Search Results for: antibiotic

Mr. Rawles, As a physician I take significant offense to Lawrence R.’s letter regarding antibiotics. The fact is over 90% of infections presenting to US hospitals are antibiotic resistant in some form or other. He is correct that some of the older medications may be effective and that is why bacterial cultures are performed to determine antibiotic resistance. He is sadly misinformed regarding the idea that we prescribe the most expensive or newest antibiotic available. We prescribe the least expensive antibiotic that is effective against the specifically cultured infection as long as a patient is not allergic to that class of antibiotic. I wish him luck using penicillin for 90+ percent of soft tissue infections obtained outside of the hospital as the large majority of community acquired soft tissue infections are resistant to penicillin. A good broad spectrum antibiotic which can be obtained very inexpensively is Sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim otherwise known as…

…or Double antibiotic ointment (do not use Triple antibiotic, or Neosporin ointment, these are highly allergic). 2. Povidine (Betadine) is a great solution to cleanse wounds. It contains iodine. Those who are allergic to iodine should avoid. 3. Hibiclens This is a good alternative as a cleansing solution for those allergic to iodine. Several gallons would not be too much. Prescription antibiotic medications 1. These antibiotics are relatively inexpensive, and would be effective for almost anything you would encounter: Amoxicillin, Cipro, Bactrim DS, Doxycycline, Erythromycin, Cephalexin, and Sulfacetamide Ophthalmic solution. 2. If you have antibiotic allergies, or if you want a more complete armamentarium of medications, I would include: Augmentin, Zithromycin, Avelox, Suprax, Macrodantin, Acyclovir, and Tamiflu. This is the usual doses for adults of the antibiotics mentioned Amoxicillin 500mg three times daily for 10 days Augmentin 875/125 twice daily for 10 days Cipro 500mg twice daily for 10 -30…

…risk of infection likely will go way up, due to lack of medical care, contamination, stress, poor nutrition, exposure, and reduced hygiene.  Even gunshot wounds are possible, or lacerations and broken bones.  Having a stock assortment of common antibiotics ready now is a good idea. Antibiotics don’t change to poison the day after they expire.  It has been proven that antibiotics are safe to use for at least five (5) years beyond their expiration date.  Don’t throw away expired antibiotics or other medications for that matter.  They may not be as effective as when they were “fresh,” but they are probably 90+% still active.  In a disaster situation they may not be available again for a long time, and you’ll be longing for the Amoxicillin you flushed down the toilet. [JWR Adds: The only exception might be cycline family antibiotics, which have been reported to cause Fanconi Syndrome when they…

Jim and Hugh, The adverse effect of tithing or stopping an antibiotic course of treatment early can be dangerous. The subjective symptoms of decreases in fever, inflammation, or discomfort, or other negative consequence “feelings” of infection is only an indication that the bacteria is in a die off, but the strain of bacteria may not have been completely eradicated. Discontinuing the antibiotic prematurely can cause a supergrowth once stopped in some cases and a bacterial resistance to that antibiotic is developed, so that any subsequent usage of that antibiotic may not work any longer on that bacteria. This is one of the primary reasons we are dealing with supergrowths, secondary bacterial infections, and with mutations of bacteria today. Not only do doctors and nurse practitioners overprescribe and misprescribe antibiotics, but also because clients do not follow the entire course of the antibiotic ordered. A culture and sensitivity test for precise…

…in childhood with a lifelong diet high in plant fiber.  For anyone reading this article, your colon may already be riddled with the pouches (diverticula), so your best hope is to prevent the infection from starting.  Many patients find that eating popcorn or other small, hard objects sets off their symptoms (though this is medically controversial).  If I had diverticulitis, I would at least be meticulous about avoiding popcorn.  Antibiotic treatment should ideally include a combination of metronidazole plus either ciprofloxacin (or Avelox, or Levaquin), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, or possibly Augmentin.  Minimum length of treatment is one week, though two or even three weeks is sometimes necessary. Clostridium difficile colitis.  Until we run out of antibiotics, we will continue to see c. diff. colitis, also known as antibiotic-related colitis.  This infection is very rare in patients who have not taken antibiotics, but more and more common in those who have.  It causes…

…to prescribe 90 days of medication, even an antibiotic.       It also isn’t that uncommon for a doctor to write an antibiotic with the understanding that a patient will use it under certain conditions.  For example, severely asthmatic patients may be advised to begin an antibiotic every time they get a cold.  A woman with frequent urinary tract infections may keep a sulfa drug on hand for use as soon as symptoms occur.  A missionary traveling to Africa may be prescribed long-term ciprofloxacin for a periodically recurring prostate condition. I spoke with a lawyer about this, and she doubted that specific laws exist that address this question.  If they do exist, they would likely be state by state.  More likely the issue would be one of opinion, or ethics. Would the state medical board (in charge of licensing) censure a doctor for writing long-term antibiotics?  This lawyer agreed with me…