Please fill me in - why doesn't the GP's in the UK give you antibiotics?

[tasja]

I'm feeling really crap! Have been sick now for 2 weeks! Runny nose, cough, tired.
Have taken 3 boxes of Day Nurse/Night Nurse and a bottle of cough syrrup.
Going to the doc later. I want antibiotics to get me over this. But every time in the past I've been to the doc they just tell me "steam inhalation".
IT DOESN'T HELP!!!
Why doesn't the GP want to give me antibiotics and make me better?

I thought you only need antibiotics when you have an infection.. not for a virus (like a cold)

because you have a viral infection?
because overuse of antibiotics has led to the increase of MRSA/VRE/CDiff?
becuase all of the above are more common in the community than any hospital?

etc

Antibiotics will only work for bacterial infections not viral infections.

because most cold type illnesses are caused by viruses and antibiotics only work on bacterial infections. Having antibiotics when they won't do any good is a waste and helps to build up antibiotic resistance.

then tell me why in SA I get it? but not here?

Because if it's a straightforward cold with no secondary infection, they won't help.

in SA they are probably giving you ab's to get you out of their hair. by the time the course is finshed the infection is away and you think it was the ab's that killed it. happens all the time.

Because antibiotics only help for bacterial infections, not viral infections. Over prescribing antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistant bacteria.

because if you don't have an infection then antibiotics won't do a thing.

Its quite common for other countries to fob you off with antibiotics, they do it in HK too. Its because the doctors and pharmacists can't be arsed to argue with you and they know you will go from dr to dr until you get them.

Because ab's can give you thrush and generally make you feel like cack. And, as has already been mentioned, probably won't help you.

In SA you have private insurance so you are paying for the antibiotics, the doctor will give them to you to get you to go away. Where as here it costs the nhs money so that, along with antibiotic resistance make gps less likely to give ab's when it appears it is a viral infection.

maybe in SA it's not common knowledge that there are adverse effects to having too many antibiotics in the "environment"

Most upper Respiratory infectiosn sucha s you describe are viral in orging so ab's have no effect other than as a placebo. If you had a secondary bacterial infection that would potentially be treatable with ab's but it doesn't sound like more than a lingering cold for which symptomatic treatment is recomemended.

Is it a private healthcare system in SA by any chance ?

I doubt that hellish! It is well documented worldwide.

If they thought that the antibiotics would help, they would prescribe them. Sometimes bacterial secondary infection can follow viral infection. So if this happens, don't think they are being inconsistent and demand antibiotics immediately you get a cold next time.

Maybe UK doctors see more coughs and colds than in sunnier SA?

Hope you feel better soon. Steam really CAN help open the airways. Sucking cough pastilles slowly often seems better to me than cough syrups.

because you've got a virus and antibiotics won't work

They don't give you antibiotics if they think you have a viral infection because they only work for bacterial infections.

Plenty of other places will give you antibiotics willy-nilly because (a) often (depending on country and health system) they can charge you (or your insurance company) for them and make a nice profit, so they don't care whether they work or not and (b) it makes the patient happy and gets them to go away and stop bugging the doctor, whether they work or not.

Now you may have some sort of secondary infection, in which case doctors will generally prescribe antibiotics. That's one reason why when you have a cough they ask about the colour of any phlegm you are coughing up -- greenish is often more likely to indicate some kind of bacterial infection whereas white or creamy/yellowish is more likely to be viral (bit of an oversimplification there).

tasja, last year, I had a really bad cough so bad I was practically gagging on phleghmy stuff several times a day, it was awful. I went to the GP and told him I had a chest infection, he listened to my chest and he said no it's just a bad cough and recommended the steam inhalation, lol! But I had a young baby and insisted I needed antibiotics so in the end he gave me a prescription probably just to get rid of me. And did they help, did they hell. I took the course and still felt like shit. It eventually cleared up on it's own, and honestly I took the antibiotics for nothing. So it is true that they don't help a viral infection, there is no cure, except mother nature, GPs aren't just being tight with prescriptions.

they do
i have them, for chest infection
hate taking them actually!

the other thing i laugh at is when they say rest!
..but you should try, there are some awful things around just now...take it easy as you can, eat well, lots of sleep and water ...

Because the mainly male GP's in the UK have a demonic sense of humour. They routinely prescribe "rest" to us mums with out any thought as to how "rest" can actually happen.

They are basing this on what they would do for themselves, no childcare duties to keep them from their snuggly duvets and a good novel/stack of dvds thus allowing their bodies a better chance of fighting off the virus more quickly.

What everyone else said.

They will give them to you if you have a bacterial infection - I had a throat infection last year and the ab's were starting to help after about 1 day on them.

There are some awful viruses out there just now which last for 3+ weeks - and they just have to run their course I'm afraid.

I don't think the evidence suggests that resting will help them go away any faster either. I'm sure there was a study recently that showed colds last about the same amount of time whether you rest or carry on as normal.

Agree with those who say AB's won't help a cold. I'm interested to note that you live in SA as I'm currently an expat living in Nigeria. 11yo dd astonished me recently when she told me that everyone in her school who gets a cold goes to the Dr and takes antibiotics!! You can buy AB's over the counter at any chemist's as well. No wonder AB's are now failing to work just when people need them most.

Hope you feel better soon, Tasja.

tasja - sorry you are suffering. cold is a viral infection, and therefore antibiotics are not necessary. over use of antibiotics is contraindicated and can actually contribute to treatment resistance.

self medication is the order of the day.
paracetamol to reduce fever, and analgesia
ibuprofen reduce swelling, pain relief

be careful not to take too much paracetamol containing products in 24h period eg NightNurse, Lemsip, other cold products all have paracetamol

"useful link common cold"

tasja a lnk for you- get well soon
"useful information common cold"