Questions and Answers
Is it safe and alright to take antibiotics to treat symptoms of infected respiratory system but in fact it is not infection but only allergy? Is it not true that once started taken, an antibiotic must be continued for 7 days to complete the process. If so, would any harm be done if the medicine is taken which is not actually needed as no real infection is presented.
Hi Andrew ... glad to answer your problem.
First off, it's not alright to take an antibiotic to treat any symptom of infection. For a proper diagnosis the offending organism should be identified, either by culture or intuition derived from extensive experience. A proper choice can then be made of one of the multitude of antimicrobials available, or indeed, if a drug is needed at all - many common infections are self-limiting in the otherwise normal healthy person and need no more than TLC.
In treating an infection, a favourable response should usually be seen within 48 hours but treatment should be continued for a total of 10 days. Much harm has been done to the effectiveness of many powerful antibiotics by patients stopping treatment in a few days when symptoms have disappeared.
If it is realized that there is no infection present as you
describe, then there is no justification for continuing taking the drug.
Even the safest of antibiotics has potential for harmful side-effects.
Best wishes.