do you take antibiotics for cough and/or colds?

@Jemina (5770)
January 12, 2007 2:12am CST
Recently I consulted a doctor for my dry cough. He didn't even ask how long had it started. He didn't even xrayed me he just used his stethoscope (spelling?) and had me breathe then he said I had a bronchitis. Afterwards he prescribed 5 types of medicine including antibiotics that I had to take twice a day. I checked the internet and i found out that antibiotics are useless for bronchitis. thing is I didn't really have bronchitis. Another friend emailed me that a naturally, our body can cope with simple illness in about 2 weeks. So I took all those meds and threw them in the bin. true enough in less than 2 weeks I bounced back.
11 people like this
24 responses
• South Africa
21 Jan 07
hi there, i used to use antibiotics for cold because they kept on becoming infections, i have stopped and i use tissue salts now, as they help fight off infections and prevents usage of antibiotics. Continuos usage of a specific antibiotic for example can lead to tha body not responding to the antibiotic anymore. Im not a person to choose antibiotics easily, only if its necessary will i ever use them to get better.
4 people like this
@Jemina (5770)
25 Jan 07
It's good you stopped it before it could do any damage to your body and immune system.
3 people like this
• India
12 Jan 07
No,i dont take antibiotics for cough and cold.I am using ayurvedic medicine for it.
3 people like this
@Jemina (5770)
25 Jan 07
What is ayuvedic? Do you take this med even for simple coughs and colds?
3 people like this
• United States
5 Feb 07
I'd also like to know what ayurvedic medicine is.
2 people like this
• India
17 Feb 07
Ayurveda is like alopathy or homeopathy. It is world wide trusted and is being taught in universities. In ayurveda medicines are generally made form herbs etc and patients are prescribed strict diet control. This type of medication has no side effects.
1 person likes this
10 Apr 07
No, I don't take antibiotics. I don't believe in them. If all I have is a cold or even a flu, I just ride it out. I will do a Reiki self treatment on myself and that is all that I will do. I don't like putting chemicals into my body.
2 people like this
@Jemina (5770)
11 Apr 07
I like your answer. I agree with you 100% I also hate putting chemicals in my body that's why I threw away those antibiotics and just drowned myself with water.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
25 Jan 07
A simple cough and colds does not require to be treated with antibiotics.The best thing to do is to rest and take a lot of fluids.Colds is cause by Virus and antibiotics will not do any good.In colds you dont need an X-ray provided your cough had been sitting there for ages and thru auscultation you are severely congested,for sure he will require an X-ray.Good that you used your resources or else you just add toxins to your body.Just be careful next time.
3 people like this
@Jemina (5770)
25 Jan 07
Thank you for your valuable input. I totally agree with you. Enough rest and more water will help one bounce back immediately without doing any more harm to the body.
2 people like this
• United States
5 Feb 07
I've been hearing more and more about how antibiotics can harm the immune system and how they are being abused by doctors who do not want to run tests on patients. Also, they kill all bacteria in the body, even the good kind that you need, which can lead to a candida overgrowth, among other things. This makes me want to stop taking them altogether, especially since I have been prescribed antibiotics my whole life for sicknesses that aren't even cured by them. Your body is made to heal itself, and granted, there are some infections that respond well to antibiotics, and you get well faster, but are the harmful side effects worth it?
3 people like this
@Jemina (5770)
6 Feb 07
I'm glad you found this topic. Your ending question also makes a strong point. A thought-provoking one, indeed. Yea, we should let our anti-bodies do their work and not harm them or spoil them. Thanks for your response.
1 person likes this
@Jemina (5770)
7 Feb 07
That was aweful if the doctor always prescribe antibiotics just because the med rep is giving him a lot of incentives. Know what I mean?
1 person likes this
@Manoj_s (939)
• India
11 Apr 07
i apreciate that you have thrown away the antibiotics.first of all under stand what is cold and cough .our body has 4 methodes to eliminate toxins from our body urine,sweat,exhalation,stool,if there is increased toxins or any of the four toxin or waste eliminating methode got clogged the body has to go for alternative methodes like cough ,cold,fever,vomiting,diarrhea etc,if you stop by taking suppressing infact the mucus or phlegam which the body throws out during cold or cough will clogg in lungs and it will lead to major diseases like asthma ,bronchitis etc .better to take easily digestable frutis or 2 days or frui juice only it will definitely cure your problem with in 2 or 3 days and will clean your body from accumilated toxins.antibiotics will kill the good bacterias in your body
3 people like this
@Jemina (5770)
11 Apr 07
That's one hell of an answer. I like your answer the best. Hope I could change the best answer. But thanks a lot for the reply. I found it the most interesting and informative.
1 person likes this
@abednego7 (1060)
• Philippines
11 Apr 07
This is from my personal experience with my daughter who is about 2 years old. One time she had cough and colds and I though it just ordinary one so what we did was gave her more water and other fruits juices but after about a week she still could not regain her health instead she would had fever. That was the time I decided to consult a doctor and found out that my daughter had a bronchitis then he prescribed a syrup medicine I don't know if its anti-biotic but it helped her to cured her sickness. So I can say that in some instances our immune system is just not enough to battle all sickness that we may encounter, sometimes extra medicine would do some help.
1 person likes this
@Jemina (5770)
24 Apr 07
You're right, I'm not going to argue with you about that.
@raijin (10345)
• Philippines
17 Feb 07
I only take medicines when I know that my usual household remedies cannot suppress it anymore and when my doctors adviced to take it. But most of the times, I go for fruits rich with vitamin C's that I can find at our fridge. We can always use some calamansi, oranges, pomelos, lemons and honey.
10 Apr 07
Some doctors are happy to just give out medicines like they are sweets, the same as some patients demand them. I only resort to anti-biotics if they are really necessary, as they do more bad than good if not needed. This is one of the reasons why we have so many deadly strains of certain bugs because of the misuse of anti-biotics. My kids once had a cough that went on for ages. I went to the doctors and he was going to give them some medicine, but I was against it. I found some homeopathic tablets which they took without protest and they worked a treat. I always try to find an alternative and sometimes just letting nature take its course is the best thing. I am sure it builds up our immunity to other bugs.
1 person likes this
@Jemina (5770)
11 Apr 07
You're certainly right, they do more bad than good if not needed. I strongly believe I had no need for antibiotic that time. Just some cough reliever was all I wanted. Anyway, I found that salted dried fruits really work.
2 people like this
@sechsey (1831)
• Canada
25 Jan 07
My mom is a pharmacist and often times when our cough gets worst and it develop phlegm, we are prescribed by my mom and a doctor with an antibiotics. Never though were we prescribed anitbiotics for dry cough. It is true though that our body can cope with certain ilnesses naturally. But often times if we don't take medicines for it as well, it increases the chnaces for it coming back. Take for example cough. A dry cough can be relieved easily by drinking alot of water or fluids and cough medicine if necessary. But if your cough gets to a hard breathing cough(phlegm and all) , the kind where the doctor hears a certain sound on your chest , tendency is your cough have developed fluids etc and thats when certain antibiotics are needed. Antibiotics are also useless when not finished. Its usually taken fully for 1week at the least. Any less than that and its the same as not taking any at all. In short, there wont be any effects to it.
2 people like this
@Jemina (5770)
25 Jan 07
I agree that to a certain extent antibiotics are needed.
2 people like this
@geejoy (344)
• Philippines
6 Feb 07
when i have a cough, i will usually drink lots of water only....i have this thing with medicine that if i will take a medicine every time i will have colds/cough, i will be dependent on it...so, i usually use the water therapy method to treat my illness...
2 people like this
@simplysue (631)
• United States
6 Feb 07
I won't even consider going to the doctor for a cough or cold until I've had it for more than a month. If I can't kick it on my own inside of a month then chances are that it is a bacterial infection which needs an antibiotic. As far as I'm concerned......the less antibiotic use the better. Have you read some of the possible side effects? You wonder what's worse, the sickness or the cure.
@Jemina (5770)
7 Feb 07
Ladybella has pointed some negative side-affects.
1 person likes this
@bethmt (419)
• United States
11 Apr 07
Antibiotics are so often over prescribed and are completely useless against viruses. I don't like to take them unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise for things like cough and colds I use natural remedies such as herbs and drinking plenty of fluids. It's a good thing that you did throw those out because unless they are really needed, antibiotics can do more harm than good.
@Jemina (5770)
21 Apr 07
you're absolutely right, they are useless against viruses. Besides our bodies are made to combat common illnesses. I do take plenty of water and eat more fruits.
@djmarion (4898)
• Philippines
11 Apr 07
yes, this made my cough/colds heal quickly, i ussually take amoxicillin
1 person likes this
@Jemina (5770)
11 Apr 07
It's good your body is reacting fast to medicine.
1 person likes this
@kgwat70 (13388)
• United States
24 Mar 07
yes, I have taken antibiotics for coughs and colds as I just got over an illness. My doctor had given me Augmentin for my really red throat and she also gave me prescription cough syrup for my coughing. Both of these helped me very much and am almost back to normal. I have never had bronchitis before but have had numerous other illnesses.
1 person likes this
@Jemina (5770)
11 Apr 07
Good to know your meds are helping you bounce back.
1 person likes this
@Shaun72 (15959)
• Palatka, Florida
19 Feb 07
I usally make myself hot leamonade with honey that usally helps me with a cold.
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@Jemina (5770)
20 Feb 07
That's a good home-made antibiotic. I like that too.
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@220870 (249)
• India
19 Feb 07
For chest congestion it is better to do steam inhalation with 2 or 3 drops of eucalyptus oil added to it. Raw ginger crushed and mixed with a little salt and Honey mixed with pepper also cures cough. A glass of hot milk with a pinch of turmeric added to it and salt water gargling done twice a day cures cold and cough.
@Jemina (5770)
20 Feb 07
Wow, that's a good prescription. Thanks for your response. i really appreciate it and share it with others as well. Cheers!
1 person likes this
@im2good4u (567)
• Philippines
10 Apr 07
i don't take any medicines for them, i just make sure that i have enough or plenty of vitamin c on my diet.
1 person likes this
@Jemina (5770)
11 Apr 07
That's good to know. Well, I just wanted to be relieved of my dry cough but I should have known better. You're right, sufficient vitamin c is enough to keep the doctor away.
1 person likes this
@seamonkey (1976)
• Ireland
10 Apr 07
I haven't taken antibiotics in almost twenty years, and my two children have only taken them one time each. I think they are way over prescribed and sometimes doctors give them to you just because they think you expect to be given them.
1 person likes this
@Jemina (5770)
11 Apr 07
I have never taken antibiotics back in the Philippines and it's only here in Thailand that I was prescribed them for common colds and cough. I'm not saying that antibiotics are bad but they must be prescribed properly.
1 person likes this
@xikass (119)
• Egypt
24 Mar 07
antibiotics don't treat bronchitis , but treat the secondry infection . I think you had acute exorpation of chronic bronchitis , and till now the cause of this condition 9disorder 0 is unknown . the good news that antibiotics can treat this condition by unknow mechanism . however, docors want to make it easy for them and orescripe antibiotics for caution .
@Jemina (5770)
11 Apr 07
I don't think I had acute bronchitis. The doctor didn't even xrayed me. But thanks for your response. it's really appreciated.
1 person likes this