51–60 of 99 posts
Or go to India, or Russia. Antibiotics are sold over the counter and (at least in case of India last time I checked) are dirt cheap.
http://www.walmart.com/cp/PI-4-Prescriptions/1078664
Lots of other places have similar programs/prices.
So the expensive part is getting the prescription.
ICU doctor here. I frequently see complications of overuse of antibiotics. C diff colitis (1) is certainly the most obvious, but resistant pneumonias and urinary tract infections are becoming more common as well. Many resistant organisms set up shop in chronically ill patients who see multiple rounds of antibiotics through their lives; however, in just my short 10 year history as a physician, the increasing amount of…
Curious: Do these problems exist in other countries where even strong antibiotics are sold OTC? I would guess not as bad, the culture in the US is to medicate immediately at first sign of illness. When I get sick, I try to just let it run it's course.
But overuse of antibiotics for things like ear infections is also part of the problem too.
I have successfully diagnosed and treated MRSA and upper respiratory infections in myself. I NEVER suggest anybody else to self medicate. Most people do not take it seriously enough or do enough research to self medicate. All that being said, I think it is a shame that we live in a system where it is so expensive and inconvenient to see a real doctor that people resort to this kind of thing.
I have self-medicated with antibiotics in the past, when circumstances warranted. It is indeed an access problem (at least for me), but not caused by the cost (I have good healthcare insurance). Rather, it's caused primarily by the delay before one can see the doctor. And all evidence suggests that the results of the USA's current healthcare initiatives will exacerbate this waiting problem, and therefore also the sel…
Some people are imprisoned for the anti anxiety pill in their bllodstream that they took before the flight.
Carrying prescription medications with unclear prescriptions is risky advice unless you're sure about the country you're travelling to.
Before I had health insurance/well-paying job, buying fishmox was the standby plan if I needed antibiotics. It occurs to me now that, even though I haven't taken many antibiotics in my life, it wouldn't matter - the bugs I would catch would be from other people and would have built up resistances to whatever I took. Unfortunately, I told my mom about fishmox a long time ago (during same salad days) and now I sort of…
This seems to imply an assumption that all bacteria are resistant, when it's my understanding that this is actually a small [in relative terms] but growing phenomenon.
I have successfully diagnosed and treated MRSA and upper respiratory infections in myself. I NEVER suggest anybody else to self medicate. Most people do not take it seriously enough or do enough research to self medicate. All that being said, I think it is a shame that we live in a system where it is so expensive and inconvenient to see a real doctor that people resort to this kind of thing.
Active duty special forces is likely more worried about keeping a clean medical history than expense or inconvenience.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have self-medicated with antibiotics in the past, when circumstances warranted. It is indeed an access problem (at least for me), but not caused by the cost (I have good healthcare insurance). Rather, it's caused primarily by the delay before one can see the doctor. And all evidence suggests that the results of the USA's current healthcare initiatives will exacerbate this waiting problem, and therefore also the sel…
Obviously th need to be a bit careful with the meds and the country you're travelling to. Some people are imprisoned for the anti anxiety pill in their bllodstream that they took before the flight. Carrying prescription medications with unclear prescriptions is risky advice unless you're sure about the country you're travelling to.
OMG, where? I need to be sure to never go there, given my random (being treated) phobias and such.
July 18, 2002 Has anything changed?
The efficacy of those antibiotics, I'd wager.
I predict that the corporate media will run with this story and that as a consequence this source of medicine will soon disappear. We cannot have the profits of our Most Holy Corporations drop. Cheap antibiotics will cause a drop in the Most Holy Profits of Our Sacred Corporations, and That Is Not Permissible.
The opposite is true: with bacteria resistant to ancient antibiotics that are out of patent and work in weeks, the only alternative will be treatment for months or years with heavily patented drugs of dubious effectiveness and long hospital stays.
Is that your preferred outcome?
I predict that the corporate media will run with this story and that as a consequence this source of medicine will soon disappear. We cannot have the profits of our Most Holy Corporations drop. Cheap antibiotics will cause a drop in the Most Holy Profits of Our Sacred Corporations, and That Is Not Permissible.
I predict that the corporate media will run with this story and that as a consequence this source of medicine will soon disappear. We cannot have the profits of our Most Holy Corporations drop. Cheap antibiotics will cause a drop in the Most Holy Profits of Our Sacred Corporations, and That Is Not Permissible.