Drug Medical Information

When should you take antibiotics?

Antibiotics are prescribed medications designed to fight illnesses caused by bacteria. When used prudently, antibiotics are a powerful medical tool to thwart bacterial diseases.

What is the proper dosage?

Normally antibiotics are prescribed for 7 - 10 days treatment. If you stop your antibiotic treatment earlier, the bacterium that wasn't killed yet can restart an infection. That's why Leftover antibiotics not only will not work, but on the contrary, carry a risk of creating an antibiotic resistance in bacterial generation, which will be harder to sterilize.

How safe are antibiotics?

Antibiotics are generally safe; however, Antibiotics may alter the effectiveness of other medications and cause side effects or allergic reactions. Antibiotics can kill most of the bacteria in your body that are sensitive to them, including good bacteria. By destroying the bacterial balance, it may cause stomach upsets, diarrhea, vaginal infections, or other problems.

How does a physician decide which antibiotic to prescribe?

Doctors can call a culture to determine the kind of bacterium that's causing the disease, or what doctors usually do when no life threatening situation is dealt with, is to prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is useful for controlling a wide variety of bacterial types.

What should women know before taking antibiotics?

Because antibiotics kill all the bacterium in your body including normal bacteria in the vagina, Antibiotics often lead to a vaginal yeast infection. Yeast cells begin attacking tissues in the vagina, usually causing one or all of the following symptoms: itching, burning, pain during sex and vaginal discharge. If you think you have a yeast infection, consult a physician. If you are pregnant or nursing do not take antibiotics without your doctor's consultant.