Ask Dr Jyoti Sood your questions about when antibiotics are needed and the threat of antibiotic resistance to your family - chance to win £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[EllieMumsnet]

Antibiotics have helped millions of people and are essential to treat serious bacterial infections. However they are frequently being used to treat illnesses; such as coughs, earache and sore throats, which can get better by themselves. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem and one which can put you and your family at risk of developing infections which can’t be easily treated with antibiotics. Public Health England has launched a new campaign called ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’, to warn about the dangers of taking antibiotics unnecessarily and urges people to take their doctor’s advice on antibiotics.

Dr Jyoti Sood is here to answer your questions about what antibiotics are used for, the threat antibiotic resistance poses for you and your family and general tips to keep your family well this winter. Whether you have questions about what illnesses can be treated with antibiotics, what antibiotic resistance is, what it means for you and your family and some self-care advice to help you to get better if you are feeling unwell but are not being treated with antibiotics, Dr Jyoti is here to help.

Dr Jyoti Sood has this to say: “As a GP I’m often asked to prescribe antibiotics by patients who think that they will cure all their ills. The reality is that antibiotics are not always needed because they are ineffective in treating viruses or, in the case of illnesses such as coughs, earache and sore throats, people can get better by themselves. Taking antibiotics when you don’t need them puts you and your family at risk of developing infections which in turn cannot be easily treated with antibiotics. The best advice is to always take your doctor’s advice and remember that your pharmacist can recommend medicines to help with your symptoms or pain.”

Please post your questions on the thread below and we’ll choose 20 for Dr Jyoti to answer and then post a link to the responses as soon as possible. Everyone who posts their questions will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list)

Here is some information about Dr Sood:
Dr Jyoti works as a GP in Redbridge, in a large urban practice. She trained in local hospitals and has been in the same practice for last 14 years.
She has a specialist interest in diabetes and dermatology and provides clinical support to these areas.
Dr Jyoti is the cancer and diabetes lead for Redbridge and has previously participated in public health campaign to promote awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&C’s apply

Is it true that some antibiotics are pretty useless but GPs prescribe them for difficult patients who demand some type of medication?

what I really don't understand is this "precious" attitude towards penicillin in this country.
when my mum was ill in spain she bought it over the counter.
Why do we not do the same?

I am prescribed antibiotics tetracycline for rosacea but I have stopped taking them because I'm scared of resistance. However when I mention this to the dr he just says to take them as nothing else seems to stop the redness on my face. Can you help reassure or advise me on this please.

I always try to ride out an illness and don't run to the doctors until I'm really on my knees, but with three young children I always worry that taking this approach is risky so am always quicker to get them to the doctors. Are young children just as at risk to antibiotic resistance or even more so?

My husband has. Is had 6 diverticulitis attacks in 7 months, inc one hospital admission. The doctors just keep giving him anti biotics, I'm concerned that he will become resistant to them, he takes a pre and probiotic is there anything else we can do ?

My dd (age 9) has a central line for nutrition (she has short bowel syndrome and is PN-dependent.) Her prognosis is lifelong PN.

We follow good hygiene and she rarely gets a line infection. She's had her current line for 6.5 years & no infections, but recently the plastic clamp broke and we didn't realise for a while, hence she was potentially exposed to infection. We managed to repair the line in hospital and locked in IV Teicoplanin to be sure. It seems we've escaped infection-free this time.

But of course I worry that her line will get infected with an antibiotic resistant bacteria which could result in a life threatening situation very quickly. I do feel that the general population don't realise what a risk antibiotic resistance is to medically fragile children e.g. to a child like mine. (I have had to have strong words with my Dm several times when she's moaned to me about a 'stupid GP' who wouldn't give her them when she demanded them...and you'd think when I point out that resistant bacteria will likely be the cause of death of her grand daughter she'd realise how selfish her attitude is.)

I wanted to say how important I think education is, how much I value GP's with the toughness to do what's best and not prescribe unless necessary and to ask how you think the future looks from your perspective.

How can people be encouraged to take a full course of antibiotics. Many people I know simply stop taking them as soon as their symptoms start to subside.

What's a good response to the many, many (non-medical) friends who always say 'needs antibiotics' about any ailment that they/their children/me/my children might be suffering from? How to counter the view that antibiotics are a panacea for all ills?

inabizzlefam I very vey sincerely hope you are joking. People like your mum and systems which enable her to buy penicillin OTC are the reason our children and grandchildren are facing a life where a tooth extraction could kill them.

We are not "precious" about penicillin. We are responsible. And not nearly responsible enough. Tell your mum to go to a doctor next time.

And to whomever asked upthread if you can keep leftover antibx for next time. NO. Firstly there shouldn't be any leftover, you must finish your whole course even if you feel well (seriously how does anyone not know this??) and secondly you must never take antibx without being instructed to do so by your HCP.

What signs should I worry about and take my child to the doctor if they are sick?

Agree squtternutbosch, antibiotics have been sorely misused. Im putting up with redness and flushing on my face than contribute to a really scary problem which I think people just do not realise the seriousness off.

I'm really surprised my dr keeps wanting to give me antibiotics when I don't blooming want them. To my mind antibiotics should be for really serious infections and nothing else.

Is it worth taking probiotics alongside antibiotics, or do the antibiotics just kill off all the probiotics too?

I know that it's bacteria that become resistant, not people, but does the resistance operate at an individual level? As in, if we treat dds eczema long-term with fucidin cream, are the staph bacteria colonising her skin more likely to become resistant, meaning that it effectively is her individually (or at least her skin bacteria) becoming resistant. I've never got a straight answer from the GP. DD is allergic to antibacterial creams, and so the alternative to minute daily doses of topical fucudin on small problematic patches is massive whole-body staph colonisation, needing oral antibiotics and high-dose steroids approx monthly. Devil or the deep blue sea?!!

Hi. at 20wk scan babys kidneys measured slight different sizes. I (was pregnant/excuses sensible),frightened(anxiety disorder fitted as standard)oblivious(to all things clinical/medical).I was therefore monitored closely for rest of term.Post birth my son was prescribed a "preventative dose"of trimethroprim i think to avoid any potential damage /scarring. he saw consultant twice a year until age 3 when it was decided meds could stop. i visited my own gp roughly every 2-3 months and requested they review dosage as i understood it was worked out by baby weight.(i have just realised i meant to raise this with consultant as not sure who should have overseen this.)..fortunately my lad(7) is fine and problem free from any urine probs at all to date. ..long winded route to..is this initial continuous use of anti bionics likely to affect him in any way (lessen resistance?//have had side effects//etc)

How long do you think antibiotics will work for? Is there much research into new ones?

I am male! I get UTIs from time to time for no obvious reasons [honestly!] I have various linked questions.

It's pretty obvious when I get them. Slightly cloudy urine with stinging on passing urine. A certain confusion of mind after a while.

Tests show white cells, blood [more or less] protein and various other things on the test strip but sometimes when cultured by hospital no bugs grow. Antibiotics usually work.

Pharmacies are hopeless. There is pot citrate but if they know it is for me they will not sell it. "See the doctor" is the advice. The doctor does not look forward to my gifts of urine samples preferring flowers etc.

My main question is "will they ever get better without antibiotics"? Is there anything else that will help? The old standby of cranberry "juice" is now shown to be non-effective and I am certainly not a fan of anything alternative/unproven.

The advice as to drink more is fine up to a point if within reasonable distances of toilet etc. I have no other particular urine problems. Though old I have a reasonable stream after urolift and no nocturia. I rarely wake to pee during the night and then only for convenience - not desparate need!

Do you have to have had antibiotics a certain number of times before you become resistant or are our children inheriting 'resistance' from us?
Is 'antibiotic resistance' different in each of us individually - do they work better & for longer in some people than others?

I hardly ever take my children to the Doc's or go myself - we'd have to be pretty bad before I did. Nature, rest and paracetamol take care of most things, I find.

GOOD GOD PEOPLE. People don't become resistant to antibiotics. Bacteria do. It doesn't matter a jot, on a personal level, how many you take. Unlike, say, painkillers, your body won't build resistance and respond less well. The bacteria themselves mutate in response to the use of antibiotics and over time become unrecognisable from the bacteria for which the antibx were developed in the first place. But that applies on a population level, it's not personal to each individual.

Is the Dr actually going to come and answer any of these questions??

Wild goose. I sweAr by d mannose
Google it. It's a life changer

"Slightly cloudy urine with stinging on passing urine. A certain confusion of mind after a while."

"Confusion of mind"? That sounds more like sphillis than UTI.

My youngest DS suffers from ear aches, sometimes when he has a cold, so then I’m pretty happy to wait to see if it improves before going to the GP.

Is there anyway we can narrow down ourselves if a condition is viral or bacterial?

How long will it be until there are some answers to questions on this thread?

Why can’t be be like America? My friends say ‘tested positive for strep and got my antibiotics’ or ‘tested positive for flu’ and yeah we just suffer