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Can Multiple Doses Of Antibiotics Cure An Infection?
Question: Can it take multiple doses of the same antibiotic to kill an infection? How many doses of an antibiotic should be taken to kill a single infection? When should you try an alternative antibiotic if the infection persists?
Brief Answer:
if there is some improvement then the course can be repeated
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Antibiotics have different dosing schedules. This means that the effective course of one antibiotic differs from another.
Eg azithromycin is commonly used for 3 to 5 days but many other antibiotics require 7 days or more.
Repeated courses of an antibiotic can be used if an infection does not respond to the first course but if possible, it would be best to take a swab or some sort of sample of the infected area if possible, if there is no response to the first antibiotic course.
The sample can be sent to the lab to determine the exact bacteria causing the infection and also to find which antibiotics work and which ones do not.
In some cases, when an antibiotic does not work, it means that the person/infection is resistant to the medication/antibiotic and a different antibiotic should be used
So if you have a persisting infection with no improvement at all, it may be best to consider an alternative.
If there is slight improvement then the course of the original antibiotic can be extended/repeated
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
if there is some improvement then the course can be repeated
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Antibiotics have different dosing schedules. This means that the effective course of one antibiotic differs from another.
Eg azithromycin is commonly used for 3 to 5 days but many other antibiotics require 7 days or more.
Repeated courses of an antibiotic can be used if an infection does not respond to the first course but if possible, it would be best to take a swab or some sort of sample of the infected area if possible, if there is no response to the first antibiotic course.
The sample can be sent to the lab to determine the exact bacteria causing the infection and also to find which antibiotics work and which ones do not.
In some cases, when an antibiotic does not work, it means that the person/infection is resistant to the medication/antibiotic and a different antibiotic should be used
So if you have a persisting infection with no improvement at all, it may be best to consider an alternative.
If there is slight improvement then the course of the original antibiotic can be extended/repeated
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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