Greetings Chris,
Nausea and diarrhea are the side effects of the antibiotics. And with your description, it seems that the side effects are quite severe, significant and intense. A single answer to discontinuation of the antibiotics would be the state of chest infection (not these side effects alone). If there is residual chest infection, you would need further antibiotics. Since oral antibiotics are causing these major effects, you many need to put on intramuscular or intravenous antibiotics. So your physician, by a clinical examination and a chest x-ray determine the need of further medicines. Side effects alone are not the determinants. In the light of the severity of the side effects; in the presence of residual infection, either there would be change of type of antibiotic or route of administration would be changed.
Please feel free for your follow up questions.
Dr. Arun
Thanks for quick response. So i can make decision can i ask the duration needed on antibiotics to clear an infection. I am aware it depends on severity of condition but on a general level if i am given a course of antibiotics for 7 days for example would 3 or 5 days be expected to clear the infection with the remaining days being a insurance or back up or does the infection clear right up until the final tablet taken? All together i have had 5 days on ABs (2 days amoxicillin, 3 days emeythromycin), do they run concurrently or does a new drug mean starting again from day 1.
My worry is that my chest infec could be viral and that i could be neddlessly taking but obviously dont want to risk pneumonia for example if it is bacterial.
Hello,
I agree with all of your observations. One, this can be viral. Second, if your symptoms are abated almost completely by 5 days treatment; in all likelihood would be sufficient and third, you can yourself make a decision of stopping the antibiotic, based on your observation of residual symptom and severity of the side effect. Even most of the residual symptoms can be taken care by our own body's defense mechanism. The 2+3 days of antibiotics usually will be counted as total 5 days of course, in this instance and this can be in most of the instances good enough for most of the chest infections.
It is pleasure and privilege assisting you.
Doctor (MD)
MBBS, MS (General Surgery), Post-doctoral Fellowship in Sports Medicine