How soon do antibiotics start working?!
Question: How soon do antibiotics start working.?
Nearly two weeks ago I caught a cold. I was still feeling really ill 1.5 weeks later - coughing and constant nose-blowing, fever, pressure in the sinus region. My doctor and I both felt that I had developed a sinus infection. I was put on Klacid (clarithromycin) and had my first tablet two days ago on Wednesday night (and have now taken 4 tablets at the rate of one tablet twice a day).
I really thought I would be feeling a lot better by now. I still have a constant cough, though it's a bit drier. I still have a constant runny nose, though the mucous is getting clearer. I don't have fever anymore. I feel better than I did two days ago, but the constant cough and nose blowing are getting me down.
I have two questions - does it sound like Klacid is working as it should be.?
And - I'm also taking polaramine at night. It contains dexchlorpheniramine maleate. Could this be interfering with the antibiotics.?Health Question & Answer
I really thought I would be feeling a lot better by now. I still have a constant cough, though it's a bit drier. I still have a constant runny nose, though the mucous is getting clearer. I don't have fever anymore. I feel better than I did two days ago, but the constant cough and nose blowing are getting me down.
I have two questions - does it sound like Klacid is working as it should be.?
And - I'm also taking polaramine at night. It contains dexchlorpheniramine maleate. Could this be interfering with the antibiotics.?Health Question & Answer
Answers:
It sounds like the anti-biotic is working. Your nose is supposed to run when you are getting over a cold. It's what helps clear the dead bacterial cells from your sinus cavity. It's a *health* immune response. The cough could last up to a month after you started the anti-biotic. Again, this is a healthy immune response designed to clear the dead bacterial cells from your lungs.
You can help relieve the cough with a bit of steam by closing the door to the bathroom and putting the shower on full hot and allow the steam to build up in the bathroom. Sit in there and read a book or whatever and just breathe in the moist air. This will help thin the mucous in your lungs so your coughs are more productive and/or your body can absorb the dead bacterial cells and pass them through to your sweat glands for removal from the body. This will help your sinuses drain a bit better too, so be ready with the tissues!
Use a humidifyer or vaporizer in the bedroom at night and don't let it get too warm in the bedroom or you could end up in a coughing fit again.
And I don't know how it works, but eat a bunch of pineapple (fresh or canned). For some reason pineapple helps to thin the mucous and you stop coughing so bad. Eat it two or three times a day until you feel better. I can't even find any studies showing how this works, but it works amazingly well.
Personally, I'd take only the anti-biotic and just stick to the holistic measures to deal with the symptoms. If you block up your immune response with drugs, it will likely take longer for your body to complete the task of removing the remaining infection and dead cells since you are suppressing the systems designed to deal with dead cells - so your cold symptoms end up taking longer to go away.
When you are finished your anti-biotic, you may want to consider going to your local health store and picking up some acidopholis - it helps to re-build the bowel flora destroyed by the anti-biotic. A lot of pathogens are killed by the healthy bowel flora and you will have less of a risk of catching the next bug.
ADDED:
The posters after me obviously didn't comprehend what you wrote. The sinus infection is a bacterial infection and likely required an anti-biotic. Anti-biotic resistance is not caused by taking an anti-biotic when you have not bacteria to fight. It is caused by NOT completing the course of anti-biotics. Be sure to finish your prescription to prevent anti-biotic resistant bacteria.Health Question & Answer
You can help relieve the cough with a bit of steam by closing the door to the bathroom and putting the shower on full hot and allow the steam to build up in the bathroom. Sit in there and read a book or whatever and just breathe in the moist air. This will help thin the mucous in your lungs so your coughs are more productive and/or your body can absorb the dead bacterial cells and pass them through to your sweat glands for removal from the body. This will help your sinuses drain a bit better too, so be ready with the tissues!
Use a humidifyer or vaporizer in the bedroom at night and don't let it get too warm in the bedroom or you could end up in a coughing fit again.
And I don't know how it works, but eat a bunch of pineapple (fresh or canned). For some reason pineapple helps to thin the mucous and you stop coughing so bad. Eat it two or three times a day until you feel better. I can't even find any studies showing how this works, but it works amazingly well.
Personally, I'd take only the anti-biotic and just stick to the holistic measures to deal with the symptoms. If you block up your immune response with drugs, it will likely take longer for your body to complete the task of removing the remaining infection and dead cells since you are suppressing the systems designed to deal with dead cells - so your cold symptoms end up taking longer to go away.
When you are finished your anti-biotic, you may want to consider going to your local health store and picking up some acidopholis - it helps to re-build the bowel flora destroyed by the anti-biotic. A lot of pathogens are killed by the healthy bowel flora and you will have less of a risk of catching the next bug.
ADDED:
The posters after me obviously didn't comprehend what you wrote. The sinus infection is a bacterial infection and likely required an anti-biotic. Anti-biotic resistance is not caused by taking an anti-biotic when you have not bacteria to fight. It is caused by NOT completing the course of anti-biotics. Be sure to finish your prescription to prevent anti-biotic resistant bacteria.Health Question & Answer
YOU SHOULD NEVER TAKE ANTIBIOTICS FOR A COLD.
Colds are viruses, not bacteria. This is why so many bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Have you ever heard the old saying "starve a fever feed a cold.?" This is why my dr always tells me to drink OJ and Chicken Noodle Soup when I have a cold or the Flu. Pneumonia on the other hand REQUIRES antibiotics because it is caused by bacteria.Health Question & Answer
Colds are viruses, not bacteria. This is why so many bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics. Have you ever heard the old saying "starve a fever feed a cold.?" This is why my dr always tells me to drink OJ and Chicken Noodle Soup when I have a cold or the Flu. Pneumonia on the other hand REQUIRES antibiotics because it is caused by bacteria.Health Question & Answer
Another poster was absolutely correct - antibiotics should not be taken for a viral infection ("cold", "flu", etc); however, you mentioned you had a fever, which is good: viruses don't live in the body about 99 F, and they only leave the body by the kidneys. SO, drink! Rest, and stay warm.
If you had a bacterial infection warranting antibiotics, they'd have started "working" within 36 hours, usually. Once you have a blood-level established on the antibiotic, you definitely would have noticed a drastic change within 48 hours. Very often it's the antibiotics given for bladder infections that seem at times to "lag" in their effectiveness. OTOH, viruses hang around ...
You might try a sinus wash bottle (they're "miraculous") to keep your membranes healthy, and clear - like Neilmed's. www.unimedprod.com, or use a "normal saline" nasal spray (not any medicated nasal sprays!), every 30 minutes to keep your nasal passages clear - there's one product called Ocean Mist that most druggists know about and it's been out since the 70s. Both are excellent to use for any colds, sinus problems, allergies, and asthma...I know 2 families with ashmatic children who use the NeilMed sinus wash bottle all the time, and the kids love it because it helps them.
A "cold" generally hangs on full-blown (no pun intended) once it hits for 7 days straight, at full force...otherwise, on an antibiotic, it'll take a week. ;-))
Be sure to drink a great deal, keep your hands clean so you don't re-infect yourself (the most common method of contracting infections/pathogens), take hot showers and apply simple Olive Oil to your skin after the showers, and rest.
Buena salud.
Health Question & Answer
If you had a bacterial infection warranting antibiotics, they'd have started "working" within 36 hours, usually. Once you have a blood-level established on the antibiotic, you definitely would have noticed a drastic change within 48 hours. Very often it's the antibiotics given for bladder infections that seem at times to "lag" in their effectiveness. OTOH, viruses hang around ...
You might try a sinus wash bottle (they're "miraculous") to keep your membranes healthy, and clear - like Neilmed's. www.unimedprod.com, or use a "normal saline" nasal spray (not any medicated nasal sprays!), every 30 minutes to keep your nasal passages clear - there's one product called Ocean Mist that most druggists know about and it's been out since the 70s. Both are excellent to use for any colds, sinus problems, allergies, and asthma...I know 2 families with ashmatic children who use the NeilMed sinus wash bottle all the time, and the kids love it because it helps them.
A "cold" generally hangs on full-blown (no pun intended) once it hits for 7 days straight, at full force...otherwise, on an antibiotic, it'll take a week. ;-))
Be sure to drink a great deal, keep your hands clean so you don't re-infect yourself (the most common method of contracting infections/pathogens), take hot showers and apply simple Olive Oil to your skin after the showers, and rest.
Buena salud.
Health Question & Answer