2007-11-10 22:23:47 · 10 answers · asked by gisele s 1 in Health ➔ Other - Health
Medications are prescribed by physicians to ensure your health is either maintained, or recover (if you have been ill). Antibiotics are given to kill germs that heve been proven to "die" when exposed to these medications. If you do not complete the course of antibiotics as prescribed by your physician, you run the risk of remaining ill (even though you may feel better), or getting sicker than you were the first time you were on the medication. Also, over time, we have learned that repeated exposure to antibiotic treatments that are not completed by the patient, will eventually cause these "bugs" to become resistant to the medications. This results in what you may have heard alot about in the news, MRSA (A.K.A. the Super bug") that is highly resistant to most antibiotics, and usually requires treatment by intravenous antibiotics (very strong ones) in the hospital. Medications should be taken as prescribed until the ordering physician tells the patient that the drug is no longer needed, or until the course of treatment is completed.
***SIDE NOTE*** If the patient is getting sicker, contact physician immediately, or if the patient shows any sign that they are allergic to the medication--- STOP taking the medication immediately and contact medical help right away.
2007-11-10 22:58:08 · answer #1 · answered by SMOKE 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rtforkid and Betty are right on about this problem. The most misused medication is antibiotics. People feel they need an antibiotic for colds which is a virus and therefore can not be killed by antibiotics but for years the doctors would order them simply to keep their patients happy after the patients insisted. Then when they felt better they would stop the drug without finishing it. Antibiotics also kill good bacteria that we have which allows the bad to proliferate. Hence the start of bad diseases like MRSA and flesh eating staphs.
If you do need an antibiotic,take the whole prescription,don't stop simply because you feel better. The drug companies have done multiple studies before releasing the drug to see how it works and in what time frame.Never take antibiotics that are prescribed for others and don't take an antibiotic that you have squirrled away in your cabinet (which you wouldn't have if you had taken them in the first place). The only reason to ever stop an antibiotic is if you develope an allergic reaction to it.
2007-11-10 23:00:28 · answer #2 · answered by Marcia F 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is VERY important to finish a prescription because if you don't any remaining bacteria can become stronger and resistant to the drug. That is a basic evolutionary process for bacteria. That is why there are germs like MRSA and VRE now. Part of the reason they're so resistant is because antibiotics were mis-prescribed for other conditions, but the other part of the equation was that people who took antibiotics (prescribed to them for the right reasons) didn't take them correctly or finish the whole course of medicine. Now it's become a serious problem, and we're the ones who contributed to it.
2007-11-10 22:32:24 · answer #3 · answered by rtforkids 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Because in the case of Antibiotics, there has been research that proofs that a bacteria can be killed in the specific time stipulated, as an example you take 8 days of Amoxil 3 times a day in order to kill bacteria causing you to have an ear infection. If you do not take all your medication, this bacteria will became immune to the antibiotic hence if you get worse later on, the same medicine that would've help you before will not do you any good. That is why we have so many sick people nowadays, they do not finish their medicine and everything is label "antibacterial"
2007-11-10 22:30:08 · answer #4 · answered by Betty D 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
It is the doctor's estimation of the time period to eliminate a problem completely/most likely.. It is always better to follow the prescription till the patient feels perfect and no need of the medications anymore..
2007-11-10 22:32:09 · answer #5 · answered by PSSR 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's important to finish a prescription to make sure the entire problem has been taken care of. I heard that sometimes not all of the problem appears to be gone and then it could start up again. So if you take all the meidcation as prescribed it won't come back.
2007-11-10 22:39:45 · answer #6 · answered by sophieb 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well my Dr tells me that all the time and its because just because your felling good doesn't mean your all better. So just do what your told your paying for what he or she is telling you to do.
2007-11-10 22:41:15 · answer #7 · answered by Blueknightsister n 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
So you can get better.But if you don't see positive results halfway through,notify the doctor immediately.Good Luck.
2007-11-10 22:38:29 · answer #8 · answered by alfred a 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
because most medications need a certain amount of time and strength to adequately work
2007-11-10 22:26:53 · answer #9 · answered by cheri h 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
To fully removed your symptoms and not get sick again
2007-11-10 22:30:10 · answer #10 · answered by internetghost 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋