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After almost dying in Thailand to an infected scrape, I recommend keeping a round of standard antibiotics accessible. I never expecting that the bumps near the
by goo 15y ago
After almost dying in Thailand to an infected scrape, I recommend keeping a round of standard antibiotics accessible.
I never expecting that the bumps near the scrape would progress to intense pain, waves of nausea, and blackness underneath the skin, or that those symptoms left me maybe a day to live had I not taken antibiotics supplied by a fellow traveller.
A year later, I got an infected gum/tooth situation and the dentist was closed for the weekend. Although I could have freaked out and figured out an emergency situation and a different dentist (that I may not have been covered for), I just looked up the reasonable dosage for a tooth infection and treated myself accordingly. It went away overnight, and I followed up with my dentist that week.
Note that I do not recommend self medication for anything out of the ordinary or with possible interaction effects. But for infected flesh, which is a common and dangerous medical issue, I think knowledgable self-administered use of antibiotics can be as valuable as a similar use of bandages or CPR.
- foobarbazetc 15y agoOr, you go to the hospital. That's not "freaking out", that's common sense. Self-administration is dangerous.
- epochwolf 15y agoWhen I went to Mexico almost a decade ago to do some missionary work, my doctor gave my dad and I each a full round of antibiotics with instructions to start taking them immediately if we started feeling sick.
- nopassrecover 15y agoWhich is a reckless attitude for a doctor that leads to treatment resistant tuberculosis.
- dedward 15y agoyeH, better to let peopledoing missionary work, far from any reasonable healthcare just die, is that it? Overuse of antibiotics is a global problem, for sure, but once you get into thelower latitudes of the planet, infections get a hell of a lot more dangerous. more bacteria, more types, and they move fast. Most people spending significant time in thetropics learneventually that small infections or even just cuts you would ignoreup north require mich more caution, attention, and respect if you want to stay out of the hospital, or, you know, just not die.
- rue 15y agoThe advice is more “start taking these and get to the hospital”. Keeping some antibiotics on hand isn't a terrible idea when there's a scenario that delays medical care for more than a day (and no, the weekend doesn't count in a city).
- goo 15y agoAlso make sure to do the full round of antibiotics -- not being officially prescribed them by a doctor is no excuse for not using them correctly. Antibiotic resistance is terrifying, and assisting it does a huge disservice to the world.
- voodoomagicman 15y agoBacteria are incredibly diverse. Antibiotics are not effective against every strain.. not just because some have become resistant, but because they they usually target a specific enzyme or pathway that may not be present. A round of antibiotics is a nice thing to have if you are traveling and don't have access to hospital, but if you have a serious infection and try to treat yourself, you are taking a stupid risk with your life.