Medical Questions & Answers » Antibiotics

Advices for Your Throat

medicalquestions — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:03:35 +0000

The sputum culture test carried out indicated klebseila infection for which she was treated with antibiotics. However the blood tests on both occasions showed ESR values at 53, i.e. above normal. WBC count too, was on the higher side (10300) but within the normal range. What bothers us is why her ESR and WBC count remains on the higher side to date.
Yes, the ESR and WBC count is of concern. Raised levels usually indicate chronic ongoing infection. You need to see a dentist and an ENT surgeon. From the description of your wife’s complaints several different diagnoses are possible, for e.g. oral fungal infections or aphthous ulcers. Treatment is simple. It’s best to take her to an oral specialist attached to a hospital.

Intake of Antibiotics or Not

medicalquestions — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:36:14 +0000

A 52 year-old woman have problems like:
1. The area at the back of my knee, the muscles or the veins become very tight and they sort of form a tight ball/lump which is painful. It happens 2 to 3 times a week especially at night, and mostly with the left leg only.
2. Whenever I take any antibiotic, painkiller or tablet for fever I just cannot sleep. Why is this so and what should I do?
1. What you describe appears to be a Baker’s Cyst behind the knee. It is a benign condition, which usually subsides with cold compresses and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like paracetamol and ibuprofen. If it does not subside you need a thorough check up from an orthopedic surgeon, X-rays to look for underlying causes and may be an MRI to see the contents of the swelling.
2. Remaining awake after taking a painkiller is usually due to gastric disturbances associated with these medicines and possibly also the caffeine present in some of them. Time your medication so it’s not too close to bedtime and preferably take your pills after you’ve eaten something and along with an antacid.

Antibiotics for Flu

medicalquestions — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:00:39 +0000

Question: Why won’t a doctor give antibiotics for the flu?
Influenza is due to a virus particle, which is far smaller than, and totally different to, the bacteria that antibiotics will destroy. In most cases there is no cure except time and rest, for influenza, but new medications (Relenza, Tamiflu) wen released in 1999 and 2001 respectively, appear to shorten the course of an attack of influenza if started within 36 hours of the first symptoms developing Unfortunately they are quite expensive, and not subsidized by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
There are other medications available from chemists and on prescription that will help relieve your symptoms, but giving antibiotics for flu is a waste of money and time. It may give you the side effects of the antibiotics without an) benefit, and could lead to the formation of resistant forms of bacteria.

Different Antibiotics

medicalquestions — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:00:17 +0000

Question: I keep hearing that there are more and more bugs becoming resistant to antibiotics. Just how many different antibiotics are there?
There are over 70 distinct and separate antibiotics listed in the medication guide (MIMS) that doctors use to guide them through the maze of medications available in this country.
Many of these antibiotics fit into a particular class such as penicillins or sulfas, and so it is likely that if a bacteria is resistant to one drug in this class, it will also be resistant to all the others.
Penicillins include drugs such as amoxycillin (also known as Amoxil), procaine penicillin (which is given by injection) and phenoxymethyl penicillin (also known as PVK).
The most common sulfa is sulfamethoxazole, which is used in utinary infections and marketed as Alprim. In combined with trimethoprim this medication is known as Bactrim or Septrim.
Combinations of antibiotics are becoming common to reduce the incidence of resistance, so amoxycillin is now often combined with clavulanic acid and marketed as Augmentin.
Another commonly used group of drugs is the cephalosporins, which include cephalexin (marketed as Keflex and Ibilex), and cefaclor (Ceclor and Vercef).
It is very much a matter of ‘horses for courses’, as specific antibiotics work better against specific bacteria, in particular places (eg. the bladder or lungs), or in certain forms (eg. as injections or creams).

Antibiotics

medicalquestions — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:00:16 +0000

Question: Just what are antibiotics? Doctors seem to prescribe them all the time.
Antibiotics ate a group of very different chemicals that have the ability to destroy bacteria, but they have no effect upon viral infections. Most of the infections seen by a general practitioner are caused by viruses, and there is no need for antibiotics in these cases.
Doctors will use antibiotics if the infection appears to be bacterial, or if a person has reduced immunity, is elderly, frail, liable to recurrent infections or due for an operation, an antibiotic may be used to prevent a bacterial infection.
Major problems can occur with the overuse of antibiotics. Cost is the first one, and as the government pays part of the cost of everyone’s antibiotics, this is a problem affecting every taxpayer. Side effects are another problem. These can include rashes, diarrhea (which can stop the oral contraceptive pill from working), nausea, fever and some rarer and more serious complications. The most important problem is the development of resistance, which can enable bacteria to change in a way which makes them able to resist the actions of an antibiotic that was previously very effective.