• Question: what do you do with people that can not have antibiotics

    Asked by joseph1122 to Ceri, Marikka, Matt, Rob, Sally on 14 Nov 2014. This question was also asked by emzy14.
    • Photo: Sally Cutler

      Sally Cutler answered on 14 Nov 2014:

      There can be other ways to manage them. You can give antibodies against a pathogen or antitoxin if it is a toxin mediated disease. You can also up or down-regulate the immune system to try to tip the balance towards recovery. Sometimes just supportive therapy is enough like keeping the patient hydrated.

    • Photo: Ceri Dare

      Ceri Dare answered on 15 Nov 2014:

      Some people are allergic to particular antibiotics, then you have to work out if there are other antibiotics which would be safer for them to take – usually there are.

      But antibiotics don’t work on viruses. So then doctors have to support the person and help them stay as well as possible while the person’s own immune system fights the disease – maybe by giving them fluids and keeping them at the right temperature and so on.

      There are a few medicines which work on viruses, but mostly they are difficult to make or don’t work so well.

    • Photo: Robert Hampson

      Robert Hampson answered on 17 Nov 2014:

      Some people are allergic to a class or maybe two classes of antibiotics. However, there are probably nearly 20 classes of antibiotics. There will be a drug which will suit almost every patients needs.

      There are resistant bacteria, which may not have a suitable antibiotic, then you may have to revert to old medicine. If it is a soft tissue infection, you can cut into them and drain the site to reduce the number of bacteria. You can keep them cool, hydrated and well nourished and you hope their immune system gets rid of the infection on its own.

    • Photo: Marikka Beecroft

      Marikka Beecroft answered on 19 Nov 2014:

      My friend is allergic to penicillin so can’t have it but she can have other antibiotics. If for example you have an infection that just wasn’t being killed off by the antibiotics you can do what Rob suggested and revert to cutting it out, draining it and keep the patient well hydrated and fed.

      Some doctors like to use maggots to eat out the horrible sites of infection in a wound (Sorry but EWWWW) and some doctors use Honey as they say it has natural properties that prevent infection and also antimicrobial effects. I know which one I would prefer!!

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