> If you are sick and your doctor mentions antibiotics to you, the first thing you should say is, “Hey, doc, do I really need the antibiotic?”
This will of course never happen. Tragedy of the commons and all that.
This will of course never happen. Tragedy of the commons and all that.
That being said, I have definitely been prescribed antibiotics a few times that it wasn't necessary.
"Well is that the treatment you recommend?"
I mean, the NHS are spending millions and having hundreds of doctors and researchers look at these questions ... why am I, completely uninformed, being asked to make a judgment??
Beggars belief.
The doctor presumably considers that you need the treatment otherwise they wouldn't recommend it. If they would recommend a treatment they know you don't need then they should have their license revoked. The only answer a doctor should be able to give is "only if you want to get better".
Of course there are already lots of people that would rather not take antibiotics in cases where they aren't needed and especially in cases where they won't do any good.
But antibiotics have some individual costs too. They are bad for your gut flora, and I think you can't drink alcohol while you are on antibiotics.
Maybe these individual costs should be raised. Perhaps via a special tax on antibiotics for people who don't have a positive test for a specific bacteria.