AIBU to not leave the GP without antibiotics

There is the problem that antibiotics have been over-prescribed and have lost their efficacy - so, if your problem is viral, antibiotics will have no effect on this occasion and if you need them in the future, you may find that you need stronger and stronger doses.

I would definitely be asking for a swab so that the problem can be identified and then treated accordingly. If it's tonsillitis (and you suffer from it regularly), you might want to look into the prospect of having them removed. I know that a lot of doctors are reluctant to do this but sometimes it is the only way - I had to have mine removed when I was 18 after several years of getting tonsillitis nearly every month - not much good when you're training for a stage career! However, it was a necessity as they were making me so ill.

I had very similar and it was glandular fever

DS(19) contacted the doctor, was seen and told his tonsillitis was viral and should improve within 10 days, after 8 days he was still getting worse so I suggested he went to the walk in centre (it was the weekend). They took one look, told him he had pharyngitis and prescribed antibiotics. They said if it got worse to go to A&E

How are you today @Turtlegurl888

Calm down lol they weren’t talking about stuff out of a hair dye box 😅

As long as it’s “Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide” it’s perfectly safe to dilute and gargle with.

Ring 111 and say you have been to pharmacy and been given antibiotics for suspected strep. You need an urgent antibiotic for your little one. They will tell you to go somewhere. Say no I am not well enough. I know what I need please sort it.

A doctor will call back and prescribe over the phone.

Been here with the goddam strep. Waited way too long to get antibiotics. Took 4 courses of antibiotics and I swear I am just a carrier now!!! But LO was fine as I got those over the phone preventatively straight away.

There are anti viral tablets. Perhaps you could ask your GP for this?

Mothers of young children get tired very easily, and if your throat is painful, you cannot even say soothing words to the toddler. Just having a toddler to care for takes almost all your energy, yet alone battling a sore throat as well. Is there no one who you can turn to for help? Just being able to sleep without interruption would help.

Fighting illness is energy draining too, and especially if you cannot take nourishment. Can you take some of those protein shake meals? It may be difficult to swallow, but that will ease with the nourishment. If you cannot replace lost energy, you will continue to feel beaten and bruised.

First try nourishment, then go to the GP again. Many times I have had infections which only cleared up with antibiotics eventually.

I'm sure the doctor will give you ab, you are thinking the worst. Xx

This just makes me so sad. Not all
pharmacists are the same, and not all doctors are the same. As a healthcare professional, discrediting another healthcare profession on a forum like this is unprofessional. As a pharmacist, I have countless times picked up on errors and omissions made by doctors. I have had doctors say ‘I’ve saved their bacon’. Being the safety net is a huge part of the job. We are not doctors and don’t claim to be. This is a case of the Pharmacy First protocol not being followed correctly. Things might not be up to standard in this case and that is inexcusable and lets the profession down, but your comment on a public platform is not professional either.

I had a school mum go to her GP with an insect bite this week, came home with a script for fluoxacillin. There was no single infection, it was clearly an allergic response. But these things happen.

Worrying because of improper use / dilution

Quinsy does not stop you making your own way to A+E if that’s what op thinks it may be, she does not require an ambulance that someone else possibly really does!

Similar with my daughter. She rang 111 and explained. They sent her to the nearest chemist who was to look at her throat, did and gave her antibiotics. I'm sure you could do the same.

I think it depends how you ask
If I see a different GP and they say "it might be viral" I will say I've never had viral tonsillitis as I've had it maybe 25-30 times and it's always bacterial
They then look at my notes and throat and say "ah yes, definitely antibiotics"

So many replies here showing how much we have been brainwashed to accept very little and be happy with the fact that all essential services that are in decline in the Uk. Wake up!
If the community, is not healthy, educated and fed then there’s no country.
At present, health and education are now stripped to the bones and you could also argue that having access to healthy food is not accessible to everyone as reflected in the rise in food bank demand.

There is no country. But what we have is just high taxes and some rather nicely distributed pot holes (I call them chicken pox scars) across the country that are unlikely to get fixed by autumn time and oh by then hospitals will start to get overwhelmed again by the Covid and flu season….

Very unreasonable to push for antibiotics like that. 🙄😤

To qualify for referral you need 7 confirmed episodes of tonsillitis in 12 months. It's quite rarely performed now because it's been identified that whilst the procedure is relatively risky there's often little benefit - people still go onto have recurrent painful throat infections.

If you keep getting tonsillitis that mich then time to get them removed.

Read the thread!!!

a pharmacist can prescribe antibiotics if appropriate for tonsillitis, it doesn’t have to be a doctor

@BeaRF75 she couldn’t see a qualified medical practitioner, that was the problem. Only a pharmacist who didn’t examine her. A qualified medical practitioner has commented on this thread that it warrants further investigation

You allow the qualified medical practitioner to prescribe whatever is most appropriate. Why do lay people think they know better?

How are you today @Turtlegurl888 ?

Why do you think the GP won't give you antibiotics? It's almost certainly a bacterial throat infection. I think you're looking for a fight that won't happen.

Most offshore sailors/explorers will have morphine and other painkilling drugs. We do. It's absolutely normal, because as I said, you can be weeks away from help.

You don't seem to understand that it's normal, and that in some places prescriptions don't exist. You buy what you need.

I agree that we need GP practices funded properly but in the meantime what do you expect people to do?
My daughter came home from a school trip on Friday night complaining of earache, Saturday morning it was worse and I checked and could see it was red and inflamed. I could either go to a walk in 40 mins drive away and wait hours, ring 111 and wait hours, or go to our local pharmacist who examined her ear and could see the infection.