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mcnylast Sunday at 6:48 AM3 repliesview on HN

It is funny you say that. Where do you draw the line?

I had what was most likely poison ivy. Covered both arms. And was spreading. What do you propose my nurse practitioner to do? Not prescribe any antibiotics? To what end? I should continue to suffer because of what reason?


Replies

SturgeonsLawlast Sunday at 7:09 AM

Antibiotics do one thing, and one thing only - kill bacteria. They don't do anything for viruses, fungal infection, inflammation, chemical irritants or pain relief.

In the case of poison ivy, all antibiotics would do is lower the already slim odds of a secondary infection. They wouldn't prevent the contact dermatitis/inflammation from urishiol.

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monadgonadlast Sunday at 10:19 AM

Antibiotics don’t stop you suffering from poison ivy. At all. In other posts you say you had a broken skin barrier that’s vulnerable to infection, so you presumably know that this is not the same as actually having a bacterial infection, and that antibiotics are only a prophylactic, not a treatment. So stop making out that people are dying to deny you treatment.

tsimionesculast Sunday at 7:13 AM

Poison ivy is a plant that causes a topical rash, antibiotics can't help in any way with this. Maybe you've mistyped something?

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