My Thai Wife

[POMCHOB]

My wife has been ill for a few days with flu like symptons a temperature

aches and headache etc,

i was worried it was from a mosquito biteshe is in bangkok ,so i got her sister

to take her to a well known International Hospital in bangkok as i'm in the uk.

The doctor told her she has a heavy cold ,

What is a mystery to me is why she has been given amoxycillin (Which is an anti-biotic)

to take 3x a day for 30 days with two lots of anti-histimine 3x a day.

most anti-biotics are over 7-10 days.

appreciate any help on this please, thanks regards pomchob

[mikethevigoman]

My wife has been ill for a few days with flu like symptons a temperature

aches and headache etc,

i was worried it was from a mosquito biteshe is in bangkok ,so i got her sister

to take her to a well known International Hospital in bangkok as i'm in the uk.

The doctor told her she has a heavy cold ,

What is a mystery to me is why she has been given amoxycillin (Which is an anti-biotic)

to take 3x a day for 30 days with two lots of anti-histimine 3x a day.

most anti-biotics are over 7-10 days.

appreciate any help on this please, thanks regards pomchob

Dont worry too much,. my wife makes a meal of having a cold,. she too was given a course of anti biotics,along with 5 other types of medicine ! they seem to get over it as quick as they got it,.

[londonthai]

in thailand doctors overprescribe antibiotics - in fact they can be bought over the counter and many pharmacists do recommend them whatever the condition is.

they are fast and effective for viral infections - she should have first blood test to see if it's a virus or bacteria. Taking antibiotics for that long weakens the immune system especially if taken by tablets. Every few days she should go back for the blood test and on that ground the doctor can see for how long more she needs to carry on tablets.

with antibiotics she should drink yogurt or at least milk - to help replenish healthy gut flora.

tell you wife to drink a lot of water and switch off the air conditioning, until she gets better.

[niggle]

Seems a bit weird

1. The antihistamine dose is too long. Most antihistamies would not normally be prescribed for more than 7 dyas - if no effect then review / change

2. The antibiotic course is ridiculous. Due to the increase in MRSA and other resistant strains, the trend is to prescribe antibiotics at high doses (maybe up to 4 times the ' usual dose) over a short period. This kills the bug (and gives you the runs) but helps prevent the build up of resistance to the antibiotic.

3. If it is a heavy cold then there is no point whatsoever in prescribing antibiotics or anti histamines.

Nurse Nigel

[POMCHOB]

Dear All ,thank-you Londonthai, Mikethevigoman, and Niggle

Very happy to get your quick responces

I spoke on the phone with my wife and past all the good advice from you all she took one amoxycillin

and made her already high temperature increase and made her a bit crazy .

The Omoxycillin really messed her up from side efects so i've told her to stop this course( i'm sure its ok for others in the right dose though)

which i think is the best thing in her situation (although i realise you should follow the course)

I will get her to take the Anti-histimine for 7 days as mentioned ,

and good old Paracetomol.

I do appreciate your kind help while i am away from her as i have some good advice now for using Antibiotics in the future .

She recently told me when she or her family got sick in the village in the south they would go to the clinic and would be given an injection in the rear but the Doctor never tells them what it's for and i still have no idea what it's for!

Thanks all for taking time to post your replys regards from Pomchob

[lazeeboy]

all thai's make a meal out of being ill .first sign of a sniff ,straight to the hospital ,my opinion is its prestige of being able to afford to go .

[jts-khorat]

amoxycillin

Besides Paracetamol in all kinds of generic forms, Amoxycillin must be the most often prescribed medication in all of Thailand; you will have it on the list for virtually everything you can imagine, most often than not not warranted (but the insurance pays anyway?).

I would even venture that a good number of hospitals try to hide this practice, at least for Paracetamol, by prescribing randomly different-looking generic versions on different visits of the same patients (or the drug makers change color and look of those tablets often).

Must be one of the great money-making schemes of hospitals here, I just wonder why the insurances do not act against it (at least Bupa never batted an eyelid before I myself wisened up to always get the by-paper and read if the medicine is counter-indicative or does seem useful at all).

[dominique355]

Modern antibiotics, such as Zithromax, are usually prescribed for a shorter than usual period, 5 days. It's a new generation of antibiotics (Zithromax from Pfizer).

I just finished my treatment of a rather strong cold and the doctor at the hospital prescribed my Zithromax (2 tablets @ 250 mg after lunch) for 5 days. In addition antihistamine to stop the runny nose and allow to breath freely and anti-cough medicine and finally a medicine to dilute the stuff I cough out.

It worked fine and now, 8 days later I am fine again, after being really miserable.

The doctor explained that the weather right now in Bangkok causes many people to develop this kind of cold affecting also the bronchiae (browinsh sputum)

[niggle]

Please everyone remember you do not need antibiotics for a cold. As a GP I worked with used to say to patients who came with a cold - 'you walked in here with a cold, and you'll walk out with one. Go home, go to bed drink lots of water and take paracetamol'

Best advice ever.

If you take antibiotics for anything please please make sure the pharmacist gives you the ones indicated for the particular infection not just any kind.

[londonthai]

the pharmacist is not a medical practitioner - only doctor can prescibe antibiotics.

that's the problem in thailand - pharmacists selling them over the counter without doing any blood and urin tests, checking all the symptoms.