hallenhe
Avid Member
I thought I'd put this here instead of in Health Clinic, because its more a general commentary than asking for help with chameleon health. Thaxter went to the vet today, because some old burns on his tail weren't looking so good after his latest shed (scabby, and kind of oozy). The vet 1) took a bit of the ooze, did a Gram staining, looked at it under the microscope, and told me there were a bunch of Gram-negative bacteria there; 2) plated out more of the bacteria for culture, and will test its antibiotic susceptibility over the next couple days, and 3) started Thaxter on piperacillin. He said, "This should work, but in case we have anything antibiotic resistant, we'll know in a couple days and can change the treatment."
I'm a microbiologist. I know about antibiotics, and resistance and susceptibility in bacteria. All this makes perfect sense. What I want to know is, why is it that when I go in to the doctor feeling unwell, they will all but invariably start me on antibiotics right away without checking to see whether bacteria are at issue? Any MD I know of will begin treatment with a broad spectrum antibiotic, and not even think of culturing until the broad spectrum fails. This just seems like another instance where the vets and the veterinary treatment is more sophisticated than the care most humans get.
Done ranting; thanks.
I'm a microbiologist. I know about antibiotics, and resistance and susceptibility in bacteria. All this makes perfect sense. What I want to know is, why is it that when I go in to the doctor feeling unwell, they will all but invariably start me on antibiotics right away without checking to see whether bacteria are at issue? Any MD I know of will begin treatment with a broad spectrum antibiotic, and not even think of culturing until the broad spectrum fails. This just seems like another instance where the vets and the veterinary treatment is more sophisticated than the care most humans get.
Done ranting; thanks.
