Dear Ask Smile E.,
I’ve currently been taking azithromycin Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but I’m still getting infections, why? Should I stop taking them since they aren’t working? I don’t want to end up with antibiotic resistance.
Signed,
Sick of Antibiotics
Dear Sick of Antibiotics,
Low dose prophylactic antibiotics are truly not meant to fight infections, nor are they meant to stop infections completely. First off, being low dose, the antibiotics are not powerful enough to be therapeutic to infections. Instead low dose prophylactic antibiotics, given to patients with respiratory diseases, are meant to target airway inflammation and reduce it. Airway inflammation in PCD is another way mucus can become stuck in the respiratory system. Stuck mucus is a breeding ground for additional airway infections. The thought behind low dose prophylactic antibiotics is to decrease airway inflammation. Which will help decrease the overall number of lung infections for a patient, delay the onset (start) of bronchiectasis, and delay or lessen the risks of developing infections like pseudomonas and even nontuberculosis mycobacteria.
As far as stopping your medication; I encourage you to speak to your doctor first before doing anything, including stopping any medication, as I am not a licensed physician. With that being said, your doctor may feel this treatment is actually effective for your particular situation. But only you and your doctor can determine that based on your unique goals of treatment. Also stopping and restarting antibiotics over short periods of time can actually lead to antibiotic resistance. As I said; this is a very important topic for you and your care team to discuss, so I urge you to reach out to your team for guidance. Remember you are an important part of your care team, so don’t be afraid to speak up when you have questions, concerns, or disagree with something.
Yours Truly,
Smile E. Turtle
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