Misc Have an infection and need antibiotics?

I was reading some topics on antibiotics online and found this novel idea. I went to my local pet store to see if it was true and sure enough, I came across this. "Fish Fox Forte" is just Amoxicillin, and "Fish Flex" is just Cephalexin. Both available over the counter as fish meds and both are antibiotics used by humans to treat infections. Every thread that I have read about someone getting an infection from an injection site says that their doctor prescribed them one of these antibiotics. I'm not saying you should rely entirely on fish meds to treat an infection should it arise, but in theory this should work if one can not goto a doctor for a variety of reason. Amoxicillin and Cephalexin are both common medicines used to treat infections which could be caused by needles.

Searched some more online about the product and found this.

Fish Flex Forte Cephalexin Antibiotic 500mg 100 Tablets. It is a brand new sealed

bottle. The ingredient in each tablet is Cephalexin 500 mg. This is pharmaceutical quality

USP grade Cephalexin. This antibiotic is labeled for fish and thus can be distributed

without an Rx prescription.

· USP - Pharmaceutical Grade - It meets pharmaceutical standards for human consumption

· FG - Food Grade - It meets standards for human consumption

· FE - Feed Grade - It meets standards for animal consumption

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Am I missing something? My opinion, I would feel safer taking these antibiotics than nothing at all.

Your thoughts?

Cephalexin is in a group of drugs called cephalosporin antibiotics and is used to fight bacteria in the body. It works by interfering with the bacteria's cell wall formation, causing it to rupture, and killing the bacteria.

Cephalexin is used to treat infections caused by bacteria, including upper respiratory infections, ear infections, skin infections, and urinary tract infections.

Cephalexin may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide

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Very interesting. But, one highly important aspect of harm reduction is knowing when to seek medical attention. When you have an infection, especially one that you believe you induced via drug abuse, you must consult a doctor and get professional healthcare. It is incredibly dangerous to attempt to self-treat an unknown "infection" with antibiotics. The proper antibiotic must be prescribed at the proper dose and dosing frequency for a predetermined amount of time with drugs intended for use in humans as outlined by a physician.

For now I'm reopening this while awaiting further input, with the disclaimer above.

Unlike a lot of other drugs, antibiotics can degrade over time into other substances even if stored in proper conditions.

I still can't really condone this type of behavior though.

I'm sure those antibiotics are not regulated by the FDA whatsoever.

You should be aware that if you havve a family doctor you can get a prescription for an antibiotic called in for you while avoiding the fee for a visit.

Last time I had an abcessed tooth I just walked in with out an apointment and walked out with a call-in for what I needed. The lady at the front desk give me a bit of an attitude about it considering I hadn't seen my doctor in 6 years (I have no insurance) but when she realized I wasn't going away and I explained I would ring my dcotors cell phone if she didn't want to help out her attitude changed real quick .

Now, I should point out that I knew exactly what was going on with me health wise since I had just gone through an abcess/root canal 6 months pior. If you don't know exactly whats going on you should see the doctor. Also, antibiotics can cause allergic reactions and should not be used unless absolutely needed.

With all that in mind I would not take what the OP has suggested. The OP should find another doctor or talk with his current one imo. If you don't have health insurance there are doctors that will work with you. My dentist allows me to pay off things on payment plans, my family doctor sees me for a flat fee and gives me samples/prescribes generics. So as long as I can avoid a major hospital visit I don't have to pay too much (at least all at once).

Thankyou for the edits you made to the OP.

Don't self prescribe antibiotics. If you take the wrong class of antibiotics for your infection you could be wasting your time. If you do choose to take B-lactam antibiotics, take the whole course (generally 28 days x 3-4 daily doses x 500mg of amoxicillin (penicilllin), or cephalexin (cephalosporin)), Read and understand the patient's leaflet thingy too. And make sure to realise that if the antibiotics "dont work" after several days you seriously need to go to a doctor no questions asked. You may have antibiotic-resistant bacteria or some other nasty (fungus etc)

sekio said:

Don't self prescribe antibiotics. If you take the wrong class of antibiotics for your infection you could be wasting your time. If you do choose to take B-lactam antibiotics, take the whole course (generally 28 days x 3-4 daily doses x 500mg of amoxicillin (penicilllin), or cephalexin (cephalosporin)), Read and understand the patient's leaflet thingy too. And make sure to realise that if the antibiotics "dont work" after several days you seriously need to go to a doctor no questions asked. You may have antibiotic-resistant bacteria or some other nasty (fungus etc)

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Exactly, by self-prescribing the wrong antibiotic or even the right one but taken improperly at the wrong dose or dosing interval for the wrong amount of time without tests to ensure it's working is a recipe for disaster and can even make it more difficult for the doctors to treat you if you've been helping the infection become resistant to the antibiotics you've administered incorrectly.

Websites such as webmd can direct you in the right direction as well as give a sound regiment for the treatment. As with any drug, their are risk. You have to research and know what can benefit you. You also need to know the possible side effects and what can go wrong. If the illness gets worse, I think most people can come to the conclusion of taking a different course, such as going to the doctor for a professional opinion.

In my experience and from what I've read, most doctors take an educated guess on an illness or infection the first go around. If the first treatment doesn't improve, then they'll take the necessary steps and create cultures to see exactly what you have, and then go from there with the correct treatment.

sekio said:

Don't self prescribe antibiotics.

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^this

the last time I knew i needed antibiotics, I went to the doctors and they gave them to me for free. No waiting in line at a pharmacy, no purchasing fish medications hoping it will work for me.

Captain.Heroin said:

^this

the last time I knew i needed antibiotics, I went to the doctors and they gave them to me for free. No waiting in line at a pharmacy, no purchasing fish medications hoping it will work for me.

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If it was that easy, I would have done that. It doesn't work like that for everyone.

AlmostFamous said:

If it was that easy, I would have done that. It doesn't work like that for everyone.

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Which is why I'm glad I live here.

Yes! More than fish products have antibiotics you can get like that.
Bird antibiotics also do, though you can only find them at certain pet stores, usually more specialty stores.
When I was working and worked with animals, I was usually in charge of medicating the animals, so I usually would take what I needed, but I happened to look in pet stores at the different kind of antibiotics for different pets and birds and fish ones are your best luck of finding something OK for humans.... not saying it's safe or there are no risks though!

Coincidentally, I just finished a bottle of fish zole (Metronidazole). I tried doing things legit, but my doc kept giving me the wrong types of antibiotics. Eventually, after 3 bogus and lengthy courses of antibiotics, I took care of things myself. And guess what? I' m finally well! All I know is that sometimes these docs are wrong, and if you' re not willing to be your own (careful) advocate, then you could even potentially die at their hands. I' m not encouraging anyone to abuse antibiotics, or to take them frivolously, but hey, if you already have experience with an infection and know what you need, seriously, go get it. This stuff works just like pharmacy antibiotics. Just be sure to take a full course, so the infection will not recur.

If you literally can't go to a doctor.. or for whatever reason can't afford the meds or something... I guess this is better than doing nothing but.. I don't know, I still really don't want people taking this option just because it's easier..

If you can go to a doctor and get the proper meds and dosages.. That needs to be your first option. This isn't something that I would like to see being a go-to for anytime you have a problem. Self-diagnosis can lead to some disastrous results..

That being said, I do know people who have done this and sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't..

Haha funny you mention that op.
I remember in duff mckagan's (bass player for guns n roses) autobiography he mentions his older brother told him the same thing since stds were so common for rockers in L.A.

interesting... i will say props to the OP for pointing out an over the counter formulation of a medically useful compound that is usually only available by prescription (even if this particular formulation isn't likely up to FDA standards). i'm all for subverting the stupid prescription system and enabling folks to treat themselves if they choose. a lot of people will probably have objections especially in this case since improper use of antibiotics can cause the formation of antibiotic-resistant strains of disease and that's fair, people need to use these in a medically responsible way and most doctors these days won't prescribe until they run tests or you present looking completely half-dead... of course if you have insurance you might as well take advantage of it and just get your antibiotic script for a few bucks safely but if you can't afford the doctor visit and you're pretty certain that you have a bacterial infection, a nominally diligent person could look up a medicine and dosing regime from references just as well as any doctor could. lots of people on here consume all kinds of research chemicals, i don't see this as being any worse than reasoned use of those compounds... of course if you plan to self diagnose and use veterinary antibiotic formulations, you need to keep an eye on yourself and know when to throw in the towel and go to a real doctor if your condition isn't improving within a few days.

My dog gets skin infections often and he gets prescribed cephalexin (keflex) This is one of the antibiotics that are free of charge at the Publix pharmacy. One time I had developed a sudden urinary tract infection and it was very painful. I don't have health insurance either. So I took them for a few days and it cleared up, thank God. But some people have bad reactions to sulfur-based antiobiotics. I would be careful if it's something that you've never been prescribed before.

Permanent Jones said:

Coincidentally, I just finished a bottle of fish zole (Metronidazole). I tried doing things legit, but my doc kept giving me the wrong types of antibiotics. Eventually, after 3 bogus and lengthy courses of antibiotics, I took care of things myself. And guess what? I' m finally well! All I know is that sometimes these docs are wrong, and if you' re not willing to be your own (careful) advocate, then you could even potentially die at their hands. I' m not encouraging anyone to abuse antibiotics, or to take them frivolously, but hey, if you already have experience with an infection and know what you need, seriously, go get it. This stuff works just like pharmacy antibiotics. Just be sure to take a full course, so the infection will not recur.

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^ I hope you weren't paying doctors money to not get you well! Yikes.

The last time I got well with a single course of antibiotics, it was all on the house. The visit, the antibiotics, everything.

Why yes, Captain, I was paying although with excellent insurance. My doc' s kind of a know- it- all smart ass who likes to do things his way. Even if it doesn' t work out. Even though he knows my history of nearly dying from the same type of infection years ago. So, I got tired of the round robin of wrong antibiotics and took care of business with what I knew from experience would work. For the record, I did ask him for a script of metronidazole first, and he turned me down flat. No matter, though. All' s well that ends well, and now it' s time to watch some hockey!