Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zoisite]

It's probably been discussed, in which case I welcome a link...but does anyone find that whenever you go to the doctor they give you antibiotics for the littlest of things??? where I am from you should be dying or have a serious infection, if you are taking antibiotics. Are there any doctors that DON'T prefer giving antibiotics... I just feel like the doctors I have encountered here are very lazy and treat antibiotics like some general usage miracle medicine.

[methdxman]

[thomas pars]

The problem is that antibiotics are incredibly overused -- one study found that as many as 80 percent of prescriptions for fluoroquinolones (a common antibiotic used for things like bronchitis) are unnecessary. Part of the reason for the overuse is that so many of these antibiotics are given to people with viral infections. Those of us who listened in high school biology know that trying to fight a virus with something that only kills bacteria is like trying to fight a puma with a fog machine. It doesn't work, and it doesn't make any goddamn sense.

This story gets much, much worse, thanks to, of all people, that bastard Charles Darwin. See, due to natural selection, when you bombard your body with antibiotics, the only bacteria that survive are those that have learned how to beat the system -- and those are the bugs that get to escape back into the world. The more antibiotics you take, the faster the process happens. The result is that an increasing number of people are dying from infections like tuberculosis because we've gone and turned it into super-tuberculosis.

Because of this, our current antibiotics will eventually be completely useless for anything. When this happens, transplant surgery will be nearly impossible, appendectomies will be incredibly risky and gonorrhea will get a whole lot nastier. Experts predict we might suffer the fate of the aliens at the end of War of the Worlds as soon as a couple of generations from now. So maybe, the next time you come down with a case of the sniffles, you should drink lots of fluids and harden the *beep* up.



Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_18840_5-common-medical-procedures-that-secretly-arent-worth-it_p2.html#ixzz1DVivsyWO

[pangaea]

I have heard that they are overused here but I think part of the problem is general misuse. I think in some cases they are over-prescribed, but they are sometimes under-prescribed as well. There have been a few times that I didn't take the medicine given to me at the pharmacy because I was suspicious that it included an antibiotic for something that didn't require it.

I think part of the problem is that antibiotics are prescribed for 3 days only, then you have to go back to the doctor and they can choose not to prescribe them again. I had a serious case of cellulitis over the summer and had to visit the doctor at least 5 times. I was taking 3 doses of antibiotics a day for 17 days. What I had warranted it, but by the end of the 17 days, the side effects of the antibiotics were making me more miserable than the infection. I did feel lucky, though, that my doctor took things seriously enough to keep prescribing the antibiotics.

Not long after that, my boyfriend developed a nasty infection under his skin that was so bad it couldn't be treated by the GP I went to. He was sent to an outpatient surgery clinic to have it opened and drained. The doctor there prescribed 3 days of antibiotics. My boyfriend went back after 3 days and the doctor didn't prescribe any more antibiotics for him. 3 days later when he went back, the doctor saw that the infection wasn't getting any better and gave him 3 more days of antibiotics. So, for the serious infection he had, he was on 6 non-consecutive days of antibiotics. I was furious when I found out. Way to create some super bacteria, doc.

[UknowsI]

I agree with the above posters. Over-prescription of anti-biotic is much more common in east Asia than in Europe, but under prescription is also a problem. One time I went to the doctor he told me "There is nothing wrong, but here are some anti-biotics". From a class I had at uni:

[pangaea]

I can believe it. I was given 2 injections and a prescription for 3 or 4 pills for a sprained ankle a few years ago. I have no idea what the injections were and I didn't take the pills because not only did I not know what any of them were, I was afraid one of them might be an antibiotic. I can understand taking a pain reliever and an anti-inflammatory for a sprained ankle, but what could those other pills be?

[UknowsI]

When you get your prescription all the drugs are listed. You can find the active ingredients or western equivalent on http://www.druginfo.co.kr/ by typing in the Korean name. Then you can just search for information about the drug using English afterwards.

Doctors in Korea are no longer allowed to give out pills directly, and you should therefore be able to check what you're actually getting before you buy it as long as they are oral drugs. It is however much more difficult for injections since the doctor will set them then and there. Doctors also have an incentive to use injections because they will earn a higher profit by doing so, and therefore it can sometimes be difficult for the patient to reject.

I'm very careful when it comes to medicine since I'm allergic to some antibiotics and therefore I always do my own research before I take any drugs just to double check.

[timetotravel]

I recently was given valium as part of medical bag of goodies for a throat infection, definitely thought that was a little weird!

[akcrono]

Wow. REALLY happy to see smart, educated people doing something like this. I wish more people had this attitude.

[pangaea]

akcrono wrote:

[bobbybigfoot]

[pangaea]

[Zoisite]

I just think that there are too many antibiotics, I don't like my mouth tasting like rubber, extreme weakness, and inability to operate properly..just for a simple cold. I am just annoyed that Korean doctors seem a little lazy in the prescription department...

I went to a skin doctor a few days ago, and he gave me antibiotics and steroids... so today I went to a very famous dermatologist, and he completely gave me a different opinion about what to do... when he asked me where I went for the first option he told me that the first place I went to wasn't registered for treating skin issues... -_-

Where I am from, if you have a specific medical issue, you go to a generic family doctor, and they set up an appointment with a specialized clinic, if it isn't your common problem. The only thing that sucks is the waiting period for these clinics... senior citizens alway seem to get priority... they have worse issues.

(I am from Canada, ehhhhh!)

[loubird]

Bear in mind that many of those mystery pills you are getting subscribed are vitamins-- as are most of the injections given for minor complaints. There may be an antibiotic mixed in the bunch, but the rest are probably vitamins.