MediFilter: Should I take the antibiotics for my staph infection, even though it's getting better? [more inside]
posted by nzero on Apr 16, 2009 - 39 answers

Wife and I are trying to conceive and I just began antibiotics. Any risk? [more inside]
posted by lapsang on Mar 20, 2009 - 17 answers

The pediatrician says my two-week-old baby has a potential eye infection-- her left eye isn't draining properly yet. The pediatrician prescribed erythromycin ointment. Coincidentally, about three weeks ago, our cat was prescribed erythromycin for her eye infection, which is now long cleared. I still have about four-fifths of a tube. Is there any reason that I shouldn't use the cat's ointment on the baby? It seems like a waste to open another tube of the stuff.
posted by Mayor Curley on Dec 2, 2008 - 34 answers

What is the best microbiology textbook for a non-microbiologist scientist who works in the pharma industry with antibiotic products? [more inside]
posted by Punctual on Nov 14, 2008 - 6 answers

How worried should I be about the side effects of this medicine? [more inside]
posted by mrunderhill on Jun 8, 2008 - 17 answers

Does my cat have a chronic respiratory infection, or is it possible she just naturally has poor breathing passages? Ever since my partner and I adopted her and her sister in August she has had periodic coughing and hacking fits that have been relatively unaffected by three separate rounds of antibiotics. Now I wonder if maybe she just has the equivalent of a deviated septum, or whether it's time for hospitalization. [more inside]
posted by schroedinger on Dec 13, 2007 - 13 answers

How do I rid myself of this recent pill-swallowing phobia? [more inside]
posted by Glitter Ninja on Jan 3, 2007 - 29 answers

Doctor at the clinic said I don't have strep throat, but I'm not convinced. What else could this be? Should I take antibiotics? Other ways to fight strep? [more inside]
posted by poweredbybeard on Jul 31, 2006 - 21 answers

Help me get a rabbit to take its antibiotics! [more inside]
posted by jrb223 on Mar 15, 2006 - 8 answers

What is the role of antiseptics/antibiotics in the wound healing process? On a cut, for example, it seems that constant reapplication of neosporin makes a cut take longer to heal. What's going on here? Is it just preventing a scab from forming due to the moisturizing quality of such creams? Does that actually impede healing? For cuts in the mouth, it seems like frequent use of an alcohol-based antiseptic mouthwash would kill most living cells in the area, preventing quick healing. Is this the case? I'm aware that these substances prevent infection, but do they have any other effects, good or bad in the healing process?
posted by sirion on Jun 21, 2005 - 10 answers