The reason doctors prescribe antibiotics for viral infections is that viral infections often weaken the immune system severely enough that secondary or opportunistic bacterial infections occur. While I agree unnecessarily prescribing antibiotics is wrong, they mostly have a good reason for it.
however, if you ARE prescribed antibiotics, it is extremely important that you follow through with your doses and take them at the right times. If not, you might be breeding a new culture of bacteria that isn't affected by antibiotics
This all comes down to your doctor, most patients don't actually demand antibiotics. They just ask if theres anything to make them feel better quicker.
Several controlled studies have shown that antibiotic prophylaxis greatly reduces the chance of secondary bacterial infections which are common after a viral infection. There’s no point in nursing someone through the measles if they turn around and die from pneumonia almost immediately.
As a person that get frequent sinus infections, mine almost always develop into an ear infection, requiring the antibiotics. I don't respond to zpacks or lower level antibiotics at all. It's sucks.
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