antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection?

[jessica31876]

I have been feeling kinda sick the last few days. Well today it started hurting a little when I breathe and I have a horrible cough. Once I start coughing it is really hard to stop. So I went into the urgent care place and the doctor there said I have an upper respiratory infection. So I looked it up online and it says that it is basically a cold. Well I know that antibiotics are no good for a cold but the dr prescribed me antibiotics anyhow. Im just not sure why...is that normal to prescribe antibiotics for a cold? If it will just pass on it's own I dont want to waste my money or take them unnecasarily.

[color of my heart]

it's an actual infection, then they probably prescribed them for a reason. i mean, i can ask my mother (an ER nurse) what she thinks. then again, i'm a firm believer that doctors prescribe things to make people shut up. it happens more often than it should, and that's how people become immune to antibiotics.

however, like i said, if it's an infection, you should take them. because if you don't, the infection may get worse. know what i mean? again, i'll ask mom. if you want.

[jessica31876]

Ashley that is why I was not sure about taking them because doctors do prescribe them to make people happy. I didnt want the infection to turn into pneumonia or bronchitus and take weeks to go away. Ive had both before and they suck.

[KyRainbow]

a URI is not a cold. It has cold-like symptoms, but it is an actual infection, thus the need for antibiotics. If you trust that the dr diagnosed you correctly, you should take the abx. If you aren't sure it's an actual URI, then I would seek a 2nd opinion. Untreated, a URI can easily turn into bronchitis or even pneumonia.

[MandaT]

Originally Posted by KyRainbow

a URI is not a cold. It has cold-like symptoms, but it is an actual infection, thus the need for antibiotics. If you trust that the dr diagnosed you correctly, you should take the abx. If you aren't sure it's an actual URI, then I would seek a 2nd opinion. Untreated, a URI can easily turn into bronchitis or even pneumonia.

^what she said.

Having it turn into something worse =

[juliemarie]

Guess it just depends on the Dr - my 5 year old had a fever of 103 for 3 days over Christmas, once the drs office was open on Monday it was down to 101 but she had started coughing stuff up. I was told she had viral bronchitis and antibiotics are overprescribed, so only if her fever went back up again or she wasn't getting any better in 3-4 days would she need antibiotics. She was back to normal by the end of the week without antibiotics.

Our Dr has also said the common cold is an upper respiratory infection, the cold is a virus, so its a viral infection, not a bacterial infection.

[kayce]

I always wait at least 2 weeks before starting antibiotics for a cough. I am very cautious about overusing them. My friends are Delsym and Mucinex.

[mummytothree]

Actually most URI are cause by a virus and taking antibiotics will not help it at all.

[aggiefamily]

You could try to treat your symptoms for a few days to see if there is improvement before getting your RX filled.


But if it was me I would get it filled and take them just because I have a history of chronic bronchitis. What starts out as a common cold and sometimes allergies turns into a sinus infection (due to a blocked sinus window) and URI and then the infection turns into bacterial bronchitis. Not fun.