Are antibiotics overused?

Do you think the medical community, and society as a whole, relies on antibiotics too much?

Yep. We've known this for years and now are facing the scourge of drug resistant bacteria because of it. The ignorance of how antibiotics work is on the populace at large but mostly on the doctors who let their patients pressure them into prescribing antibiotics when they were not necessary.

An alliance of ignorance and malfeasance has done us in. Oh, and all that prophylactic antibiotics that has been given to animals by the meat industry.

^^

Yeah, for the most part.

Absolutely. For years they were prescribed for simple colds or the sniffles even though the doctor knew they wouldn't do anything for it. It just made the patient feel more at ease. Add to that everywhere you look there's antibacterial this and antibacterial that. Now we have resistant strains. It's bound to only get worse.

Yup - definitely. That's why more and more bacteria are becoming drug resistant. ITA with what Cece said about the anti-bacterial everything. What they don't tell you is that it also destroys the good bacteria.

Yes definitely. I have seen that doctors are now even calling in antibiotics for ear infections and pink eye without even seeing the child in office, and just going off what parents say on the phone.

No, I don't think antiobiotics are overused. There are doctors who are lazy and may not even see the patient, as Red said, but those doctors are very rare, in my opinion. I have no respect for doctors because they're selfish, arrogant bastards who think they're better than everyone else, but why would they write out prescriptions for antiobiotics for no legitimate reason? There's your answer - they wouldn't. It's no sin to admit your sick and to see a doctor or take prescription drugs as directed.

MandyPerfumeGirl wrote:No, I don't think antiobiotics are overused. There are doctors who are lazy and may not even see the patient, as Red said, but those doctors are very rare, in my opinion. I have no respect for doctors because they're selfish, arrogant bastards who think they're better than everyone else, but why would they write out prescriptions for antiobiotics for no legitimate reason? There's your answer - they wouldn't. It's no sin to admit your sick and to see a doctor or take prescription drugs as directed.

Ya know we are on the Internet. You don’t have to make unfounded statements when, with a couple of clicks, you can get some facts:

http://www.textbookofbacteriology.net/resantimicrobial_4.html

From The Textbook of Bacteriology

“Inappropriate use of antibiotics in the medical environment
One problem is the casual use of antibiotics in medical situations where they are of no value. This is the fault of both health care workers and patients. Prescribers sometimes thoughtlessly prescribe 'informed' demanding patients with antibiotics. This leads to use of antibiotics in circumstances where they are of not needed, e.g. viral upper respiratory infections such as cold and flu, except when there is serious threat of secondary bacterial infection. Another problem is patient failure to adhere to regimens for prescribed antibiotics.

Patients and doctors need to realize their responsibility when they begin an antibiotic regimen to combat an infectious disease. There are several measures that should be considered.

Patients should not take antibiotics for which there is no medical value (corollary: doctors should not prescribe antibiotics for which there is no medical value).

Patients should adhere to appropriate prescribing guidelines and take antibiotics until they have finished.

Patients should be give combinations of antibiotics, when necessary, to minimize the development of resistance to a single antibiotic (as in the case of TB).

Patients need to be given another antibiotic or combination of antibiotics if the first is not working.”

I have no respect for doctors because they're selfish, arrogant bastards who think they're better than everyone else, but why would they write out prescriptions for antibiotics for no legitimate reason?

I think it is parent-driven and happens so much more than you would think. Parents want to go home with more than a prescription to just wait it out. I do work for many parents and doctors phoning in an rx for ear infections, pink eye and things like that happen all the time in this area.

In fact, this winter, a parent of a four year old girl brought her in as he suspected pink eye. Pink eye was confirmed (in the office) along with a slight ear infection. So, one antibiotic was given to treat both. The thing is, this girl vomited it immediately and did the same with the second type that the doctor prescribed after her issues with the first. So, they said, "well, you will just have to give her Motrin for the pain and wait it out." Why wouldn't that be the first course of action? She got drops for the pink eye. I think that initially, she should have just been given drops and no antibiotic.

They are overused, and after a while people's immune systems begin to build a resistance to them.