To think that we should be able to buy antibiotics accross the counter like a good number of other countries

[Carollocking]

Why do we need to go through the rigmarole of doctors just to get an antibiotic when we know what we need.
What reason is there to prevent us access to them without seeing a doctor.
I know we're not the only country like this but there are plenty of places you can just buy them at the chemist.

Well if only the rest of the world's population was as clever and knowing as you OP, then all would be fine and dandy.

I guess I'm in the minority but I get what you are saying, I had to resort to buying antibiotics online just before christmas, cost a fortune but I needed them for a tooth abcess.

I am not registered at a dentist since I moved as there is just no available spaces in my area and the gp refused to prescribe me antibiotics saying they were not insured to treat dental problems. I was advised to go to A&E which there was no way I was doing that.

I spoke to a doctor online, was prescribed them, they were here the next morning, 3 days later abcess gone.

If I needed to do it again I wouldn't hesitate tbh.

The straw that broke the camel's back in me quitting medicine? A patient complaining when I wouldn't prescribe ABs for recurrent sinus infection. There is a lot of evidence to show an antibiotic might work for the first instance (with specific criteria) but not for further. I explained taking this medication is a risk for your long term health, it needs to be a calculated decision but nope a complaint was filed. I had had enough, I left, took a lower paid job in a different field and rid myself of the stress and know it alls.

We should be limiting the access to antibiotics, not encouraging it. Even GPs are too quick to prescribe them. Antibiotic resistance is becoming such a big issue.

So in essence OP, what you are actually complaining about is the poor level of medical care and the long waiting time.

Had the system worked properly, and when you felt urgently unwell, you could have seen a doctor the same day, you wouldn't have had the problem.

I live in Norway, where antibiotic control is very tight. They have the lowest levels of MRSA of anywhere. I'd rather live here than in (for example) India, where there's a high chance the otc antibacterial you buy over the counter has a much lower chance of working than the basic penicillins that still work remarkably well against most of the bacteria here.

Generally speaking I don't think antibiotics ought to be freely available OTC. However, DS gets swimmers ear every so often and I wish our surgery would prescribe antibiotics over the phone. We all know what he needs and the last two times the GP didn't even look in his ear! Both times I had to take DS out of school to get to the appointment where we spent all of two minutes saying that he has swimmers ear again. The GP commiserated and typed up the prescription without any sort of examination- a waste of everyone's time and someone else who needed an appointment could have had ours.

@ZeroFuchsGiven - perhaps you'd like to answer the questions I posed to the OP.

Who do you think is better qualified to prescribe antibiotics - a doctor, with years of medical school and GP training, or you?

How do you know the right antibiotic for your infection?

What will we do, when ever more irresponsible over use and misuse of antibiotics has rendered most bacteria resistant, and people start dying of what used to be curable infections? People are already dying of antibiotic resistant infections - and it is reckless overuse of antibiotics that has caused this.

This is one of the most bonkers posts I've ever seen.

The antibiotic apocalypse is HERE - right now you are seeing antibiotic resistant TB in India, that with the best will in the world has a survival rate of 50%. AT BEST.

In the US, 20,000 people a year die from simple bacteria (think E.Coli) which have become resistant to antibiotics.

And you are suggesting that a non-qualified, probably hypochondriac layman be allowed to get his hands on them so he can sling them at every cough and cold he encounters?

MADNESS

Zero You weren't buying antibiotics over the counter, though. You had an online medical consultation which resulted in a prescribed course of antibiotics. Completely different.

I missed that @ZeroFuchsGiven had an online consultation with a proper doctor. My humblest apologies for going off on one, @Zero.

We don't know what we need as we are not medically trained. Antibiotics are only any good for Bactial infections not Viral ones.
So for instance I might have tonsillitis or think I do and go off to get antibiotics but they will not do me any good at all if it is viral tonsillitis.
Also we are becoming immune to some antibiotics as they have been prescribed to much in the past. So yes YABVU

The other issue, of course, is that people already don't follow the instructions issued with prescribed antibiotics: finish the course. This is one of the main reasons for the rise in drug-resistant TB.

Most of the countries where abs get bought rather than prescribed would love to make them prescription only but lack the infrastructure to a) ensure there are sufficient doctors to do the prescribing, that people can afford to consult, or b) to prevent sales of abs, and thus decide it's best to have the abs at least sold by pharmacists who might be able to dissuade people from buying them when totally unnecessary, and to mollify the population who can't afford to see doctors.
(thinking of India here, with one of the highest levels of MRSA in the world)

to get an antibiotic when we know what we need.

No you don't.

Wow OP! People die due to antibacteria resistant infections and you are worried about feeling a bit poorly for an extra day or two? Seriously get a bloody grip!

People die due to antibacteria resistant infections and you are worried about feeling a bit poorly for an extra day or two?

Sadly, some people in this world lack the intelligence to think past their own limited experience.

It used to be much more common to get AB's prescribed but now the dr will tell you to let the body fight it and that's the best advice. Yes you will feel shite but your body will build up an immunity to each illness. I got loads of AB's as a kid and can only think of two occasions in the last 20 years where I got a prescription.

I actually got massively strong ones for a dental issue and the pharmacist questioned me a bit before prescribing.

Op it's because of the antibiotic resistance.
If they were available over the counter my MIL would have them everyday!
The doctor has banned her from having them.

The reason why other countries allow it because of their relaxed attitude.
You can buy self euthanasia in Mexico over the counter.

I agree with the consensus BUT the main cause of antibiotic resistance worldwide is farming, with healthy animals routinely given antibiotics with their feed.

Hackmum but my MIL has been a vegetarian for over 40 years, and she has resistance to them.

My iL's live in an antibiotic over-the-counter country and they are so misused, people take them like paracetamol (take one tablet when they have a headache or any other type of minor complaint) and liquid AB's such as amoxicillin is left in fridges for years months and again administered to children in the same way that calpol should be. As it is paid for pharmacists dole it out willy nilly and don't give much guidance.

One of the stupidest proposals I've seen on MN.

Are there really still people around who don't understand the dangers of antibiotics resistance?

I don't agree that ab's should be available otc but I can't help thinking that they are available in so many other countries that the U.K. is not exactly insulated from ab resistance anyway.

I also suspect we'd probably have less MRSA if UK hospitals avoided communal wards and didn't stink of shit, so we probably shouldn't feel too superior!

And most of the time GP's only seem to guess at whether something has a viral or bacterial cause.

If they were available over the counter my MIL would have them everyday!

My SIL prescribed herself a 6 month course after diagnosing herself with 'body poisoning' She came to stay with us for 3 weeks and this was the cause apparently She used to neck a bottle of amoxicillin down in one go.

Well if you're aware of the difference between gram negative and gram positive bacteria, broad versus narrow spectrum antibiotics, and are aware of what to prescribe for what and have your own facilities to process samples to identify which specific antibiotic out of many classes you need then crack on.