'Don't finish the course of antibiotics' - experts turn medical advice on its head

'Don't finish the course of antibiotics' - experts turn medical advice on its head

Yup! You read that right: DON'T take all your antibiotics!!!

Doctors must stop telling patients to finish an entire course of antibiotics because it is driving antimicrobial resistance, a group of eminent specialists has warned.

Patients should be encouraged to continue taking medication only until they feel better, to avoid the overuse of drugs, experts from bodies including Public Health England and the University of Oxford are now advising.

So, no... the antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA and c. diff are NOT our fault. It's not because we demanded unnecessary antibiotics (and the doctors were too damn wussy to say "no.") And it's not because we were oh-so-naughty and didn't take all our prescribed antibiotics. It's because doctors have been operating on a false premise: That we MUST take all the antibiotics to ensure we kill every single one of those pesky bacteria cells. Rather the opposite is true.

But in a new article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), 10 leading experts said the public health message is not backed by evidence and should be dropped.

They claim it actually puts the public at greater risk from antimicrobial resistance.

But wait! The medical establishment can't be wrong, can they? They must have multiple clinical studies replicating each other's results that made it very clear that taking the entire prescribed quantity was absolutely vital and necessary, right?

Apparently not:

“The idea that stopping antibiotic treatment early encourages antibiotic resistance is not supported by evidence, while taking antibiotics for longer than necessary increases the risk of resistance.

“We encourage policy makers, educators, and doctors to stop advocating ‘complete the course’ when communicating with the public.”

But gosh darn, us patients are just too stoopid to be trusted with our own health:

However the Royal College of GPs said it was ‘concerned’ about allowing patients to judge for themselves when to stop taking medication, and argue it could cause confusion.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: ...“We are concerned about the concept of patients stopping taking their medication mid-way through a course once they ‘feel better’, because improvement in symptoms does not necessarily mean the infection has been completely eradicated.

“It’s important that patients have clear messages and the mantra to always take the full course of antibiotics is well known – changing this will simply confuse people.”

And, of course, it is also now known that taking "the full course of antibiotics" will KILL PEOPLE -- but I guess that's the price we must pay for our own stoopidity!!!

Actually, this has been known -- or at least suspected -- for quite some time. For example:

From 2006: In a small but provocative study published in the June 10 issue of the British medical journal BMJ, Dr. Prins and colleagues from nine hospitals suggested that even some cases of pneumonia — a potentially life-threatening disease — could be treated with a three-day course of antibiotics, rather than the conventional 7- to 10-day treatment.

In a small but provocative study published in the June 10 issue of the British medical journal BMJ, Dr. Prins and colleagues from nine hospitals suggested that even some cases of pneumonia — a potentially life-threatening disease — could be treated with a three-day course of antibiotics, rather than the conventional 7- to 10-day treatment.

From 2012: Are we causing antibiotic resistance by trying to prevent it?

In India, where Andrew Read studies infectious disease, resistance is so prevalent that standard malaria treatment includes not just the pills, but a boy who comes to your home each day to check that you’ve taken your dose. And yet, Read believes that aggressive treatment with antibiotics is increasing the spread of resistance, not controlling it.
To be clear, nobody is saying patients should decide their own dose. But there is a good argument to be made that the public health message about antibiotics, which is consistent worldwide for many diseases and drugs, deserves a second look.

From 2014: Stop Taking Antibiotics When You Feel Better?

Taking the full course of antibiotics unnecessarily wastes medicine, and more drugs translates to increased evolutionary pressure on the harmless bacteria in our bodies. These “good” bugs can develop drug-resistant genes, which can then transfer to bad bugs.

Furthermore, wiping out drug-susceptible bacteria in infections too quickly makes it easier for drug-resistant bacteria to compete over a host’s resources. Better access to nutrients lets the mutant bugs multiply far more rapidly, upping the odds that they’ll reach a so-called “transmissible density.” That means the resistant bacteria proliferate so much that they can escape and infect another person.

From 2015: No, you don’t have to finish all your antibiotics

Most people believe – and have been told by health professionals – that it’s essential to finish a course of antibiotics to prevent antibiotic resistance. But this advice is not only wrong, it could actually be harmful.

The idea that you have to take all the antibiotics you’re prescribed is based on the assumption that all the bacteria causing the infection have to be killed, so the surviving minority don’t become resistant. In fact, for most otherwise healthy people, significantly reducing, but not necessarily totally eliminating, the bacteria causing the infection allows the body’s natural defences to take over and mop up the remaining few.

And that I fear is the real problem in a nutshell. Our greed driven medical system can't have people healing themselves... obviously. The only thing worse than killing a patient or curing a patient is to allow a patient to heal themselves.

But hey! We don't have a right to healthcare anyway, RIGHT???

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Why your doctor’s advice to take all your antibiotics may be wrong

That Thing About Taking All The Antibiotics in the Bottle? It's Wrong.

'Don't finish the course of antibiotics' - experts turn medical advice on its head

The Maxwell Finland Lecture: For the Duration— Rational Antibiotic Administration in an Era of Antimicrobial Resistance and Clostridium difficile

a reply to: Boadicea

But, but, science.

originally posted by: TobyFlenderson
a reply to: Boadicea

But, but, science.

Math is a science, right? The more zeros and digits on their bank statement the better, eh?

For someone anyway...

I have thought this way before.
Antibiotics should be used to help your body fix infections not fix it for the body.

More settled science..

It's hear hear....good post there

I always get a stir up on day one of antibiotics....like a tooth hurting.....

Then I stop right there at day three or four.....and I think you all should be the same way!!

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I have thought this way before.
Antibiotics should be used to help your body fix infections not fix it for the body.

More settled science..

Good for you!

Antibiotics definitely have their place, especially when the body's own immune system is compromised, and when the infection has grown beyond the ability of the body's immune system and it needs some help... but ideally the prescriptions should assist and enhance the body's own immune system -- not replace them.

a reply to: Boadicea

And that I fear is the real problem in a nutshell. Our greed driven medical system can't have people healing themselves... obviously. The only thing worse than killing a patient or curing a patient is to allow a patient to heal themselves.

That's one of the things wrong with healthcare for profit.

I went in with pinkeye a couple of years ago, the doc gave me a prescription for mild antibiotics, and told me to try green tea bags first, look up other possible natural cures, and to not fill the prescription if I didn't need it.
The green tea bags, and lots of vitamin C were all I needed.

originally posted by: snowspirit
a reply to: Boadicea

I went in with pinkeye a couple of years ago, the doc gave me a prescription for mild antibiotics, and told me to try green tea bags first, look up other possible natural cures, and to not fill the prescription if I didn't need it.
The green tea bags, and lots of vitamin C were all I needed.

That doc sounds like a keeper! (Except for Obamacare...)

That's really awesome to hear. I've used chamomile tea when my kids were little and had pinkeye, but hadn't heard about using green tea bags -- doesn't surprise me though, and good to know -- thank you! Tea is some amazing stuff. A doc once advised me to use black tea bags for a brown recluse spider bite and it worked like a charm!

It is just my experience, but have seen it way to often. a patient stops taking their antibiotic when they feel well, and 2 or 3 days later end up sick again, back in the pharmacy with another prescription because the infection was not entirely eradicated.

I feel way better now. I just ubruptly stopped taking my meds cuz i felt better. For the upteenth time!!! Redemption is sweet cuz i knew it all along.
Also 4-5 doctors prefer Camel Cigarettes!!- circa 1949
Pepsi no Coke- J Belushi

If u wanna see that doctor smoking and smoking commercial look up on youtube " more doctors smoke camel than any other cigarette "
Sorry im old and dont know how to share the link. Well done OP

I agree with this. Listening to this advice will really weed out the idiots in society.

Go for it!

I am 35 and have never taken a antibiotic before, hopefully I never have to.

originally posted by: annoyedpharmacist
It is just my experience, but have seen it way to often. a patient stops taking their antibiotic when they feel well, and 2 or 3 days later end up sick again, back in the pharmacy with another prescription because the infection was not entirely eradicated.

I don't doubt your experience... although I'm not sure why the patient would need a new prescription if they still had their first prescription sitting around. But I would also strongly suggest there are multiple reasons that have little or nothing to do with how many of those little pills they took.

I would also suggest that at least as many patients who stopped taking the prescribed course did NOT have a recurrence of symptoms.

As many of the experts quoted in the linked articles stated, there is no one-size-cures-all dosage. And in trying to prevent your stated scenario, by forcing the same extended course upon everyone, we are doing far more damage to everyone. There is no virtue in hurting (even killing!) some for the benefit of others.

originally posted by: Beatnixx117
I feel way better now. I just ubruptly stopped taking my meds cuz i felt better. For the upteenth time!!! Redemption is sweet cuz i knew it all along.
Also 4-5 doctors prefer Camel Cigarettes!!- circa 1949
Pepsi no Coke- J Belushi

If u wanna see that doctor smoking and smoking commercial look up on youtube " more doctors smoke camel than any other cigarette "
Sorry im old and dont know how to share the link. Well done OP

Ha! Good point! Here it is:

originally posted by: Jefferton
I agree with this. Listening to this advice will really weed out the idiots in society.

Go for it!

Time will tell, eh???

originally posted by: bananashooter
I am 35 and have never taken a antibiotic before, hopefully I never have to.

Here's hoping

And don't forget, if that time comes, there are plenty of natural antibiotics to try. Oil of Oregano is pretty powerful stuff, as well as olive leaf extract, turmeric, colloidal silver, garlic...

a reply to: Boadicea

Say they take 5 days of a 10 day cycle, leaving them with 5 days of meds left. They get sick again, and the doctor wants a FULL 10 days in a row most times so they need to start again, or a different antibiotic altogether. That is why they need a new rx.

Not saying I agree one way or the other here, just is that is what is typical.

originally posted by: Boadicea

originally posted by: Jefferton
I agree with this. Listening to this advice will really weed out the idiots in society.

Go for it!

Time will tell, eh???

Um yea! Eh.

originally posted by: annoyedpharmacist
a reply to: Boadicea

Say they take 5 days of a 10 day cycle, leaving them with 5 days of meds left. They get sick again, and the doctor wants a FULL 10 days in a row most times so they need to start again, or a different antibiotic altogether. That is why they need a new rx.

Not saying I agree one way or the other here, just is that is what is typical.

Okay... that makes sense... at least to those in that position!

I guess for me and mine, we didn't go to the doctor unless it was already beyond my control, so I made sure the entire course was taken -- apparently for better AND worse.

a reply to: Boadicea

I tend to do it this way every time that I'm given antibiotics (which isn't very often...maybe once every two years, at most). I understand that antibiotics doesn't just target the bad in the body, but also starts to deplete the good, and I prefer to preserve the good.

Once an infection starts to subside, I generally stop taking them, even if I have multiple days' worth left. I am a very big advocate of the claim that antibiotics are massively overprescribed.