In a recent post I've asked why doctors prescribe antibiotics for bronchitis and I received some responses. Here is one:
Dani said...
It's a money making business and medicine is simply a practice. That's why it's called "practicing medicine". Bronchitis can be either bacterial or viral. The physician should have done blood work on you to determine the cause - bacterial or viral. The antibiotic isn't going to help with the viral.
Dani, I couldn't agree with you more! Healthcare in this county is often treated like a business unfortunately. It seems as though doctors are trying to sell as many drugs as they could; bronchitis seems to be one of many excuses to sell drugs.
According to Pubmed, acute bronchitis is a viral infection and chronic bronchitis can be the end result of living in an unhealthy environment (smoking, air pollution...etc). I couldn't find the name of any kind of bacteria that causes bronchitis anywhere. I agree that doctors should ALWAYS do blood work (or with other illnesses a throat culture) before they give antibiotics; but sadly it seems like doctors don't always do this.
One doctor postulated that 90% of the antibiotic prescriptions made in this country are unnecessary. That is a LOT of unnecessary prescriptions! Then with all of the antibiotics that we ingest when we eat dairy or meat products, it is no wonder we have a problem with super bugs (antibiotic resistant bacteria).
I found out that although bronchitis is caused by a viral infection there can sometimes be a secondary infection in the airways that follows bronchitis and it is caused by a bacteria. For this I can see how a patient may need antibiotics. In Russia, there is a concoction that they make from honey and onions to fight bronchitis. It works as a lozenge and an antibiotic. I guess it also helps to prevent this secondary infection.
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