Antibiotics are used to treat or prevent certain types of bacterial infection. Antibiotics are effective only against bacteria. They do not work for viral infections. Also we have increased resistance to common antibiotics in our community, so this post.
We do not prescribe antibiotics in following cases.
- Mild bacterial infections which are likely to get better on their own.
- Viral infections
This policy has many positives.
- By not taking antibiotic when it is not necessary, you are protecting your gut biome.
- If you take antibiotic when it is not necessary, in future antibiotics may not work for you. (Antibiotic resistance)
- Body's immune system can fight small infections and using less antibiotic drugs means your immune system gets a chance to fight infections
We prescribe antibiotics only when
- There is strong evidence that your infection is not likely to clear up without antibiotics
- You are actively infecting others
- You carry a risk of other serious complications
Please trust our judgment. When we say antibiotics are not required most likely they are not.
When we prescribe antibiotics
- We do not shoot in the dark. We get a lab culture done to identify which is the strain of bacteria and we call medicine that works the best for that strain. These days we are using PCR tests to quickly identify the strain and we can often get the results next day itself.
- We ask you take a probiotic , so that your gut can repair itself. Many a time we prescribe probiotics. However home made yogurt is as effective as probiotic pills. So help yourself to large servings of yogurt.
If you are on antibiotics,
You may notice side effects such as:
- being sick
- feeling sick
- bloating and indigestion
- diarrhea
Sometime you may develop very serious allergy (anaphylaxis) and may need immediate medical care. So if you are taking antibiotic for the first time, please plan time to watch out for any serious symptoms.