To wonder why the public are blamed for antibiotic overuse?

[moutonfou]

I heard some kind of public announcement on the radio today berating us for over-using antibiotics and urging us to stop.

AIBU to think that as antibiotics are prescription-only, it's medical professionals (and farmers) who are responsible for any overuse? Yes, I'm sure some patients with no idea how they work want them for anything and everything, but all a GP has to say is 'I'm afraid antibiotics only kill bacteria and you have a virus.'

Personally I detest antibiotics as they give me thrush and diarrhoea every time, but if the GP deems that I need them, I take them. Does the government think I should be protesting or refusing or something?

Would just like to say that dd can go from nothing to ear pain (excruciating) to burst drum in less than 18h. It started in her sleep at 10pm saw gp at 9am or so, burst maybe 2pm despite AB at 10am. I imagine this is unusual but it does happen. Possibly she doesnt feel pain like others. It doesnt hurt till she lies down/sleeps.

My mum was once really ill lying in bed shivering. Has lung issues and ambulance called. They decided she was ok but we could call a gp. Gp did home visit, yes she was very ill. Was pneumonia and ambulance was back to take her to hospital where she stayed about a week on oxygen.
The fact take hcp are sometimes wrong (as it is really only an educated guess) is why people push for the AB unfortunately.
Im sure a lot worry about taking more time off work or even getting an available emergency gp appt or getting to OOH.
Unhelpfully certainly children can perk up at gp. I found dd would be crying walking there and even in waiting room then be fine chatting to gp. (Probably distraction).
Other people retreat into themselves when in pain/very ill so cannot advocate for themselves.

Bit miffed at the suggestion recurrent UTIs can be helped with better hygiene - you can get structural issues that cause them (as they think with me, think my 'tubes' are abnormally narrow and scarred), it isn't necessarily a case of being dirty or not washing pants well!!

The fact take hcp are sometimes wrong (as it is really only an educated guess) is why people push for the AB unfortunately.

I don't think it is. It's because people don't understand what antibiotics are, what they can do and what they can't do. They think antibiotics are some kind of panacea.

UnicornSlippers They're not making you wait for the sake of it. The test is to determine which kind of antibiotics will work on your UTI. If your GP is prescribing a particular antibiotic without knowing which one you need, she's part of the problem.

This is a massive problem. We have patients all the time where the GP has given out some antibiotics and as soon as the urine sample comes back they have to be changed.

www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/136454/e94889.pdf?ua=1

Unfortunately there are some very stupid people that walk amongst us that think they need antibiotics for the common cold. I think it’s therefore important for the public to be educated around antibiotic use

Purplepillow, that’s just not true. Your body can’t just clear up infections like pneumonia and sepsis by getting rest. And bacterial infections can easily turn into these killers. Baby William Mead died from a lung infection that turned to pneumonia and then sepsis. If he’d been treated with antibiotics, he would have lived

I might be wrong, but I thought a large part of the problem was people not taking antibiotics as instructed and not completing the full course reccomended by their doctor.
When they get sick again, they just pop on of the leftover antibiotics and so on and so forth.

But YANBU in thinking that gps do have a large responsibility

Until we know that GPs get it right 100% of the time then patients are not going to believe that they or their child do not need antibiotics. Unfortunately (in my own dreadful experience that left me without a child) doctors are far too quick to send children away with the "default" "it is a virus". It is an easy way out for them when they are busy. "Come back in 5 days if they are no better!!!" (Yeah right, that works a treat!)

Purplepillow, that’s just not true. Your body can’t just clear up infections like pneumonia and sepsis by getting rest

not sepsis, I agree. but in most cases tonsilitis, ear infections, bronchitis... absolutely.

@PurplePillowCase that might be the case. But when breathing hurts and even swallowing my own spit leaves me in tears, and I’m unable to eat or drink, I need antibiotics to alleviate that before I can actually rest.

What a load of nonsense Purple.

I've finally recovered from the worst chest infection I've ever had that came out of nowhere that led to pleurisy and fucked all my chest muscles (intercostals hurt like a bitch when you tear them). Its taken rest, 3 lots of ever increasing strength antibiotics, co-codomol (the good stuff), ibuprofen, paracetamol and 3 months before I finally feel well again. No way was my body healing itself.

It's not a load of nonsense though. In most cases the body will heal itself as that's what it is designed to do. There will, of course, be infections that do need help to clear up but not every infection requires it.

Particularly virulent infections or a weakened immune system will need help or some infections are best cleared up quickly (painful tonsillitis for example!) and that's when antibiotics are amazing.