to expect DH to be given antibiotics?

[stiltonontoast]

Our whole family (me, dh, ds 10 months) has been ill for weeks now - probably around 3 weeks, it started with DS getting croup, followed by a nasty cold - then I got tonsillitis/fever which lasted a week, then DH got tonsillitis severely which has lasted 2 weeks so far and now I am starting to get it again and DS has got a runny nose.

DH took a day off today and went to the doctor (after a LOT of persuasion) as he could hardly talk or eat and was very lethargic. He only managed to get a nurses appointment and she sent him away with nothing and told him it may last a few more days.

I get that these days antibiotics aren't just prescribed willy nilly, but this is over 2 weeks of throat pain that has been getting worse. DH has yellow tonsils that cover 80% of his throat. Gargling salt water isn't cutting it.

The need for anti biotics os based on the cause of illness, not the amount of time you have it for.

I'm not medically trained but have you tried gargling with gin?

"Wash everything dettol everything be careful to wash your hands regularly until you break the cycle of reinfecting each other"

This. In particular door handles which are often forgotten, everyone uses own towels for everything except after loo handwashing, and make sure they're doing that properly!

Also definitely ditch toothbrushes AND toothpaste (how many scrape the opening of the tube with toothbrush while dispensing) after something like this.

Tissues for coughs as well as noses to stop aerosolising the droplets.

Now this is strange as I use to get tonsillitis alot and I mean alot, straight after one bout I’d get another and was always prescribed antibiotics and even an inhaler as well, I was 24 at the time and in the end they took my tonsils out thank god! but if its viral then why was I given so many antibiotics?

eggsandwich - I agree, I had tonsillitis throughout my childhood, really often and really badly until they were removed at 14. I was always given AB and they always helped. Without them it would drag on over weeks (in bed feeling horrendous).

YABU, nurse said it was not needed, so its not needed. Antibiotics won't help if its viral.

Recurrent tonsillitis is usually down to strep p which is a bacterium we all have on/in our bodies but some people are prone to it getting out of control and causing certain recurrent conditions. Impetigo is another.

Most of us aren't bothered by it but iirc 5-7% of the population don't tolerate it well and it causes problems in whatever area is their weakness.

As its bacterial then antibiotics do of course help in this instance.

Like pps I went through a phase of problems with this, in my late teens by which point tonsillectomies were becoming less popular and it was eventually decided I wouldn't have one after about a year of almost constant tonsillitis

Admittedly it did settle down and I out the issue down to it being a stressful year (a levels)

But most tonsillitis is viral. So as said soooo often on thread antibiotics would have no effect