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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

People venting anger at doctors not prescribing antibiotics for viral infections

69 replies

MummyDuckAndDuckling · 13/12/2013 12:05

I am in no way medically trained but feel like I know the difference between a viral infection and a proper 'needs treated with antibiotics' type infection. I have a friend who is constantly slagging off every medical person they come across over her pfb. This week he's been loaded with the cold and has developed a cough. Yes it's hard to see an under 1 year old ill but it's part and parcel of this time of year. I and a few others have gave her some advice on things that may help him but he will just have to ride it out. But of course she's had him at the GP twice this week and then ranted that she's just been fobbed off with 'viral'. She's going crazy and saying that no one is taking her seriously and that he's suffering.

AIBU to be irritated with people who believe antibiotics should be prescribed for everything?!

OP posts:
Sirzy · 13/12/2013 18:06

It was RSV that DS had which led to him being on cpap, 4 years down the line the damage to his lung still causing issues (rare I know but it does happen)

RSV is basically the common cold, even in most babies it's not serious but for some it can be awful.

lljkk · 13/12/2013 18:52

I went to see dentist yesterday about a sporadically sensitive tooth. She said definitely no signs of infection, but she offered me an antiBs prescription anyway. Confused. I love my dentist, but not her best moment.

Original poster
MummyDuckAndDuckling · 13/12/2013 18:59

This day in age though there is plenty of ways to access a symptom checklist. The NHS has spent a lot of money on the NHS inform website, which you can also access through your smart tv etc plus there is google.

I agree though that more people need to be educated as to what an infection is and what is just 'viral'

OP posts:
Secondopinions · 13/12/2013 19:01

On the other side of the fence here. Normally I'm all for tryibg to let your body deal with things.

I have a very bad skin rash, looked like blistering on my face.

I also had small amounts of blood in my urine.

Every time I went to the GP I was told it was viral, they couldn't do anything and to come back if it got worse.

It did get worse and I went to OOH and was given antibiotics.

Cleared up v. quickly and I was quite annoyed that I was fobbed off.

Secondopinions · 13/12/2013 19:02

Excuse spelling. fat fingers Blush

Killinascullion · 13/12/2013 19:05

Previous Xmas, my DH was told by GP he just had flu and to rest in bed.

After 4 weeks, I eventually persuaded DH to return to see different GP. Second GP diagnosed infection and referred him to respiratory specialist at hospital for further tests. DH now diagnosed with cancer.

You can't tell if it's viral or bacterial infection just by guessing.

I agree that AB's won't help a viral infection but a blood test should be offered if there's any possible doubt.

landrover · 13/12/2013 19:11

Ha ha, amazing that you all know so much, its a pity that GPs don't know as much and aren't educated!
We saw 5 doctors who all told us my daughter had a virus, scathing they were! The last time we were sent home from the hospital having been sent there in an ambulance! Just a virus, she's had it all week, will now start to get better, they said, 24 hours later she was dead, seems doctors blame anything on "just a virus" , its the easy answer for them!

landrover · 13/12/2013 19:13

It was meningitis, by the way!

landrover · 13/12/2013 19:14

(and not viral meningitis!)

3bunnies · 13/12/2013 19:26

That is so sad landrover & killin I think there is also something to be said for your instincts. I would also be cautious of ever telling a mother of a 13 month old (from OP) not to follow her instincts. Young children can present differently and deteriorate quickly.

hiddenhome · 13/12/2013 19:33

People no longer know how to treat themselves. Years ago, before the NHS, people knew what to do for minor ailments and had a range of self treatment regimes they could pass on down through the generations.

These days, people seem so ignorant about common ailments and trot off to see the GP for anything and everything Hmm No wonder they're struggling to keep up with demand.

I treat virtually everything by myself at home and ds2 hasn't seen a doctor since he was a baby (he's 9 now). I'd only go if it was for something serious. I use a mixture of conventional and herbal (not homeopathy) meds.

People need to educate themselves, but they won't, of course and the GP surgery crisis will continue and no doubt get worse.

Sirzy · 13/12/2013 19:34

I do think if someone is showing serious symptoms then it should be treated as bacterial until tests show otherwise. There is a big difference between wanting antibiotics for a mild illness and when someone is showing signs of being seriously ill.

Even after the knew (via sputum test) that DS had a viral infection he was still given IV antibiotics because of the risk of a bacterial infection developing while he was vulnerable.

A doctor diagnosing a virus is no excuse to ignore symptoms someone is seriously ill :(

happytalk13 · 13/12/2013 19:39

And sadly sometimes symptoms, especially in very young children, can go from not overly worrying to life threatening in a matter of an hour or so.

mrsjay · 13/12/2013 19:43

yanbu but people want to be better and a virus can really make a child quite ill, I had a virus this week and i thought i was dying was quite ill and would have loved some pill to take it away

Original poster
MummyDuckAndDuckling · 13/12/2013 19:53

Landrover, very sorry for your loss :(

I'm certainly not saying that 'mothers instinct' should ever be ignored and of course if there is any doubt then by all means see the GP, my issue is more people who just go expecting ab's when they aren't needed

OP posts:
Original poster
MummyDuckAndDuckling · 13/12/2013 19:54

Mrsjay, but 9 times out if 10 ab's won't do anything for a virus so waste of time taking them

OP posts:
mrsjay · 13/12/2013 19:55

I understand that but people just want to be better that is why they moan and groan especially with children, they think there is a magic antib to make it all better

MadeOfStarDust · 13/12/2013 20:06

thing that gets me is that apart from the monthly checks during pregnancy, I have been to the actual doctors surgery 3 times in my adult life since leaving home at 18 - so OVER 30 YEARS.....

each time has been for an ear infection... each time I was told it's not an ear infection - no fluid etc.... after a week I go back, see another doc and get given antibiotics... clears up quickly...

I know my body, I KNOW when it is an ear infection - I do not go to the doc's when it is not - surely the sparseness of my notes shows that - and the fact that EVERY time has been for the SAME thing - with the SAME eventual outcome....

it is frustrating...

mrstigs · 13/12/2013 20:10

I did the opposite this week. My 2 yo dc3 started with a nasty cough on Tuesday. On Wednesday I sent her to my Dsis as usual whilst I went to work with just some calpol, wasn't worried at all. She rang me at work and asked if she could take her to docs as she sounded pretty rough and docs diagnosed a chest infection and gave her steroids, antibiotics, paracetamol and inhalers. My dc2 has very bad asthma and is in hospital frequently for days with attacks so you'd think I would be more cautious but I wrote it off as viral and left her struggling poor love. Sad Guess it's a tough call and I can't blame parents for being overcautious.
That said I know a school mum who takes at least one of her 7 kids to the doctors every week it seems sometimes, along with the fb rants about how she's 'at the surgery with X again as she's just so ill and she won't get fobbed off without antibiotics this time'. I feel for our gp sometimes when I see her updates.

grumpyoldbat · 13/12/2013 20:31

YANBU, one of my pet hates.

I'm not trying to say viruses can't be serious or can't make you very ill. It's just that no matter how ill you are antibiotics will not help a virus. So it is at best pointless but usually worse because taking unnecessary antibiotics add to the resistance problem and you risk feeling worse from potential side effects so the risk to benefit ratio is crap (there is 0 benefit).

I do have to say I'm not a fan of the use of the word just when telling people they have a virus.

Lollydaydream · 13/12/2013 21:05

Does anyone else get the Dr giving them a prescription for AB s with instruction to only get them in a few days time if the cough/ cold etc hasn't improved, or a temperature has developed. I find this nerve wracking and spent the next few days anxiously deliberating whether it is bad enough to warrant getting them or not.

I know the basic principles involved in not using ABs unecessarily but struggle to really understand especially when I'm told the dc don't need them but have a prescription in case; or that the dc don't need them but a few days later an ear infection has exploded or a cough/cold isno better. When we do then get ABs and it all gets better it feels like we've wasted time.

Lollydaydream · 13/12/2013 21:10

I guess I'm saying I understand why people find it confusing.
Also there used to be things you could give children for coughs & colds which have now (fairly recently) been withdrawn so you also get grandparents badgering you to get medicine and making you feel like you're being neglectful for letting them suffer

laughingeyes2013 · 13/12/2013 21:17

I am medically trained and also know the difference between viral and bacterial infections. I also totally get the idea that overuse of antibiotics is not a good idea due to MRSA and VRSA etc.

However I'd also say that GP's don't always agree with each other. I've taken my 18 month old with ear infection to one GP who said they're only a little pink and refused antibiotics saying it was viral. The next day I was not satisfied so took him to another GP who looked in the ears and said they're raging red and need urgent antibiotics.

You could argue that it may have changed from viral to bacterial infection, but that usually takes longer than the first 24 hours of an infection.

Had I accepted the first GP's diagnosis I'd have allowed my son to suffer for an extended period of time unnecessarily. So I think it's very much dependent on the individual circumstances.

frogspoon · 13/12/2013 21:50

YANBU, but your friend was probably worried about her ds.

I think part of the problem is that there is no way to know for certain if an infection is viral or bacterial without swabbing, which we don't do as standard in the UK for e.g. a throat infection. I know doctors do look for certain symptoms, but the only way to know for certain is to test for bacteria.

In America they test sore throats for strep, and prescribe antibiotics if it is positive. I assume we don't do it in the NHS for cost reasons. However I should imagine if we did start testing, worried patients might feel reassured that it was a virus, and wouldn't ask for antibiotics.

It also doesn't help that different drs are more or less lenient with antibiotics. I remember a few years ago I caught a chest infection off my sister. When she went to the doctor, she was given antibiotics, but when I saw a different doctor a few days later, I was told it was viral and I didn't need them. Clearly as I had caught the infection off her, we should have been given the same treatment, and the inconsistency makes patients less likely to trust their GP's judgement and insist on antibiotics.

landrover · 14/12/2013 11:16

Good post Frog x

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