I agree with Inigo Montoya, as a medical assistant for 12 years in primary care and now an RN student working in the hospital, we overuse antibiotics. But honestly, diligent hand washing goes a long way to prevent illness. Also, keeping your hands out of wounds is extremely important, even if they are freshly washed. Early intervention with cleansing and providing a barrier with a bandage or gauze and a thin layer of neosporin ( many people are allergic to neosporin) or vaseline will provide an adequate environment for healing to take place. Of course, there are exceptions such as persons with any chronic disease or if the wound was caused by something that is highly likely to contain possible contaminants. In my experience, most small bites/wounds that do not require sutures can heal quite well without oral or IV antibiotics as long as the individual treats it promptly and has an intact immune system. Any time a person can avoid using antibiotics they should. People think antibiotics cure everything. It’s take alot of time to educate them on the issues with using them inappropriately. Many providers simply don’t have the time or can’t be bothered arguing about it with their patients so they give them whatever gets them out of the office. I do not see a future where this practice will end so being careful to avoid injury in the first place is the best place to start. In the future, most antibiotics if not all the currently available ones will be completely ineffective. Imagine a world where TB or Syphillis cannot be treated. I mention these two because my local health department has been struggling to treat immigrants who have these infections that are moving here from asian countries. Their strains are proving resistant to our available antibiotics.
