It appears you have not yet Signed Up with our community. To Sign Up for free, please click here....

157

Like

6.4k

Search HealthBoards

Home
Register FAQ

Health Centers

Message Boards

Videos
Today's Posts

Drug Talk
Advanced Search

Blogs
Find A Board

SIGN UP

LOGIN Site Map

Posting Policy

General Health Message Board

HealthBoards > Health Issues > General Health > Self medicating with antibiotics?

Subscribe To General Health 02-10-2010, 03:56 AM

LinkBack

Thread Tools

Search this Thread #1

DanSM
(m ale )

Self medicating with antibiotics?

Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 16

About 1 week ago I got a bit of a cough, which actually went away with some pills. Unfortunately when I stopped taking the pills it came back, got much worse, a few days later I had a fever, and then also came sneezing, having to blowing my nose constantly and even having some problems with my bowels. I tried taking paracetamol and some more cough pills but it hasnt helped at all and I suspect I might have a chest infection. I would love to just go see a doctor and get a professional opinion but Im actually traveling right now and not only do I not speak the local language but the doctors here tend to take advantage of people and charge them for things they dont need... Luckily Antibiotics are available over the counter here, but would it be a good idea to take these in this situation?? To be honest I dont really know anything about medicines and so on, so am a bit nervous to decide anything like this by myself.
Last edited by DanSM; 02-10-2010 at 04:10 AM.

Ask our community of thousands of members your health questions, and learn from others experiences. Join the conversation!
I WANT MY FREE ACCOUNT

Stay healthy through tips curated by our health experts.

02-10-2010, 11:33 AM

#2 Re: Self medicating with antibiotics?

leea1206
Veteran
(fe m ale )

Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: st louis, mo. Posts: 430

If it is not actually an infection, antibiotics will do no good. Also you may be allergic or react to an antibiotic. this could very well be viral. I would probably go for some natural approaches such as buying zinc or zinc lozenges and echinacea/goldenseal for short term use. also, obvioulsy make sure you are drinking lot's of water. Hot tea is also good for upper respiratory problems. Rest is really important as well. - Try to get at least 8hrs, even if that means going to bed early.

TOP THANKED CONTRIBUTORS

sjb (77), SnowBunny2020 (76), Titchou (62), ladybud (60), JJ (53), janewhite1 (51), midwest1 (23), quincy (20), lenvegas (16), Misty800 (15) Site Wide Totals teteri66 (1037), MSJayhawk (854), janewhite1 (822), Apollo123 (776), Titchou (678), sammy64 (656), Gabriel (645), BlueSkies14 (610), midwest1 (610), ladybud (525)

Sponsors

02-10-2010, 04:28 PM

#3 Re: Self medicating with antibiotics?

MT483
(m ale )

Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Nagoya, Japan Posts: 13

Dan, Non-professionals who medicate themselves are lending themselves to a whole lot of self inflicted trouble. Especially with prescription drugs. I'm not referring to vitamin C, or concentrated garlic, or the multitude of health foods that tongue-in-cheek sort of promise relief for God knows what aches and pains. Go ahead, everybody else does. But when it comes to self medicating yourself with the chemical concoctions that a registered pharmacist will give you; here caution is the word of the day. Sudden violent reaction to certain medications (anaphylactic response) can really do some serious damage. Even kill you. With legitimate meds, go to and trust your physician. With health foods go with whatever common sense tells you. Even here, however, caution is strongly advised. The stuff is known to combine and become toxic. Good luck, Mike
Last edited by MT483; 02-10-2010 at 04:32 PM. Reason: grammar. My fingers don't always hit and/or mist the keys I am thinking about.

02-11-2010, 05:14 PM

#4 Re: Self medicating with antibiotics?

Rainbowapple
Junior Member
(fe m ale )

Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: C A Posts: 11

Dan, Until you know whether this illness is viral or bacterial, I'd suggest against self-medicating with antibiotics. In addition, specific bacteria are either resistant or sensitive to certain antibiotics (even so-called broad spectrum antibiotics), so it is better to know exactly what you are treating. Since you are traveling, I'd avoid purchasing and taking this from an over-thecounter vendor (no matter how convenient it may seem to be). Continue to treat this conservatively, with clear fluids and plenty of rest. If, after taking Panadol, and your fever continues, it might be worth considering seeking some local medical advice. Good luck-and I hope you feel better, soon.

Search HealthBoards

Board Search

Severe sore throat | distressing hypersensitivity to Tyramine please help !!! Posting Rules You You You You may may may may not not not not post new threads post replies post attachments edit your posts

BB code is On Smilies are On [IMG] code is Off HTML code is Off Trackbacks are Off Pingbacks are Off Refbacks are Off Forum Rules