AIBU to B amazed at how many people still don't seem to have a clue about antibiotics?

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Talking a work colleague the other day... I happened to mention that I have a heavy cold/sore throat. He said "Oh, I have some antibiotics if you want them". Turned out he'd been prescribed them for something a few months ago, took them for a few days, felt better, stopped taking them and kept them in case he needed them for something else.

I pointed out that you're meant to finish the whole course, you can't just keep some for later; you also can't really just give prescription medicine to other people, and anyway it was unlikely that they'd work on a cold.

Several other colleagues were there. One agreed with me, one basically seemed to be hearing this for the first time, and the other two thought there was nothing wrong with what he was doing and "they're way too fussy about antibiotics now, they used to hand them out all the time and it was fine".

AIBU to be quite shocked that so many people (all well-educated, all have lived here for years ago so shouldn't have missed the campaigns) were blatantly not that fussed about casually taking antibiotics? I'm religious about finishing the course, not taking them unless I need to etc, and I assumed most people were too.

I get that there are bigger issues with antibiotic resistance (farming etc) but still, it's important to do what we can. And you should never hand out drugs to someone else or take them from them!

PS sorry, Android app had paragraphs when I typed that!

Yes it’s a bit crazy. Some people think you can take antibiotics for anything. Eventually people will start to become resistant to certain medications if they take them too often. Creating super bugs. Creating a crisis

Any microbiologist would agree with you .

I agree, there is still a lot of work to be done educating the public about antimicrobial stewardship- making sure people understand the importance of finishing a course that is prescribed , and accepting that antibiotics don't cure everything. But it does need to be explained in a simple way about how resistance evolves/ why not finishing a course can leave some bacteria there, that can then thrive with no competition etc.

Meh, if the health service wasn't completely shit then maybe but for a so called civilized country that kills people through negligence and neglect, I don't think it's a big deal. I can buy them over here, metronidazole types. I don't see people buying them for no reason andpoppi g the left right and centre. But we can also see a doctor when we need to without being pathetically grateful.

The people who wind me up are the ones who say they (themselves) have become resistant to antibiotics because they’ve had to take them frequently.

Nope, it’s not you that’s resistant, it’s the bacteria. Antibiotics aren’t designed to kill you....

but being able to randomly buy them is a problem. Every time you take them, it increases the chance of resistance. Especially in the case when what you are taking is not even specifically targetting what you have. I don't trust the general public to be sensibly restrained or educated.

I’ve just been in hospital for a week with an infection on various IV antibiotics while they tried to find one what worked. Absolutely terrifying to think what will happen if resistance becomes widespread.

Although interestingly I was at a GP week before last and she didn’t prescribe anything. 48 hours later I’m in intensive care. A few of the hospital doctors said some GPS are now too cautious prescribing antibiotics and they see patients like me a result.

Every year the govt has to tell people antibiotics don't work on colds. When will some people ever learn. How many GP appointments must be wasted with people thinking they'll be given antibiotics but end up being sent away empty handed. It is right that we cant just buy them OTC. If we could, we really would be further towards a resistance crisis.

Meh, if the health service wasn't completely shit then maybe but for a so called civilized country that kills people through negligence and neglect, I don't think it's a big deal

You have entirely missed the point, @onioncrumble.

The sorry state of the NHS has absolutely nothing to do with how ignorant abuse of antibiotics is helping create resistance. Some microbiologists predict that we have a mere few decades left before we reach peak resistance - then we're properly back in the dark ages. Now that IS a big deal.

@SteelRiver "Every year the government has to tell people that antibiotics don't work on colds"

I've heard so many otherwise fit and healthy people say that they're thinking of going to the GP because their cold has gone on for 3 days now and they NEED antibiotics.

I agree, OP. Sadly, those who need to hear the message aren't listening. My late MIL was like this and she thought she knew best and everyone else was too fussy, nothing would change her point of view - not even the doctor, after all, "he doesn't know what he's talking about."

It does though. Why should people be denied treatment or be expected to suffer from agonizing dental pain just because some GPs are a bit thick and don't understand how to ores ribe and because access to life saving treatment is not there? People need to be able to self medicate.

Meh, if the health service wasn't completely shit then maybe but for a so called civilized country that kills people through negligence and neglect, I don't think it's a big deal. I can buy them over here, metronidazole types. I don't see people buying them for no reason andpoppi g the left right and centre. But we can also see a doctor when we need to without being pathetically grateful.

What an utterly stupid comment.

When will some people ever learn.

When people that don't have just a cold are taken seriously and given medication that they need when they need it instead of being turned away. OH ended up on antibiotics,steroids AND an inhaler after being turned away twice with "it's just a cold , give it 7-10 days". He was in pain and struggled to breathe properly for more than a month. Finally someone actually listened, and then told him off for leaving it so long. Let's just say his reply wasn't the most polite one ever.

I agree with you but also do what he does. I only take them until I feel my own body taking over, never finish the full course ever, because of AR

Like a pp I've too had various iv anti-b's.
There are also times when getting the same infection can be an indicator of something else. If you could buy them over the counter this wouldn't be flagged.

The amount of times I've been offered someone else anti-b's is ridiculous. And a few when your infection clears up, do me a favour and save me going gp etc give me the leftovers.

I agree with you but also do what he does. I only take them until I feel my own body taking over, never finish the full course ever, because of AR

That's not how it works.

God, people are so spectacularly thick.

I thought it was common knowledge that antibiotics only work for bacterial infections, and not viral ones like colds/flu. And they're only to be used when you're really at risk; it's better to give your immune system a chance to fight off infection first.

My DH's elderly grandad (96) was very poorly last year, and was hospitalised after an emergency op. He then needed antibiotics and they saved his life - the doctors said the fact he'd never, ever had antibiotics before meant that the ones they used worked really well and very quickly.

I'm loathed to take them; I had cellulitis twice and so had to take them, and recently for a UTI that was just getting worse after 1 week. Often though, if you get rest, eat well and drink lots of fluids, that's enough.

They're not bloody stepsils, we do need to consider our use. and finish the course when prescribed!

@TheDarkPassenger

Not finishing the course is what causes antibiotic resistance. Why on earth do you think that not finishing it is helping? Please explain that.

I only take them until I feel my own body taking over, never finish the full course ever, because of AR

If you don’t finish a course, even if symptoms have improved etc, there could be a greater risk of resistance

Ummm TheDarkPassenger that is EXACTLY how AB resistance happens.

If it's an actual infection would it really clear up by itself?

@TheDarkPassenger

Oh good grief.

From the FDA:

It's important to take all of the medication, even if you are feeling better. If treatment stops too soon, the drug may not kill all the bacteria. You may become sick again, and the remaining bacteria may become resistant to the antibiotic that you've taken