I had a broken tooth tempory repaired on thursday and now the surrounding area is swollen and my glands are up. I went to A+E this morning as I'm going on holiday tomorrow and didn't want to have trouble while I was away. The question is can I just take them for two or three days or until the swelling subsides, as you can't have a single drink with them, why is that? could you please tell me of the consequences of stopping before I take the full course. ps I've been given 21 to be taken three times a day
2007-09-01 19:50:20 · 30 answers · asked by ? 7 in Health ➔ Dental
ewinng9... metronidazole. I was just wondering if I can take them and have the odd drink in the evening otherwise my holiday could be boring... I know my health comes first.
2007-09-01 20:06:17 · update #1
Just to put the record straight... I hardly ever drink, it's only because I'm going on holiday, if I mustn't drink I won't! I was just enquiring.
2007-09-01 20:10:44 · update #2
you should take the course
please dont drink while taking metranizadol as it will make you sick.
if you stop before the end of the course the infection will return probably worse then before.
your other alternative is to see an emergency dentist today and get the tooth opened and drained ready for Root Canal Treatment.
this will release the infection and swelling which in turn stops the pain as the nerve is removed from the tooth.
call NHS direct and they can give you the number all people are entitled to emergency NHS treatment.
then enjoy the rest of your holiday.
2007-09-01 22:31:36 · answer #1 · answered by Be Vamp 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
so a medic prescribed anitbiotics, presumably becasue they thought your condition merited it, and you've decided you can't be bothered or you know best......
take the full course....
why
1) the amount of anitbitotic will have been fairly carefully calculated to make sure it kills most if not all of the disease vector. If you dont take the full course then there is a risk that some bacteria may survive and become resistant to the anitbiotic, if so congratulations on helping spread antibiotic resistant infgections.
2) what are you going to do with the anitbiotics if you dont consume them... chuck 'em away, flush 'em down the loo.... again congratulaitons ion releasing anitbiotics into the wild where they may help bacteria develop drug resistance. If you leave 'em on the shelf, then when do you think you will use them, do you think they will be effective for the next infection you catch,or will you just leave them lurking at the back of your medicine cabinet gathering dust.
3) Its unlikely a medic will have prescribed an antibiotic unless they felt you needed it... Antibiotics are not handed out like sweets as some form of magic bullet for things like colds & flu (where they dont work)... ok they may still be being misprescribed in the States where many customers demanded somethign for their trip to the Doc, but it highly unlikely elsehwere (except mebbe France)
2007-09-01 20:05:38 · answer #2 · answered by Mark J 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes it is best that you take all of your antibiotics to clear up the infection. Just taking 2 or 3 of them is not going to do much for you. You don't want to feel bad on your holiday. Having a drink or two should be ok but I would not get full blown drunk every night while taking your antibiotics. Good Luck and I hope that you have a great time on your holiday.
2007-09-02 00:42:06 · answer #3 · answered by Kelli in FL 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, by all means, you need to take the full course. Let me tell you why...
For example, when you get strep throat, the bacteria settles on your throat causing an infection. You start taking your antibiotics and that causes the bacteria to lift from your throat making it feel better, however the bacteria isn't dead. When you stop taking the medicine it will either settle back on your throat or find another place to grow. The bacteria that causes strep throat's next favorite place to invade is the heart. And that can be deadly. It happend to my best friend when she was 22.
Moral of the story, all antibiotics work in a similar way. You don't want to end up with the same, or worse, problem. Please, finish your perscription.
2007-09-01 19:59:51 · answer #4 · answered by Heather N 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you do not take the full course the infection can come back and it will be much worse and more resistant to antibiotics.
Over time, if you make a habit of not taking a full course of antibiotics your body will build resistance and it will become much harder to fight off infections. Not only that when you get infections you have to have a higher dose or a stronger antibiotic. My suggestion would be definetly take ALL the pills, the full course.
2007-09-01 19:58:26 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm a dentist.
Yes. Always finish your course of antibiotics unless a doctor tells you to stop. Period.
As far as drinking goes, there are some antibiotics (Flagyl comes to mind) that cause severe nausea when combined with alcohol. If you have been given Clindamycin (an antibiotic typically taken three times a day), you should not consume alcohol because both alcohol and Clindamycin are metabolized in the liver. Burden your liver with alcohol, and you won't metabolize the Clinda as well, resulting in higher-than-desired blood levels. Same goes for alcohol.
2007-09-01 20:27:41 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have to take the whole course or its pointless you seeing the dentist when you get back as you will still have the infection.
You can't drink on them either as this completely counters the drug, eg, stops it working so it would be pointless taking them if you have even one beer.
The alcohol in the beer kills off the active component in the drug, alcohol also lowers the blood sugar level in your body which allows the infection to rapidly take hold and spread and you will end up on antibiotics longer.
If you don't take advice then you will end up in A&E in another country and you havent got an E111 form that you WILL HAVE GOT from the post office... (Ahem) as you pay up for any hospital treatments and then have to claim them back on the insurance if your covered as you would have to do if the problems are not covered by it, you still have to pay...
Basically, do your self a favour, complete the course, you don't need alcohol to have a good time on holiday, if you think that then you won't enjoy your holiday... Instead of being anothe drunken brit on holiday being loutish, set an example. You will have morons telling you that its ok to drink and such likes, ignor them they are just idiots.
2007-09-01 20:15:01 · answer #7 · answered by cheek_of_it_all 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Personally I would go straight back to the vet with the problem. I have never had a vet ask me to deliver medication on feed. The best way I have found is to mix with a bit of water & pellets & let turn into a mash. If that doesn't work, mix with water and enough pellet (broken down to a mushy liquid) Pull it into a worming size syringe and apply just like when you are worming your horse. (In a stall with no access to food or water for about 20 to 40 minutes. Also there is apple flavor powder bute & the antibiotics should be easily found in liquid or powder form. both should be administered separate from food. Otherwise you will not know if the amount is being ingested. A very good tasting pellet can usually cause the horse to eat it anyway even though there is a taste of meds. Say a cup of mash with the meds in a bowl hand fed. If not doing the worming method is fool proof. Be sure to leave your baby in the stall an additional 30 min. or so after as they are adept at cleaning the meds out of their mouth with grass on the ground. As for stable rest, if she is very active you do run the risk of her tying up & swelling in the lower limbs. Take her on slow walks, very controlled just to let her stretch. that is unless a limb is involved in the injury. If so see if you can administer a relaxant for a few days. Go back to your vet with these concerns
2016-03-13 07:40:54 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Always finish a course of antibiotics that you're prescribed. Stopping "when things look better" is a mistake. That kind of dosing is what teaches the bacteria to become resistant because you never get to the therapeutic levels of the antibiotic. Also, you should never drink alcohol while taking medication because most medications are metabolized in the liver...as is alcohol. Having both in your system will interfere with that and damage the liver.
2007-09-01 19:59:17 · answer #9 · answered by Sir Real 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is EXACTLY the reason why we now have strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE ANTIBIOTIC AS ORDERED, WHEN IT'S ORDERED, AND HOW IT'S ORDERED. NEVER, EVER, EVER stop taking your antibiotic just because you feel better. Not only is the infection NOT completely gone, but you will be throwing your immune system into a tailspin and F'ing it all up.
2007-09-01 20:12:53 · answer #10 · answered by jill48 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You need to take the full prescription! Even if you are feeling better, there are still bacteria present! These bacteria that are still surviving the antibiotics can become resistant to that medication if you stop now. This can lead to you spreading the resistant bacteria to other people. They can also start growing again, and you will have to take another form of antibiotics.
Also, I heard alcohol cancels out antibiotics..
2007-09-01 20:02:13 · answer #11 · answered by Alisa 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋