Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

nejm.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 99 posts

Re: Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

#61

Post by mzs »

klibertp wrote: post #56
DanBC wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Some people are imprisoned for the anti anxiety pill in their bllodstream that they took before the flight. OMG, where? I need to be sure to never go there, given my random (being treated) phobias and such.

Japan for example is strict about some drugs used to treat ADHD or anxiety in US and Europe, better travel with papers from a doctor.

Re: Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

#62

Post by tspike »

jamescun wrote: post #12
TheCondor wrote: post #10

Why do special forces guys need to get medicine this way?

A guess would be that obtaining medication in an official way may affect them when it comes to selection relating to field readiness. I.e. if you are being prescribed anti-biotics it may be showing that you aren't in peak fitness so may get passed over for other fitter team members.

There are so many hidden penalties for seeking medical help. When I went through a bad breakup, I saw someone and he thought a mild antidepressant would help. I saw him twice and took the medication for 9 months.

Almost four years later, I'm trying to get a pilot license for recreational purposes and now I have to admit to having had a mental disorder, get written statements from all providers, and go through special review from the FAA. I can't imagine what a special ops guy or airline pilot would go through.

That's not even mentioning the hell I went through for pre-existing conditions as a result of this prior to the ACA.

There are very strong disincentives to seek treatment.

Re: Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

#63

Post by gautamc »

conductr wrote: post #46
davak wrote: post #21

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.

When I was in India I got antibiotics OTC a few times for myself after I self diagnosed using the internet. Because my mum went to med-school I was always very aware about the need to complete the course. I am sure that not everybody is as careful: http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/shalini/211/65030/anitbiotic-res...

In India there are lots of doctors running small individual practices, due to this for simple diagnosis and prescription they would charge a small fee in cash and be done with it. Infact, I know for a fact that the Ayurvedic doctor near our house used to charge less than the standard Doctor.

When I came to the US, I found things here to be more restrictive - but I guess in the interest of safety we have to accept these restrictions.

Re: Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

#64

Post by CWuestefeld »

DanBC wrote: post #53
CWuestefeld wrote: post #39

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.

Good point. I've never traveled with anything psycho-active, but I can see that some nations have tighter restrictions on such meds.

I hope it never gets to the point where I can get in trouble for my motion sickness pills.

Re: Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

#65

Post by larrys »

davak wrote: post #21

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…

My wife the same. She is all over this issue with me and sees it just as well in her rounds.

Re: Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

#66

Post by karmajunkie »

pmorici wrote: post #55
maxerickson wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Active duty special forces is likely more worried about keeping a clean medical history than expense or inconvenience.

I doubt that is what drove this. I'm sure they teach them that sort of thing so they know how to treat themselves in a pinch if they are on there own and can't see a real doctor. The problem is that some of them are too self confident and a little dumb so they think it is a fine idea to give it a go during every day life even when there is a doctor available to them. Think, "I'm not lost and don't need to ask for dir…

I've got family who is ex elite forces, and I met a number of his comrades in arms at his wedding last year. Cocksure and self-confident? Certainly. A little dumb? I can say without qualification that they are not.

Re: Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

#67

Post by DanBC »

klibertp wrote: post #56
DanBC wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Some people are imprisoned for the anti anxiety pill in their bllodstream that they took before the flight. OMG, where? I need to be sure to never go there, given my random (being treated) phobias and such.

The case I remember is a woman travelling to UAE with diazepam in her blood. I have no idea how they discovered that. I'm unable to find a reference. It was a long time ago, ten years or more.

http://wikitravel.org/en/United_Arab_Emirates has some relevant info.

Re: Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

#68

Post by nathanvanfleet »

conductr wrote: post #46
davak wrote: post #21

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.

Or does it exist in places where medical care is cheap or free (Canada or the UK)?

Re: Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

#69

Post by nathanvanfleet »

ds9 wrote: post #8

"Since these medications are not regulated for use in humans, there are no guarantees as to their quality or potency." Also no regulation as to how they are used. Super-bugs are being bred by over-use, and a careless or ignorant individual can make his/her own infection hard to kill by using antibiotics in other than the approved way (e.g. not finishing the course).

People don't properly use prescribed medication. I see no indication that the takers of fish-drugs are leading the charge on this one

Re: Obtaining Antibiotics without a Prescription (2002)

#70

Post by drivingmenuts »

GrinningFool wrote: post #54
drivingmenuts wrote: post #38

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…

"the bugs I would catch would be from other people and would have built up resistances to whatever I took" 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.

True, but given my limited antibiotics exposure (I just haven't had to take them much), the chances of getting a resistant bug from someone else are much higher than my getting a resistant bug from nature (which I have limited exposure to now).

I probably could have phrased it better. Blame lack of coffee.

Post reply on HN