Doctors have always been instructing us on the importance of completing our antibiotic course but now British scientists are stating otherwise. According to their research, they have concluded that the antibiotic prescriptions are too lengthy in the first place and completing them isn’t your top priority.
Is the age-old advice a myth?
The UK scientists mention that for years doctors have been instructing their patients to complete the long antibiotic courses in order to prohibit the growth of antibiotic resistance in the body. However, this hasn’t been backed by a single scientific evidence.
Dr Martin Llewelyn wrote in a paper that there isn’t a proof that stopping the course of antibiotics early encourages the growth of resistant-bacteria in the body, however, continuing the course over prolonged period of time increases the risk of resistance.
Exceptions and critique
In the case of tuberculosis, the bug grows more resistant to the disease if the antibiotics are not continued for the specified amount of time. HIV is another prime example of such occurrence.
Critics object to the research by saying that just because patients experience abatement in their symptoms does not necessarily mean that their infection has receded completely. Stopping your medication midway through the course could lead to severe or even worse symptoms.
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