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Are all antibiotics the same?

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Thick question possibly...

 

but a while ago I got some antibiotics for my tooth when I was having root canal treatment but never used them.

 

Can you use them again for a sore throat or something or are they all different?

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I think they are all different in that different ones are more effective for different things. I would not recommend taking them without seing the doc first.

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Theres a whole raft of different antibiotics of different types and scopes (broad vs narrow spectrum). It's probably not a good idea to re-use the antibiotics for another problem without them being prescribed / recomended for it

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If what you are asking is can you take antibiotics you have left from a previous problem for the sore throat you have now providing you had no ill effects when you took them before. take them antibiotics are antibiotics

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If what you are asking is can you take antibiotics you have left from a previous problem for the sore throat you have now providing you had no ill effects when you took them before. take them antibiotics are antibiotics

 

 

Wrong! You really ought to change your name, you know.

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If what you are asking is can you take antibiotics you have left from a previous problem for the sore throat you have now providing you had no ill effects when you took them before. take them antibiotics are antibiotics

 

Antibiotics are most certainly not all the same as you seem to imply. What is effective in one condition may not be effective or appropriate in another. Re-using antibiotics like this is a fine way of breeding new superbugs / increasing antibiotic tollerence in bacteria

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Wrong! You really ought to change your name, you know.

 

why antibiotics are all the same basically dont listen to all the propoganda rubbish thats dished out in this instance she has been prescribed antibiotics by the doctor for one problem the same antibiotics will cure the sore throat it is as simple as that.

prove me wrong in simple terms please

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why antibiotics are all the same basically dont listen to all the propoganda rubbish thats dished out in this instance she has been prescribed antibiotics by the doctor for one problem the same antibiotics will cure the sore throat it is as simple as that.

prove me wrong in simple terms please

 

Take a look here for a list of some of the many types of antibiotics and their particular scope. Just as there are different classes of bacteria (eg gram positive or gram negative) so there are different antibiotics used to treat the infections caused by them.

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Thick question possibly...

 

but a while ago I got some antibiotics for my tooth when I was having root canal treatment but never used them.

 

Can you use them again for a sore throat or something or are they all different?

 

Does it say what they contain? Penecillin? etc

 

i thought they listed the active ingredients on prescription medicine now too?

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Different antibiotics treat different conditions.

For a given condition, there will be a small number of antibiotics that are ideal/almost ideal; there will be a few more that will work to some degree, i.e. will work slower, or will not completely eradicate an infection and some that will not work at all. There range of conditions to treat is very wide and anitbiotics reflect that.

All drugs have interactions with some other medicines and this also has to be taken into account - hence why your GP will always ask if you are taking other (not necessarily prescribed) medicines.

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why antibiotics are all the same basically

On what grounds do you make that claim?

 

dont listen to all the propoganda rubbish thats dished out in this instance she has been prescribed antibiotics by the doctor for one problem the same antibiotics will cure the sore throat it is as simple as that.

Why, because you say so?

 

prove me wrong in simple terms please

The burden of proof is actually on you to prove that you're right but just to make sure Clare85 realises just how full of crap you are and doesn't take your advice, if 'antibiotics are all the same basically' how do you explain this table on antibiotics and the infections they are used to treat which would suggest that there are significant differences between them.

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why antibiotics are all the same basically dont listen to all the propoganda rubbish thats dished out in this instance she has been prescribed antibiotics by the doctor for one problem the same antibiotics will cure the sore throat it is as simple as that.

prove me wrong in simple terms please

 

Its so funny to see someone so sure of themselves when they are so wrong - and with such a username LOL!

Anyway - after several years spent studying biomed sciences and a career in the health services, please let me assure you that you really are wrong this time. Not any antibiotic will cure any sore throat! Antibiotics have very different modes of action, they target different things.

I'll give you one very very simple example (and apologies to the science peeps - but I am going to generalise MASSIVELY here because he did ask for it be kept simple..okay?).

Bacteria can be classified as Gram positive, or Gram negative, due to different types of cell wall. Some antibiotics target Gram postivie bacteria specifically by way of certain molecules which are present. These molecules are not present in Gram negative bacteria. If you give the antibiotic for G+ bacteria when in fact you have a G- infection, it will do absolutely bugger all (technical term).

Its a bit like giving someone a phillips head screwdriver when the screw is suitable for a flat head screwdriver - yeah its a screwdriver but its fairly useless.

 

Hope that goes some way to explaining.

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