Antibiotics: To Delay or Not to Delay?


I've had a bad cough and cold for almost 10 days now. When I first got the symptoms, I thought it might be viral. Many people at work and home had similar symptoms. I also heard about a viral infection spreading in the city and other parts of India, causing cold, cough, and fever.

I didn't want to start antibiotics right away. I decided to wait and see if the symptoms would go away on their own, as they often do with viral infections.

After a week, my symptoms got worse. I consulted my doctor, and he recommended starting antibiotics. Now, almost two weeks in, I'm still struggling. The infection is stubborn and hasn't gone away. It's been five days on antibiotics with only slight improvement.

Looking back at my medical records, I see that over the past three or four years, I've had four instances where I delayed starting antibiotics, thinking it was just a viral infection. Each time, the symptoms got worse, and I eventually had to take antibiotics. So, I wonder if it would be better to start antibiotics right away when these symptoms appear.

Waiting to take antibiotics has made the infection very severe. It takes longer for antibiotics to work when I delay. If I had started antibiotics after a couple of days instead of waiting a week, the infection would have been easier to treat. I would have suffered less, and everything would have been much better.

I know this isn't backed by solid evidence, and we're all aware of antibiotic resistance. Many doctors prescribe antibiotics without much thought, even when they're not needed. I get the reasoning behind that. But in some cases, like for dialysis patients who have weakened immune systems, wouldn't it make more sense to start antibiotics sooner? Waiting isn't helping now. After several days, the infection gets worse, causing more suffering. Plus, the course of antibiotics ends up being longer in these situations.

I'm not a doctor, just a patient, but this has been really bothering me. Following the scientific approach has only led to more suffering. The past 10 days have been miserable. I haven't been able to work for the last week, and the symptoms are still far from being cured.

Comments

Nadeem mir said…
I am deeply sorry to hear about the difficult times you are going through, sir. I have experienced similar things, so I know how difficult it can be to fight infections while on dialysis. I have had colds and coughs that I would treat right away with oral antibiotics, but eventually I would have to take IV antibiotics because the later wouldn't help much. This also resulted in a hospital visit once or twice. I strongly believe that the COVID vaccine has altered the body's response to infection, as evidenced by the heavy cough, severely congested chest, and other symptoms that required nebulisation and other measures.I hope you recover quickly.