penicillin pills

i've got what i'm pretty sure is an ingrown pinky fingernail that's become infected, since it's swollen, red, and hot to the touch. i've also got a nearly-full bottle of 250 mg aquarium fish penicillin tablets leftover from when i bought them at a farm supply store to give to a sick kitten three years ago (i was told it would be cheaper than what a vet would prescribe, and equally effective - the kitten lived). anyway, since i don't have health insurance, and i'd prefer not to go to a free clinic just yet, i've been taking these fish penicillin pills, 3x/day for the last three days, morning noon and night. i don't think the finger is getting any better, though it's not becoming any more swollen or painful.

so yeah, are these pills... doing anything?

go to a fucking doctor

i don't wanna

okay then self stop medicating with antibiotics thanks.

Why not soak the finger in peroxide and/or salt water as a topical treatment to kill bacteria?

And at least in the case of salt, reduce swelling.

I self-doctor like everything can be cured with enough peroxide, it's one of my more masochistic qualities (j/k, it doesn't hurt THAT much).

yeah probably a splinter or something

soak in hot as you can manage salty water

but please dont fuck with antibiotics

Did you never have a MOTHER, what's wrong with you? Throw away that fish crap and start by getting the finger CLEAN.

my mom would let me self-medicate with fish penicillin, maybe you just need to finish the bottle like they always tell you to

no no i'm keeping it clean and slathered in neosporin cause i guess it's important to keep the nail wet and pliable according to other stuff i read. haven't tried soaking it yet, i'm just stubborn.

i really just wanna know what the real difference is between human-prescribed penicillin and the stuff you can buy at the farm supply store. i mean they both say "INGREDIENTS: PENICILLIN" on the label but i'm sure there's got to be more to it than that. can either type of penicillin 'go bad' over time?

should be ok look http://www.chacha.com/question/does-penicillin-ever-go-bad

the point is that uncontrolled use of antibiotics leads to resistances in some strains of bugs and you end up with MRSA and C-DIF

no the point is that the pharmaceutical industry is a scam and fish penicillin is every bit as smart to take as whatever non-fish penicillin is, and those acronyms could mean so many different things including good things that i want

prob just gonna keep taking this stuff for another week or so and if my finger turns black or falls off i ~might~ go see someone

You really really don't want MRSA or C.Diff, trust me.

maybe i do, u don't know me

jk i don't want any acronyms i just want my finger to stop throbbing and to get my $25 worth

sell them to high school kids that think they are ecstasy and then use the profit to see a real dr.

they're probably not doing anything - the chances of them being effective are probably close to zero, and the chance of you developing an adverse effect are eh more than zero. see a doctor please

xp yes penicillin can 'go bad' over time, in that it will lose its efficacy (if your fish pen ever had any for you) - drugs have different shelf-lives but penicillin's is rather long usually. this also depends on storage conditions, so if you've been keeping your fish's meds in your medicine cabinet or by a window the shelf-life would be shorter.

in either event it's not indicated for you (probably says 'not for human use' somewhere on the bottle), and your best bet is to go to a doctor if you want to get better

yeah it says not for human use but i mean my endust bottle says that too, you know what i'm sayin k3vin

anyway yeah i guess i should "see" a "doctor" like everyone's always talking about like it's the greatest, most totally not at all expensive thing in the world

yeah a lot of elitists on this board, and schoolmarms

If you don't have red streaks running up your hand from the swollen spot, and you don't have a fever, just soak the thing in warm salt (or use epsom salts) water as much as possible, keep neosporin on it, keep it clean and covered. The real difference between human and animal meds is the quality control and oversight, which isn't as stringent for animal meds. Animal meds can also use filler materials that human meds don't.

tbh most skin/soft tissue bacterial infections will either be Staph Aureus (which penicillin sucks against) or strep pyogenes (which penicillin generally fine against), and the fact that yr fish pills have not shown any improvement thus far would lead me either that a) it's staph or b) it's staph or strep or whatever else and your pills are just crappy.

PS if your infection gets worse and you develop like bacteremia, then your medical bills could be v v v v high, whereas now they will be unpleasant but not horrific.

otm

the point is that uncontrolled use of antibiotics leads to resistances in some strains of bugs and you end up with MRSA and C-DIF

fwiw, and you may be making this distinction, it is the bacteria that become resistant to the antibiotics, not you. Meaning you're fucking over the entire world when you misuse antibiotics, not just yourself.