[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by Ivan at 14 Nov 2003 15:29:41: Re: Go see your doctor...
As an answer to: Re: Go see your doctor... written by AJ at 13 Nov 2003 21:38:41:
>>"or something" - I just wanted to stress that antibiotics are ONLY useful against bacterial infections - not viruses, not lesions, not fungi, not retroviruses, etc. Thay have been badly misuded both in medicine and agriculture and we are now threatened with microbes developing resistance due to this misuse. Never demand antibiotics just because you have a bump or a sore - let the doctor know you want the RIGHT medicine, not just a convenient one.
>Forgive my presumption, Ivan. I just figured that it is the same for everyone around the world, in that you can't just demand anti-biotics from your doctor. Instead, if it is neccessary to sort the problem then he'll prescribe them.Well, of course, in an ideal world, doctors would never prescribe anything that was not medically indicated. But my understanding is that wherever doctors are overworked, they are too quick to write a requested prescritpion if it is not immediately harmful, justifying it as providing at least placebo-effect comfort. I thought this was a problem whether the docs were NHS or private or anything in-between.