Austin Hernandez11
Newcomer
6 messages
joined Jan 2008
Look, I’ll just leave you with this one thought.
If you aren't planning on following your doctor's orders to the letter regarding antibiotics, don't even bother starting them in the first place.
The people who fail to fully clear an infection because they stopped their medication early are actually responsible for the rise in antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
When you take a course sporadically—skipping doses here and there—you’re essentially running a survival course for bacteria. The ones that survive become resistant to that specific drug, forcing us to use higher doses or entirely different medications later on. Sadly, for certain diseases, we're reaching a point where an effective treatment might not even exist anymore.
To be fair, doctors also share the blame when they prescribe antibiotics for things they simply won't work for. For instance, you can't treat a viral cold with antibiotics, but a case of strep throat certainly requires them.
At the end of the day, this isn't just self-sabotage; it's a disservice to everyone.