Survey about antibiotics. Please answer the questions.?

Question

Survey about antibiotics. Please answer the questions.?
1. Have you ever taken any antibiotics in the past year? Why were antibiotics prescribed for you? Did you know that you had a bacterial infection?

2. Did you take the medication at the dosages and intervals prescribed and take it for the entire recomended course of treatment? If not, why not?

3. Do you know why it is important to finish all prescriptions, even if your symptoms have cleared up?

4. Do you think antibiotics are overprescribed by doctors? Explain.

Answer 1

1. Yes, I had an upper respiratory infection. It was uknown whether the infection was viral, bacterial, or both.

2. Yes, i take medications as prescribed in order to prevent relapse.

3. It is important to finish an antibiotic in order to prevent a relapse of the infection. Even if the symptoms are gone, there still may be traces of bacteria that could re-infect the system, hence all antibiotics need to be finished.

4. I think they are. I once had an antibiotic prescribed for an infection and it turned out that I had no infection and the signs that were seen were the result of a lab error. There was no thorough exam or anything, just one simple urine test that turned out to be an error.

Answer 2

1. Yes. I had an upper respiratory infection and I did know I had the infection before I even saw the doctor (I get URI's frequently so I know the symptoms)

2. Yes I did. Because I didn't want the infection to come back!

3. Yes. Even if your symptoms have subsided there may be bacteria still present in small amounts that will represent if you do not finish your medication and make sure to eliminate the infection completely.

4. In some cases, yes. Every sniffle, ache, or pain seems to get a script for an antibiotic "just in case" even if there is not an infection already present.

Answer 3

1.Yes. I had them as a preventative when I had my wisdom teeth cut out. Then it ended up inflected anyway's and I had to take it for 2 more weeks. I also took them for a ear infection that was so bad I busted my ear drum OUCH!

2.Yes I took it as prescribed. However all of it was not digested. I threw up everything that hit my stomach for days when I had my teeth removed.

3. Yes. Even when you feel better the infection may still be present. If you quit taking the medication before the infection is gone all you have done is helped strengthen the infection in the long run. It's basically like letting the infection lift weights.

4. Yes. I think it is a very real problem. Too often dr's want to give you meds for various reasons the top ones being
Because they want you to feel like they are doing there job.
Because they think it's better to take them just in case.
Because parents complain until they get them when there kids are ill.

The reason I think this is I have had dr's that tried to push antibiotics on me. I worked a job in telemarketing with 70 people in one room. When one person got sick everyone did. I caught many stomach bugs. So when it was bad enough I had to miss work. It was a must for me to go to the dr to get a dr's excuse so I wouldn't lose my job. I knew perfectly well all I had was a bug yet they would try to give me antibiotics. They did no blood work or cultures of any kind. I just said I'm throwing up and they tried to prescribe them to me.


I try to avoid taking antibiotics whenever I can and instead take echinacea with great results.

Answer 4

1.several course over the last year-for the same problem -a big toe nail infection.yes I knew about infection as I was regularly in contact with my chiropodist,I had refused to have local anise tic to remove some toenail,at the finish my toe nail had to be partly removed.
2.always took my medication correctly. very important.
3.full course must be taken or infection returns,it takes the strength and length of time of antibiotic to tackle infection.
4.yes they can be at times.

Answer 5

Antibiotic overprescription is becoming less of a problem. Doctors are trained to use them intelligently. Broad spectrum antibiotics are usually reserved for cases of treatment failure with more specific drugs, or in cases where the pathogen is not precisely known. Every time I see my physician for something equivocally viral/bacterial, I don't get a script.

For UTIs, you should get an antibiotic, since they are typically caused by contamination of the urinary tract with GI bacteria.

Answer 6

1) No.
2) Can't answer. Haven't taken them for years.
3 No
4) Yes. To many antibiotics weaken the immune system and reduces the bodies ability to fight illness/infection. Hence, you would become ill more, require more antibiotics, and the cycle continues.

Answer 7

1.No
2.N/a
3.Yes, otherwise the antibiotics will not completely eradicate all of the bacteria even though the patient may feel better. This will lead to the bacteria that are left becoming resistant to the antibiotic causing 'superbugs' that are increasingly resistant such as MRSA.
4. I wouldn't know

Answer 8

1)Yes. Yes. Yes. It was a severe chest infection. 2) Yes I had to otherwise I would have developed pneumonia. 3) To completely clear up the symptoms? 4) Yes, especially for UTI`s.

Answer 9

1. Yes. I have cellulitis of my left foot, and was a hospital in-patient for a week.
2. Yes
3. Yes. Any remaining bacteria can be those that are strongest, and they might grow back with resistance to affect you again.
Indeed I think this might be happening to me now.
4. Don't know.

Answer 10

1. yes. cough wouldn't go away after cold after 2 months. no
2. yes
3. yes
4. In metropolitan areas, no. I've seen over the last 35 years, doctors become more and more reluctant to just quickly prescribe
antibiotics as a hopeful, first, quick fix.