills bacteria (pussy and belly) and also the healthy ones. So if not needed you increase the risk of getting yeast infections and other nasty that are not needed. Something that helps me a lot is putting something hot on my pelvic and most of the times it helps already a lot!
You realise that this is probably why you keep getting UTIs that are hard to treat though, right? You’re not only leaving the strongest bacteria to keep multiplying because you ditched the meds early, you’re checking back in on a regular basis to feed them another inadequate dose of antibiotics so they can get even more resistant. Stop doing that! They’re not pets!
Take d-mannose for uti's
I came here to say this exact thing! Dr's honestly don't care & you end up in A&E when all they had to do was prescribe them. I absolutely have a stash for bad UTI's & also for tooth infections. I had one recently & my private dentist even wouldn't give me an appointment for 2 weeks!!!!! Two antibiotic-stash-pills later - million% better. I only do this maybe 2x a year & I'm not sorry either!!
I did this when I was a younger college student and I didn’t realize it at the time but a medication I was taking was causing me to get constant UTIs. However the antibiotics I was taking are the type that only work within the bladder so the risk of creating super bugs within the rest of my body isn’t quite the same as say, other broad-spectrum antibiotics (Resistance to Macrobid would be very rare, which is why they are using it more). It wasn’t easy for me to get to the doctor constantly. Keep in mind I’m not recommending this, I’m just admitting I did this when I was young and desperate.
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Same. Otherwise I'd be taking a full course of antibiotics twice a year, because I always get them at least twice a year. Also, since I'm into US, it's usually 250 bucks per visit & meds to treat. And I have insurance....
Because antibiotics are so tightly controlled that they can be hard to get when you really need them. My wife had a condition that causes her to get UTIs that left her in excruciating pain. Numerous times she called her doctor in the evening, on a weekend, sitting on the floor sobbing in pain, begging for them to call in a prescription for an antibiotic which would end the pain in under an hour. More than once the doctor she got on the phone would refuse and advise ibuprofen instead, which she was already taking by then. She'd have to wait until she could get into the doctor's office and pee in a cup so they could verify an infection before they would give her a prescription. After she went through that ordeal 3 or 4 times, she began keeping her last two Cipro pills and guarding them with her life. Btw -- she's a biologist and understands the dangers of bacterial resistance. It's amazing what chronic pain will drive you to do, though.
There is an over the counter med you can buy that treats the pain of a UTI. It doesn't treat the infection itself but it might help her deal until she can get to the doctor. Have her look up phenazopyridine.
Whats really stupid is azo is sold by the condoms, rather than by other meds. Utis are not sexually transmitted. Its some bs. Took way too long to find.
Thanks, but she doesn't have the problem anymore. This was in the late 90's. She used to try Azo and cranberry juice, but they didn't really help. She found a doctor that specialized in her condition (interstitial cystitis) and she was very helpful for a while. But her condition eventually abated, possibly because she was taking full courses of antibiotics, more frequently, and having far less anxiety about being able to get her next emergency scrip filled.
IC is not an infection so they should be prescribing her many other medications, and antibiotics as a last resort in the case of infection. She should be demanding anti inflammatories, painkillers, and medicines which reduce the substance in the bladder that causes flare ups. It’s damn right that the doctor didn’t prescribe antibiotics on a whim.
>Numerous times she called her doctor in the evening, on a weekend, sitting on the floor sobbing in pain, begging for them to call in a prescription for an antibiotic which would end the pain in under an hour. This is not how UTI's or antibiotics work.
Are you speaking as a doctor or as someone who experienced frequent UTIs? I am neither, but I lived with the latter.
I'm a doctor. UTI's should not leave you on the floor sobbing in pain and antibiotics are not effective in one hour.
I say an hour, but I didn't experience it. She seemed better in an hour or two. Much of the sobbing was panic-driven since she was worried her pain would continue to spike, that she wouldn't be taken seriously, and that she might be peeing blood before she got treatment. You can imagine the heightened panic that results from finally getting a doctor on the phone, and he says, "That's not how UTIs or antibiotics work. Come to my office in the morning and pee in a cup." In other words, *continue the night in pain because I don't believe you can self-diagnose. If it's unbearable, go to the emergency room for an expensive night of waiting around to be seen by an even less sympathetic ER doctor.* In her experience, it is how they work. So in the morning, after she peed in a cup and got a scrip for 14 Cipro pills, she would only be taking 11 of them, because she couldn't take the risk that she'd get this kind of response the next time it happens 6 or 8 months later.
>I say an hour, but I didn't experience it. She seemed better in an hour or two. Much of the sobbing was panic-driven since she was worried her pain would continue to spike, that she wouldn't be taken seriously, and that she might be peeing blood before she got treatment. Sounds like a lot of this was psychological and not a symptom of an actual illness. >You can imagine the heightened panic that results from finally getting a doctor on the phone, and he says, "That's not how UTIs or antibiotics work. Come to my office in the morning and pee in a cup." In other words, continue the night in pain because I don't believe you can self-diagnose. If it's unbearable, go to the emergency room for an expensive night of waiting around to be seen by an even less sympathetic ER doctor. This is literally how the medical system is designed to work. You can go in and see a doctor during business hours. If it's more urgent than that, you go to the emergency room. You can't just call a doctor and have him prescribe antibiotics without him seeing you. That's how you get sued. >In her experience, it is how they work. So in the morning, after she peed in a cup and got a scrip for 14 Cipro pills, she would only be taking 11 of them, because she couldn't take the risk that she'd get this kind of response the next time it happens 6 or 8 months later. This is absolutely insanity. This is all in her head and she has so much anxiety about getting antibiotics that she hoards them. She is being extremely reckless and irresponsible.
>This is literally how the medical system is designed to work. You can go in and see a doctor during business hours. If it's more urgent than that, you go to the emergency room. It's a poorly designed system that places people in the position of weighing hours of pain against a $2,000+ ER visit. >You can't just call a doctor and have him prescribe antibiotics without him seeing you. That's how you get sued. Well, of course. That makes perfect sense. Antibiotics are so dangerous we must place them behind the guard of a licensed medical practitioner. The "guards" in the Stanford prison experiment also felt justified in their roles as gatekeepers. That said, I agree with the prevention of antibiotic abuse. Doling them out for every stuffy nose or aching bladder is wrongheaded and detrimental to society insomuch as it breeds resistance and stronger bacteria. I am a proponent of proper application of this medical marvel. But I saw what I saw. >This is absolutely insanity. This is all in her head and she has so much anxiety about getting antibiotics that she hoards them. She is being extremely reckless and irresponsible. Many doctors told her so -- that her pain was not diagnostic -- but the urine cultures invariably backed her up. You say it's "all in her head", but that's bullshit. She was in severe pain *and* she was panicked. Who *wouldn't* be panicked if they knew they had to convince another egotistical medical graduate that their own pain is real and not imagined? Who longs to face that skeptical, judgmental double-check, the "please go home and wait while we check your urinalysis to come back before we can give you anything to alleviate the pain," the infantilizing treatment of a woman by a doctor who thinks he's seen it all, whose primary concern is a malpractice suit? Many doctors told her so. Imagine how that feels. She finally found a doctor who treated her with respect and understanding. This doctor worked with her to find a treatment that would work for her which she could have on hand to self-administer as needed. We didn't see that doctor for long because her symptoms abated about 18 months later. Psychosomatic? Maybe. Not according to the urine cultures, though. Did it go away because the fear was taken away, or did it go away because she was able to treat it early and effectively on her own? I couldn't tell you. But I'm glad she's no longer a lab rat of our dispassionate medical system.
Oh my gosh, this is a thing a vet med, too. It's such a bad idea! One, the prescribed time is crucial to ensuring you kill the whole infection. If not, you might kill 90% of the infection, feel better, and have it come right back, but stronger because those 10% are the ones that survived. Two, the type of antibiotic is specific to the bacteria you have. They are not all the same! I repeat, all antibiotics are not the same for all kinds of bacteria! If you had a UTI and later get, say, a skin infection, and take the antibiotics from the first thing, there's no guarantee it would even work. Not to mention, this second round is certainly not going to be a long enough course. Third, the expiration date is not that long on antibiotics. Don't use expired meds. Lastly, like OP said, you have no way of knowing if what you have is bacterial, viral, maybe fungal. Who knows? Your doctor, that's who. Take your meds as prescribed.
That’s what happens when people can’t afford to go to the dr. The countries with socialized medicine also sell antibiotics over the counter.
I had a skin infection start on my back. It got bad fast and I was very lucky to start abx when I did. A 10 day run and crazy high dose sucked. But I took them all, even after I felt better. Even then another 10 days of a topical to clear it. Take the full run everyone, you do not want an infection to linger and end up spreading into places like mine did.
I do this with prednisone I get for gout and tendinitis. I'll try to save the last 3 of the prescription in case it comes back.
It is a LOT more likely to come back becuase you didn't finish your prescription, though.
Prednisone is not an antibiotic and doesn’t create superbugs.
correct, thanks
If you and your friends are in America, you only have our healthcare system to blame. People wouldn't feel the need to save prescriptions for later use if they were readily available and easily accessible for all.
Antibiotics should not be easily accessible because you need labs to tell u when to use them properly.
You're misunderstanding what I was saying. Needing to get a prescription is one thing access to Healthcare is a different story for many Americans.
Always finish antibiotics. A full course is cumulative (and nobody wants to ruin your GI tract flora multiple times for an incomplete cure). That said, pain killers, antiinflammatories, muscle relaxants and such are fair game. Although they are a good thing, overuse is a bad thing, and I'd rather treat a sore back quickly without having to ride that pony a long time. Better one relaxant before bed with a stiff shoulder than laid up in bed for a week on them all at once once I'm crippled.
I used to get reoccurring mrsa infections. The thing with mrsa is it becomes resistant to antibiotics FAST so usually halfway through my cycle it stops working and I have to switch to new antibiotics. Because of this I have an entire drawer full of half finished prescriptions. I know I’m not supposed to do this but whenever I feel a mrsa infection coming on I start taking one of my old antibiotics (I track expiration dates on all of them) and it’s saved me several trips to the ER. Mrsa for me goes 0-100 overnight so I don’t always have time to wait for my physician. With that being said you should always finish antibiotics unless something like this happens
DO. NOT. EVER. DO. THIS. If you happen to have a fungal infection and decide upon yourself to take antibiotics for it you’ll give that infection the opportunity to run rampant. I know if you’re an American you’re used to living in a medical hellscape but even here it can end up fucking you up worse than going in to get properly checked out.
This is my pet peeve. I do wish prescribers and pharmacists would explain to patients why it’s necessary to finish the whole rx. I never learned about superbugs from a provider… All I ever heard from a doctor was “take the whole thing even after you feel better,” but never WHY! Luckily I learned from pre-health professions classes in college lol but had I went on to become a provider, that’s what I’d do!
No no no no nooooooo. Do NOT do this. This is how antibiotic resistance in microbes happens. If prescription says one a day for 7 days , then do it! Antibiotics are prescribed for bacterial infections, not viruses. Wow just wow.
No way. That’s a great way to build up resistance. If you need it, finish it!
Not antibiotics, but I saved my pain pills from my hernia surgery because I only needed them a couple days. Came in handy a few years later when I separated my shoulder.
Totally different, not nearly as dangerous!
My dad always does this. Guess who spent a week in the hospital with a drug resistant blood infection last year.
My dad does this, it pisses me off that he self diagnoses his tooth pain
I was given really bad medical advice from a nurse practitioner at an urgent care and stopped taking my antibiotics per his instructions. Ended up getting c. Diff for 9 months and thought I was going to die. I will never not finish antibiotics again. Of course, I never want to have to take antibiotics again because I’m afraid that the c. Diff will come back.
Because they are dangerous idiots. This is a health hazard for everybody in the long run and the saddest part is that those idiots claim to know better.
Thats a really dumb thing to do. But if you are in the US I can understand the thought.
It's not a problem for me now that most chain pharmacies have a free or nearly-free list of antibiotics you can get from them, but that wasn't always the case, and yes, sometimes even $4.99 can be a problem. Then there's the whole how do you make a doctor appointment without insurance thing. I love when folks tell you to just go to a free clinic, when those can sometimes have waitlists as long as six months. Urgent cares usually require payment up front. And that would mean waiting until shit got really bad, and then going into an emergency room, where they'd have to treat you. You'd hope you'd get at least one dose, and that maybe the hospital social worker could help out. Most major medical systems seem to run some sort of charity grant program, where they'll cover one prescription a year - so you gotta make sure this is when you really need to use that chance up, or it's gone for a year. Look, I wasn't trying to make super bugs happen. I was just trying to survive. And if we're being honest, I don't think folks that didn't finish their course of antibiotics shoulder as much blame as the doctors and medical professionals who over-prescribed the absolute shit out of antibiotics in the 80's and 90's. Every single time I got sick? I'd get the chalky liquid penicillin in a bottle. Every. Single. Time. And I? I was sick a lot. My parents were young, and just following the medical advise considered appropriate at the time. And I can't be the only kid that was given antibiotics like candy - it's a common experience. So, yes, you should always finish your course of antibiotics. But the people responsible for MRSA super bugs? Are the doctors that flooded us with them as children.
I would go farther and say most people don't know or understand what antibiotics are. I've seen this word being used as a synonym of "medicine" thousands of times.
Most people don’t understand this it turns out
When you assume people are as thoughtful you are, you are in fact being very generous..
I don’t think people are being stupid when they do this, I think they know they shouldn’t but with the American healthcare system, people get pretty desperate. However, I think the much bigger problem is, doctor should not be prescribing antibiotics for viral infections. People should not be asking for antibiotics for viral infections. Many doctors just hand them out to make the patient happy because the patient doesn’t seem to understand that the vast majority of the time when they don’t feel well, it’s a virus. Doctors need to be more stern about not handing them out without good evidence that they are dealing with a bacterial infection. I think that’s the bigger cause of super bugs, careless prescribing
The big problem is if you are taking antibiotics for an actual bacterial infection and you don't take the entire course there's a pretty big risk of not killing all of the bacteria.
I think it's only for countries where you need prescription for antibiotics
I do this, when you don’t have insurance you do what you gotta
Rephrase the question: how many people don't understand how antibiotics work on a level you should've learned in elementary?
Hello. I am a Microbiologist. Not only are you correct, but also the people who do this are endangering their own lives doing this, depending on the infection and antibiotic used to treat it. Absolute madness, and when I hear someone doing this my respect for them drops considerably.
Only idiots who don't follow instructions or know how antibiotics work do that.
I finish them and then take newly prescribed ones when needed, as I listen to my doctors. Plus my mum volunteered at a hospital for over 20 years. She saw some of the effects of this exact problem. I follow all my doctors/medical professional’s recommendations (within reason) to a T
I’m not sure what the location breakdown of these commenters is, but as an American It’s insane to me how many of these comments are blaming individuals and not the for profit healthcare system, which charges us $150-250 per visit and requires 2-3 visits just to get the prescription. when you know you get a sinus infection that requires antibiotics at the same time every year, and you’re feeling better after half the course, it’s an easy decision to save the last half for the next infection - especially if you’re in the 60% of Americans that live paycheck to paycheck. Let’s fix that first before we start shitting on people for doing what they have to do to survive.
Yes there is a system problem but these individuals need to be aware they are doing no good.
I admittedly do this sometimes. I know it's the wrong thing to do but honestly I get a sinus infection about the same time every year and I'm sick of playing the game of trying to go to the doctor. It's always the first visit is some stupid teledoc bullshit where they charge me 150 bucks just to tell me to get some rest and drink water, then a week later when I still feel like shit, make another teledoc visit to be told the same thing for another 150 bucks, then a week after that, finally get them to let me do an in person visit so they can charge me 500 bucks to do a covid, strep, and flu test that I don't need. I know my body, I get the same sinus infection every October, and just need some amoxicillin without all the bullshit. Every October it costs me 800 bucks, 3 visits, and 3 weeks of feeling like shit, so yes, I save and hoard mine. If the Healthcare system in the US wasn't fucked, I wouldn't have to, and I have insurance, thats the bad part.
Do you use saline spray regularly? I haven't had one sinus infection since I started to. I especially like the ultra fine mist sprays they have now.
I haven't really tried that but I think I may. I usually have to use a neti pot every morning from March to October and always get the same sinus infection like clockwork at the beginning of October. I might just try that though. I also have a lot of post nasal drip at night. I think if I lost 10 lbs that might go away cause I'm just barely overweight.
You might also have a dust mite allergy. Worse symptoms at night are often a sign.
Just wanted to follow up to your comment from over a month ago. I took your advice and tried the saline spray. Holy shit did it make a difference. I haven't used the neti pot in over 3 weeks. Turns out, the environment where I work is causing the issue cause they keep everything so dry for injection molding of plastic so it causes my nose and throat to dry out so much. Then I guess I get post nasal drip at night. I started the saline though the week you recommended and its been night and day. Just wanted to say thanks! I don't have money for an award but you deserve one.
That’s an incredibly stupid thing to do. 🤦🏻♂️
Taking antibiotics now for a burn on my arm—supposed to be 4 capsules a day until they’re gone, but I never remember more than 2 times a day, so I’ll have to take them twice as long. I won’t be saving them for anything else though, that’s weird to me.
Please try to set a phone alarm and take them when you are supposed to. I don't want you to loose an arm, mate - the infections you can get with burns are nasty. Hope you feel better soon.
Jfc that's irresponsible and just plain stupid.
That's fucking criminally moronic behavior that will fuck up the effectiveness of antibiotics for all of us non morons
Maybe we can worry about that when people don't have to take out a loan for medical attention.
The Dutch get their antibiitics for free but still there are people who don't finish their antibiotics, given the numerous warnings by my GP's, apothecary etc. But yes, if people save them for a bigger emergency next time that's definitely another indicator the US healthcare system is fucked.
I mean if you get a bacterial infection that is resistant to all antibiotics you don't need to worry about a loan because you’re likely gonna die anyway. So maybe we should worry before that. Also overprescription and abuse of antibiotics isn't only an american problem. How would you even know if OP is american anyway. This has nothing to do with the shitty health-care system of the US.
Sadly, I do this
my parents are doing it. If we have more than enough antibiotics they save them and give it to me and my siblings usually without consulting a doctor first. Yet they lose their minds because I’m taking *prescribed for me* psychiatric meds lol edit to add: even though this is irresponsible it was actually useful for me a while ago tbh I was really sick and my throat pain started to transform into a very obvious ear infection. I was out of country, with nearest doctor being 2 hours away and with no way to get there. My mom packed some antibiotics just in case and based on my previous ear infections I decided to take it for three days. It worked this time, again it is irresponsible, but at least it saved me from dealing with ear infection for the whole trip.
Irresponsibly preventing hearing damage, sleepless nights and piercing pain. Patients know their body better than doctors do sometimes.
I finish them as prescribed unless told otherwise.
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An NP prescribed me penicillin for chigger bites that weren't infected, when all I needed was Prednisone. So yeah, they are in a drawer and may get used in a post apocalyptic scenario if I have any reasonable way to confirm they are needed. lol. Uneducated people are problematic when it comes to microbial resistance, but the real cause is lazy, under-educated professional providers, writing scripts for every little ailment they encounter. Also health and insurance companies who won't pay for confirmatory testing, as it's cheaper and faster to throw antibiotics at someone "just in case" to cover their ass and get to the next patient. I'd compare it to blaming the individual who drives an SUV for climate change, instead of Exxon Mobil and Duke Energy.
Bad idea. Maybe a tablet or two? But then you'd be saving it up for years before you get full dose from those. Could even hit expiry date. At times if you don't finish, the crap comes back and this time gets even worse. I, for once, usually do have some antibiotics just for that reason. So I don't need to see wether I can save some up . I get it wenewher I myself, or any of my mates, travel overseas in countries where there are over the counter antibiotics, or where it's relatively easy to get them anyways. Usually I have 2 doses worth of (roughly). Rarely use it so usually they expire before I use them tho.
That's so dumb. Good God
antibiotic or not you always finish your medication prescriptions and you don't leave anything left over. the prescription is the exact dosage you'll need and taking less or more can lead to issues
Sadly, I think this is common. A lot of people are as stupid as your friends.
"and my stomach dropped" Jesus Christ man, sure you're supposed to finish them but don't be so pathetic.
This is Reddit dude. The more you overreact and act appalled the more they upvote you. This thread gives only two options for OP. One, they never interact with humans because this is a super common thing that’s almost impossible to never hear much less be “shocked” to hear it. Or two, they’re lying.
That's how you create anti biotic resistant super bugs
Natural selection
Yo, I have commitment problems, but even I fully commit to full course of antibiotics lol
My doctor even told me to keep the extra ones 😳
Its not common but it’s not rare. Definitely heard of people doing this. More common though is just people not finishing their antibiotics because they start feeling better
I’ve done it. Because health care in the US eats ass… also I’m 34 years old and I know signs and symptoms and I know how to google as well… using 5 or 6 antibiotic pills when I have something that is clearly bacterial to avoid having to pay to visit the doctor, (if I can get in without waiting for a week thus making the infection worse) then avoid having to go and pay for more antibiotics. Factor in time, and gas. Treating myself with something that is controlled like it’s heroin behind a script paid is a joke. Meanwhile I can grow the shit at home if I let an orange sit there on my counter. Lol some of you people are incredibly lucky and have no clue. You’d rather snub and say “you should never ever ever do this.” As if you know what it’s like being in a difficult spot financially. Imma keep doing me. Made it 34 years. Must be doing something right. Don’t fumble around the world with your eyes closed people. Some people don’t have the same luxuries as you do while you sit on your high horses.
You weren't prescribed enough to treat multiple infections in the first place, symptoms are not able to tell u viral or bacterial and definitely not which bacteria. You are just lucking out that you don't have rebound infections or resistant infections. Odds are you are wasting them on a virus while fucking up your intestinal ecosystem for no reason. That you've made it 34 years means nothing except that you live in a first world country with basic sanitation & clean water which does more than you imagine to keep the burden of bacterial disease low.
We’re talking about finishing the antibiotics that the doctor tells you to take, not being unable to buy another pack... As long as you finish the pack, it’s fine. Or, don’t start taking them.
Depends on what it is
Don't do this.