WHY IS COMPLETING ANTIBIOTICS SO IMPORTANT?

Antibiotics are typically the first line of treatment if you've ever had a bacterial illness. Your doctor probably also advised you to take all of your medications even after your symptoms subsided.

However, if antibiotics seem to be working as intended, is there really any risk in stopping treatment? Let's first examine what antibiotics are and how they work before discussing how crucial it is to finish them.

Antibiotics are drugs that cure bacterial illnesses by either eradicating the bacteria or making it harder for them to develop and proliferate. Skin infections and respiratory tract infections like whooping cough and pneumonia are among the illnesses that can be treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics do not typically treat colds since they are caused by viral illnesses, but they can treat strep throat because it is brought on by the streptococcus bacterium.

The kinds of bacteria that antibiotics cure vary as well. Amoxicillin is an example of a broad-spectrum antibiotic that affects a variety of bacteria, whereas penicillin has a narrower spectrum and only affects a few types of bacteria.

So why does your doctor advise that you finish your antibiotic course? The reason for this is that taking them consistently over the duration of the prescription ensures that all disease-causing bacteria are either eliminated or stopped from proliferating. The bacteria might still be in your body even if your symptoms go gone. The residual bacteria can continue to grow if treatment is stopped before the antibiotic cycle is finished. These bacteria might even cause more harm if they develop drug resistance. Your recovery from your disease can take longer, and your doctor might need to give you extra medication.

But when antibiotics are overused, especially when they are not the right treatment, resistance can develop. Taking an antibiotic for strep throat when you simply have a cold or another viral infection, for instance, still causes the antibiotic to fight bacteria in your body but not the bacteria that cause illness. It's crucial to avoid taking leftover antibiotics or ones that were intended for someone else because they may not be the best course of action for your particular illness.

Ask your doctor what will happen if you skip a dosage if you're worried that you won't be able to finish an antibiotic course. The missed medication could be taken as soon as you recollect it, or you might have to wait until your subsequent dose. Never take two doses of a medication without first consulting your doctor.

Ask your doctor if it's okay if you want to stop taking your prescription early; there may be some circumstances in which cutting the length of an antibiotic course won't be harmful. According to one study, treating a child's urinary tract infection with antibiotics for two to four days is just as successful as treating it for seven to 14 days the old-fashioned way.

It's normal to be concerned about antibiotics, but keeping the lines of communication open with your doctor will give you the assurance that you're making the proper decision.