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Dr. Hive - Antibiotics for Bronchitis?


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Dh just left the doctor with a prescription for antibiotics. The doctor said he has bronchitis but is treating it with antibiotics. I thought it was viral and needed to just be waited out, but it's been a very long time since any of us have needed anything for an illness. The doctor also said that he's seen over 10 cases of this today and treating them this way to make sure they don't escalate to pneumonia. Any ideas?

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bronchitis can be viral or bacterial. Most cases are viral (many times caused by the flu, I have 5 kids at various stages of the flu right now, my youngest is over the flu part, but I think it has turned into bronchitis). Steroids may be in order, and antibiotics may or may not be...

 

My family seems particularly prone to pneumonia, so if the bronchitis doesn't clear up in about a week, I will usually take them in, at which point ABX are usually prescribed.

 

With my personal history, if I have a bad cold, I can pretty much guarantee that within 2 weeks I will have double pneumonia....I've lost count of the number of times I've gone in a day or two too early and given the chicken-soup remedy, only to return 7-10 days later in really bad shape.

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Dh finally decided to go in because it's been almost two weeks since he got sick in the first place (flu). The doctor told him his lungs were totally clear; that's why I was curious why the antibiotics. It seems odd to pre-emptively treat pneumonia that isn't there.

 

Unless your husband had a history like mine, or if they knew a bacterial bronchitis was going around...then yes, you would be right. He could hold onto the script and give it a week or so before starting. The only things that would probably be indicated at this point would be (a) steroids, if he was having breathing issues and/or (b) a good cough suppressant if his cough is so bad he can't rest.

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I have had a bad cough with a terrible headache since September. No fever. Just a cough that cannot be treated with any over the counter medicine. I went to the dr. She gave me Zithromax, albuterol, and prednisone (for two weeks) and my cough and headache are gone. She said lungs are clear but I have lots of inflammation, which could be bronchitis or some other similar inflammatory condition. She said I could try the albuterol and prednisone first for a few days, which I did, but they only calmed the cough, but I coughed just as much. I finished the Zithromax and kept taking the albuterol and prednisone, and my cough and headache are gone. It has been four peaceful days and I am sleeping better.

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Dh just left the doctor with a prescription for antibiotics. The doctor said he has bronchitis but is treating it with antibiotics. I thought it was viral and needed to just be waited out, but it's been a very long time since any of us have needed anything for an illness. The doctor also said that he's seen over 10 cases of this today and treating them this way to make sure they don't escalate to pneumonia. Any ideas?

 

I used to get this a lot, and I always took the antibiotics. I needed to head it off before a very deep, hard to shake cough came on

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I used to get this a lot, and I always took the antibiotics. I needed to head it off before a very deep, hard to shake cough came on

 

This is the same for some members of my family. Albuterol helps a lot. We start with that, but if it worsens, we use the antibiotics to avoid getting to the point of needing steroids. We rarely use antibiotics, but walking pneumonia is a bear.

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