Missed Antibiotic Dose? Here’s What To Do

When you are prescribed antibiotics, there is typically a certain schedule to follow when taking them. But what should you do if you have a missed antibiotic dose?

According to reports, in past years, doctors in the United States prescribed over 270 million antibiotics to patients, saving hundreds of thousands of lives.

Bacteria often cause infections. To fight the infection, antibiotics are given as a line of defense. Antibiotics keep the bacteria from growing and can kill bacteria. While they work well on humans and animals, antibiotics do not kill viruses, only bacteria.

Advantages of Taking Antibiotics

There are many benefits of antibiotics. If you are going into surgery, your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic. They do this not because you have an infection, but as a preventive measure, so you won’t get an infection. With advancements, antibiotics can start fighting bacterial infections within just a few hours.

Antibiotics work to eliminate or reduce almost all bacteria, no matter what type. They are easy to take and don’t cost a lot of money, making them an excellent option for sick patients. The most critical factor in taking antibiotics is to take them as prescribed. With hectic lifestyles, it can be easy to quit taking them as soon as you start to feel better, or skipping a dose, either accidentally or on purpose.

However, if you’ve missed an antibiotic dose, you could have an illness relapse or experience adverse side effects. One study found that patients who did not take their antibiotics as prescribed had more extended hospital stays than those who stayed on their antibiotic schedule.

Below are some essential tips to help you know what to do if you have missed an antibiotic dose.

What to do If You Miss an Antibiotic Dose

Learning everything you can about the antibiotics you are putting into your body will help you know what to expect if you miss a dose. When you receive your prescription from the pharmacy, you can speak with your pharmacist and ask questions. Take this opportunity.

Ask questions about potential side effects, interactions, and what happens if a dose is missed.

If you can’t speak with your pharmacist, you can read the extensive written literature that accompanies your prescription. The printed papers also give you further online resources to check out for more information.

Do Not Double Up

Doubling up on a dose of antibiotics will not likely do long-term damage. However, you can experience adverse side effects. If you are already experiencing side effects by a single dose of antibiotics, the symptoms may double in severity.

There is a reason the doctor didn’t prescribe a double dose in the first place. Some side effects can include:

• Rashes
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea, or other digestive issues

Some antibiotics can lead to yeast infections. Contacting experts is always a good idea.

Call Your Pharmacist

Your local pharmacist is the expert in the antibiotic you are taking. Your doctor understands the drug enough to prescribe it, but your pharmacist compounds the chemicals that create the drug. They know precisely what will happen if you have missed an antibiotic dose.

Before you take action, like doubling up on a dose, find out what will happen. You do not want to guess and find out you were wrong. Your pharmacist may want you to confirm instructions with your prescribing doctor. Ultimately, it is your doctor’s orders you need to follow.

Call Your Doctor

When you contact your doctor, there are questions you will need to answer. Your doctor will want to know more about your missed dose of antibiotics, like how long it has been since your last dose.

Instructions on how to proceed will be different if it has been an hour since your last dose versus a day or more since your last dose. This is a perfect time to tell your doctor of any reactions or side effects you may be having to see if they are normal, if you need to stop taking medicine, or if you need to try a different antibiotic.

Complete the Course

Your doctor prescribes antibiotics to be taken in full. Even though you may start feeling much better after a day or so, you must continue to take your antibiotics until they are all gone or until the doctor says to stop.

Some of you may want to hoard antibiotics to avoid a future visit to the doctor. This is also a bad idea. Completing your course of medicine gives you a better chance that the infection will not return. Bacteria can linger in your body, and although you feel fine, they can be reproducing and spreading the infection.

If you don’t kill the bacteria in your system, it can develop a resistance to the antibiotics, making it even more challenging to fight it off with future treatments. Antibiotic resistance is becoming a significant problem today. The Center for Disease Control reports nearly 3 million people in the U.S. are resistant to antibiotic treatments. Of that number, 35,000 people die.

Preventing a Missed Antibiotic Dose: Reminder Strategies

One of the best ways to avoid missed antibiotic doses is to implement strategies that help you stay on track.

Any medicine you take should be done at the same time each day. Creating a strict routine becomes part of your daily habits, making them easier to remember. Include taking antibiotics with other actions you do regularly each day. For example, if you eat breakfast at 9 a.m. each morning, take your antibiotic with breakfast. You can even leave yourself a reminder note next to your breakfast items.

Other reminder activities include setting the alarm on your phone, watch, or computer. Leave your antibiotic out where it is visible. If you put it in a drawer, you may forget about it. If it must be refrigerated, put a note on the front of the fridge to remind you it is in there.

Finally, ask for help. Have a friend or family member send a text or call you.

Missing an antibiotic dose is common; it happens all the time. Knowing what to do if you’ve missed an antibiotic dose will lead to continued healing so you can get back to living a healthy, happy lifestyle.

And if you need more information about how a compounding pharmacy can help, contact Burt’s Rx today! We offer services such as pediatric compounding, pet compounding, compounded medication for pain management, BHRT, and dental compounding.