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My girlfriend is a primary care pediatric nurse practitioner (meaning she can prescribe narcotics, among other things), and always complains that many of the do
by jcnnghm 15y ago
My girlfriend is a primary care pediatric nurse practitioner (meaning she can prescribe narcotics, among other things), and always complains that many of the doctors and other NPs she works with prescribe antibiotics even when it is completely unnecessary. They do this because patients demand them, and if they don't, many patients change doctors. Antibiotics have no effects on viruses, but patients do not understand that, or refuse to accept it, even when the doctor tells them. Pharmaceuticals seem to have such a pronounced effect on so many conditions, that people believe they can cure everything.
On a side note, I can see why people could become addicted to pain killers. I was recently hit from behind at about 50MPH, and hurt my back pretty badly. The doctor prescribed narcotic painkillers and muscle relaxers. Because my work is highly intellectual, I took them only when the pain was more detrimental than the effect of the medication. In essence though, the pills are kind of nice.
They are like catching a mild (2-4 beers) buzz that lasts all day, without any nasty side effects like difficulty sleeping or hangovers. They kind of make you a little more relaxed and a little bit happy, with a slight haze on the brain. And they are legal and dirt cheap, even without a prescription plan. If you don't have to think for a living, I can see why you would abuse them. But they seem mostly harmless overall, would it really be so bad to give people that want them some happy pills? It's probably trading one substance abuse problem for another, but that would be ignoring the degree. On the other hand, the only reason I don't smoke weed is because I think it makes people lethargic and complacent, so maybe I'm not the person to ask.
- iso8859-1 15y agoWhat are your pills called?
- jcnnghm 15y agoI'm talking specifically about Lortab, which contains Hydrocodone.
- wisty 15y ago> Antibiotics have no effects on viruses Note, though, they can kill you. Something like three million C. difficile infections occur every year in the US (http://www.medicinenet.com/clostridium_difficile_colitis/article.htm http://www.medicinenet.com/clostridium_difficile_colitis/art...). They are caused by the bacteria growing after you kill all the "good" bacteria with antibiotics. In a severe case, this can cause severe diarrhea, which can be fatal. It's not a good way to go.
- cperciva 15y agoAntibiotics have no effects on viruses True, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they should never be prescribed to someone with a viral infection. In a small minority of patients, antibiotics can be useful for prophylaxis. The precise set of patients and conditions where this applies is a matter of open debate, but (to take an extreme example) I certainly wouldn't say that a physician would be wrong to prescribe antibiotics to an immunocompromised infant who was hospitalized with influenza.
- 6ren 15y agoIn addition, the placebo effect is real. The more strongly the patient believes, the stronger the effect. This is only a problem when trying to determine the truth of a drug's physical action - if one's concern is helping people, the effect is beneficial. Of course, over-prescription of antibiotics accelerates emergence of resistant bacterial strains. So, faux-antibiotics would be in order - provided no patients found out, PR outrage, malpractice suits, license revocation, bankruptcy, etc.