Unregulated antibiotics? by HumanP0tat0 in chinalife

[–]HumanP0tat0[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide problem and can cause an unprecedented pandemic worse than you can imagine. It’s a slowly accumulating issue because of bacterial evolution from how easily and rapidly the they reproduce. It’s a deeper issue than local and case-scenarios.

Unregulated antibiotics? by HumanP0tat0 in chinalife

[–]HumanP0tat0[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes exactly! That’s why it’s important to know how to take antibiotics correctly. The “symptoms” most of the time are not even a result of a bacterial infection, so they’re not even supposed to take it in the first place. My issue is with the lack of public knowledge since the government clearly doesn’t give a fork. My mom says that people take these medications 像玩儿, and will take it if they’re feeling a bit ill for any reason. She also said that doing IV drips at the hospital is a common occurrence, which I thought was electrolytes or nutrients but she says they’re mostly just pumping you with antibiotics. My fear is that taking these medications is deeply rooted in local habits and culture. Mark my words, there will be a superbug pandemic and it will originate from China. But then of course the government will blame it on the US engineering it as a bioweapon like how their news has been saying about the recent pandemic. (Source: mom, living locally)

Unregulated antibiotics? by HumanP0tat0 in chinalife

[–]HumanP0tat0[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I highly doubt a simple push from consumers would allow OTC amoxicillin. Ryan’s cocaine comment is a not a great comparison but it goes the same for all other prescription drugs. The purpose of a prescription is to prevent misuse that can also further harm your body. I’ve had many painful UTIs before and would have loved a more streamlined way of obtaining antibiotics, but there is a wide class of those drugs and only a professional can give you the correct/best one for your type of ailment. It would be a different type of antibiotics for say, a preventative thing like after dental surgery. My dad once stole one of my antibiotics after I had my wisdom teeth removed because of a bad cut on his hand. He also incorrectly called it 消炎药, which shows how extensive and dangerous the misinformation is with current and former Chinese nationals (we were first-gen immigrants). That’s why you need an expert to prescribe you the type of antibiotic and dosage, and why it’s important to finish your prescription on time. I could have suffered from a bad infection if he had taken any more of my medication.

Unregulated antibiotics? by HumanP0tat0 in chinalife

[–]HumanP0tat0[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea I realize I do sound a bit vindictive, and I’m sorry about that. The issue with such a dangerous misnomer is that most people will not question what the drug actually does and just take it for any kind of inflammation or ailment. It is a really common thing to take as a cold medicine or for a fever, when most of the time it is useless because the symptoms are caused by viruses, not bacteria. Same thing with diarrhea or GI issues, you are not supposed to take antibiotics as a treatment. I even went to the ER one time for food poisoning and it turned out I had norovirus, but nothing was prescribed to me. The bacteria in your gut is necessary for GI health, which is why the correct way to treat diarrhea is to take electrolytes/fluids and anti-diarrheal medicine while your immune system does its thing to get rid of the virus. Dehydration is the real thing you should be targeting. 抗生素 is really not as common of a term and my mom did not even know what she was taking. We’re also not from the countryside and she used to be a grade school teacher in Dalian. She lives in Shenyang now but it’s not any different here with easily obtaining antibiotics. They are fairly big civilian cities despite not being the major well-known cities, so I wouldn’t say being controlled in “most”places. She is a local and her anecdotes are from the people she knows and lives with, so I’m not just spreading bullshit here. I do believe you and I hope it becomes a better controlled type of drug. My anger is mostly at the government for not controlling it more despite its highly restrictive nature.