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E. coli (0157:H7) Infection

There are many types of E. coli (Escherichia coli). coli can cause urinary tract and bladder infections, or lead to sepsis. augmentin for sale E coli O157:H7 (EHEC) causes bloody diarrhea and colitis. Complications of E. coli infection include hemorrhagic diarrhea, hemolytic-uremic syndrome, and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. E coli O157:H7 commonly is due to eating raw or undercooked hamburger or raw milk or dairy products.

Why Shorter Can Be Safer

Antibiotics can be life-saving drugs, but there are good reasons not to take the powerful germ killers longer than you have to. “It increases your risk of common side effects such as rashes and diarrhea,” says Hicks. “We are especially concerned that a longer course of treatment increases the risk of a Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, infection, a sometimes deadly diarrhea that is usually a direct consequence of antibiotic use.”

Healthcare providers have traditionally prescribed longer courses of antibiotics to be extra sure to wipe out all the disease-causing germs. But as scientific understanding has evolved, it's become clear that the drugs affect not only the bacteria that caused the infection, but also the complex ecosystem of trillions of other bacteria inhabiting the human body.

"Research shows that the longer you take an antibiotic, the more likely bacteria living in and on your body are to become resistant, or immune, to that drug,” says Hicks. If at some point those hardy bacteria “flare up” and cause an infection, it can be harder to treat, she says. And you can also pass those resistant bacteria along to the people around you.

“Overtreating people with antibiotics is one of the factors that has led to the public health crisis of antibiotic resistance, where once effective antibiotics no longer work against many common infections,” says Hicks.

Of course, undertreating an infection also has consequences as surviving bacteria can multiply and make you even sicker than you were to begin with. “I have sympathy for healthcare providers who prescribe a longer course of antibiotics to be on the safe side, hoping to ensure that their patients get better,” says Hicks. But she says that once the antibiotics have done their job against the active infection, there’s no benefit—only an increasing risk of potentially dangerous side effects—if you continue to take them.

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