Prescribing antibiotics
The other day I woke up with a terrible pain in my mouth. I think it started with a small mouth ulcer, caused by this malaligned wisdom tooth continually bashing against the inside of my mouth. I think I then got a secondary infection - causing pain, redness and swelling. The pain was actually so bad I was taken regular paracetamol and even panadeine forte last night.
Anyway, I went to see the dentist today with high expectations of getting the tooth removed and/or getting some antibiotics to treat the infection.
Big shock! I was told that it was an infection, and that it would get better by itself! There was no need for antibiotics. All that was needed was to clean the area regularly, and it would heal up on its own accord. I wasn't very happy with this - I was in significant pain, and thought I needed antibiotics to treat (what I thought) was a significant infection.
Now this is a spiel which we (as med students) have been told to tell our patients all the time. If somebody came in with a middle ear infection, we would tell them that there was no need for antibiotics, that the risk of side effects from the medication were significant, and that it wouldn't change the natural progression of the disease. The risk of developing community resistance to bacteria is also an issue.
The thing is, when you're in the patient's seat, the situation feels a whole lot different.
Tags: Medical
Anyway, I went to see the dentist today with high expectations of getting the tooth removed and/or getting some antibiotics to treat the infection.
Big shock! I was told that it was an infection, and that it would get better by itself! There was no need for antibiotics. All that was needed was to clean the area regularly, and it would heal up on its own accord. I wasn't very happy with this - I was in significant pain, and thought I needed antibiotics to treat (what I thought) was a significant infection.
Now this is a spiel which we (as med students) have been told to tell our patients all the time. If somebody came in with a middle ear infection, we would tell them that there was no need for antibiotics, that the risk of side effects from the medication were significant, and that it wouldn't change the natural progression of the disease. The risk of developing community resistance to bacteria is also an issue.
The thing is, when you're in the patient's seat, the situation feels a whole lot different.
Tags: Medical
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