How to Take Antibiotics Effectively

Antibiotics have saved countless lives over the years. Their life-saving ability to treat minor and major infections has helped millions of people live their lives fully by preventing or curing infections. Antibiotic use has become so commonplace, it is hard to remember that they were only discovered in 1928 by Alexander Fleming. Prior to Fleming’s discovery (which he never realized) simple everyday infections killed scores of people. Now deaths from overwhelming infection (also called sepsis) make medical and mainstream headline news because it seems an "odd" thing to happen. Antibiotics have become so commonplace and taken for granted that they have morphed from being a “miracle cure” to “part of the problem” due to their overuse, inappropriate prescribing and being taken incorrectly by a significant number of people. Antibiotics are still “miracles,” but need to be taken correctly and completely to be effective. Here are some steps to doing it right.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Good lighting
• Thermometer

1. If your infection is in a localized spot (such as a boil on your leg), examine it for warmth, tenderness and pain in a well-lit environment for an indication of possible infection. It is also important to check your body temperature to see if you are running a fever. Examine the site for any discharge or weeping fluid.
2. If you suspect that you may have an infection of any sort, you should go to a clinic or make an urgent care appointment with your nurse practitioner (NP) or physician (MD, DO) ASAP. DO NOT SELF-TREAT YOUR INFECTION WITH LEFTOVER ANTIBIOTICS, SINCE YOUR "DIAGNOSIS" MAY BE INCORRECT AND YOU MAY DO YOURSELF MORE HARM THAN GOOD.
3. If your NP or MD prescribes an antibiotic, follow the dosing directions (for example, one pill twice a day for 10 days) exactly. Stopping antibiotics early after the infection abates or you feel better can allow the infection to return, and add to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria impacting the health of the entire world.
4. Be certain if you need to take the medication with food or on an empty stomach, since the presence or absence of food can affect proper absorption of antibiotics. Medications that are poorly absorbed do not work as well as those that are.
5. Do not skip doses. Once again, follow the dosing instructions carefully! These simple steps are essential to making the antibiotic prescribed for your infection more effective, and can help with your healing process.

Tips & Warnings

• Proper testing and diagnosis by your NP/MD is essential to determine which type of antibiotic will be most effective for the kind of infection you have.
• Different antibiotics are needed for different infections.
• Also apply heat or other treatments to the infected site as recommended by your NP/MD.
• As with any medical advice provided on the Internet, only an in-person exam by your NP/MD should be followed first and foremost.
• Never take antibiotics haphazardly, since this can make your infection worse, result in poor healing and add to the world-wide problem of drug-resistant infections.