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Antibiotics

Posted , 13 users are following.

MichaelTN1UK
MichaelTN1UK

Morning all

At the risk of sounding like a gossip columnist, I hear that 'we' will need to antibiotics a lot for the rest of our lives. Even for visits to the hygienist as 'we' are more susceptible to infection with our additional parts. 

​Is this a US thing or is that the thinking in the UK (and elsewhere)? I know my GP hates giving antibiotics due to the fear of resistence.

2 likes, 29 replies

29 Replies

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  • DawnHU5-UK
    DawnHU5-UK MichaelTN1UK

    Posted

    Hi Michael,

    I asked my gp about this the other week as I'm due at the hygienist on Friday. I also have a troublesome root canal which will require attention too. He told me that the the operation is now 'in the past and done' and that there is no timeframe to avoid having dental work and no preventative measures to take.

    Dawn

    • MichaelTN1UK
      MichaelTN1UK DawnHU5-UK

      Posted

      I guess that is a double edged sword. You are 'done and dusted' *yay* but now have root canal to look forward to *urgh*. Good luck with that!!

      Michael

  • mary0606
    mary0606 MichaelTN1UK

    Posted

    I now live in Australia and I take preventative antibiotics at every cleaning or dental work including colonoscopies...the bacteria in your mouth is worse than what's  on the average toilet seat...

    I think it does vary, with different surgeons here, but for the most part they do prescribe them,..Id much rather take a quick dose an hour before work than deal with an infection.

    once you have a foreign part in your body its foreign..having known 3 people suffer multiple joint  infections ..where they lost two or more joints to the same bug...it's not somewhere I want to go, if I can prevent it. Especially as I have 5 of them,

    • MichaelTN1UK
      MichaelTN1UK mary0606

      Posted

      *gulp* "lost two or more joints"? That sounds dreadful. I don't blame you for erring on the side of caution.

      Just illustrates how different the advice is in various territories and various doctors. 

    • mary0606
      mary0606 MichaelTN1UK

      Posted

      One friend was 8 years post op she got infected bilateral hips both removed with spacers put in, took 18 months before she finally know got joints back

      the other was a Physio she actually lost 3 joints to infection 2 knees and a shoulder.

      lthe last was a lady Ive known a long time she simply fell in the car park broke her wrist had it reset, the wrist got infected and then infected her knee..but she can't have the knee removed as she had a stroke with all this going on her knee was 6/7 years old.

      thats too many people I know. The last lady is in Australia the other 2 in USA.. 

  • lyn1951
    lyn1951 MichaelTN1UK

    Posted

    Dr at the local hospital told me probably not necessary 6 months after hip replacement.

    I attended local hospital on a Sunday recently after being bitten by a mossie, I already know I have a really bad reaction to various bites, and I have prescribed Phenergan to take immediately after bite, sometimes it works, in this case it didn't and the bite was on the most recent THR side, told I could push the phenergan to a much higher dosage, if i continue to have this bad reaction, and let the hospital pick my semi-concious self up later.

    Was prescribed antibiotics to cover the cellulitis that was deveolping at a rate of knots, and i was also shivering and shaking with reaction from bite.

    GRRRRR mossies are everywhere in Queensland, and I am a mossie magnet.

    • MichaelTN1UK
      MichaelTN1UK lyn1951

      Posted

      Oh, you poor thing!! That sounds awful. I wish you a speedy recovery.

      It must be lovely being in the summer - apart from the mossies. 

    • lyn1951
      lyn1951 MichaelTN1UK

      Posted

      The last few days have been very uncomfortable, yesterday it was 36 degrees celcius, and tommorw could be as hot, with high humidity as well. 28 degrees last night at midnight. UGHHHHH.

      Thank goodness for air-conditioner, my husband has to have that for his heart failure, and I doo enjoy the benefits as well.

      Power bills are really frightening though.

      Going out of the house is an exercise almost as bad as living in snow, car turned on to cool down, into shopping centre where it is air-conditioned, and or hospital where it is the same, we just have to live in a limited little world I'm afraid.

    • mary0606
      mary0606 lyn1951

      Posted

      Poor you Lyn, I'm in NSW, we get them some times. Luckily they prefer my husband to me...

       

  • maggie93798
    maggie93798 MichaelTN1UK

    Posted

    I am a biomedical scientist in microbiology as well as a hippy. Yes there used to be the recommendation that we have antibiotics for routine dental work etc, it was a recommendation that has been altered after the research has been done. I think it was a cautionary follow on from the recommendation that people with artificial or diseased heart valves do need such antibiotic treatment when having dental surgery due to the tendency of such heart valves to provide a sitting place for any bacteria in the blood stream to start an infection. Such bacteria often originate in the mouth which, as has already been said, has a great many species of bacteria sitting happily there and doing no harm. We all get transient bacteria in our bloodstream which are mopped up by the body's immune system. Thus, unless there are other factors present, we are OK without the antibiotics. Yes antibiotics are totally ineffective against viruses but can be used in the treatment of people who get secondary bacterial infections following viral infection.
    • MichaelTN1UK
      MichaelTN1UK maggie93798

      Posted

      Thank you Maggie for such an informed reply. It has helped me understand :-) 
    • mary0606
      mary0606 maggie93798

      Posted

      the thing that worries me Maggie, and I truly respect what data is out there, but in the 23 years I've had joints this criteria has changed a few times, so it's dammed if you do dammed if you don't. So since I never ever take antibiotics very rarely, I will take the hour before dose I think it's Amoxil 1,000 hour prior...and I only go once year for dental cleaning and every 7 years for colonoscopy...
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