Scared to take antibiotics. Anyone else?

[Natalie x]

Hi. I went to the doctors last Monday to get something for my skin (it seems to have broken out in a lot of spots) and she gave me antibiotics. Problem is, I'm too scared to take them incase I have an allergic reaction or something. There was no leaflet inside them so stupidly decided to look up the side effects and no I'm too scared to take them. Has anyone ever experienced fear when taking new tablet? I really want to start taking them so that my skin clears up x

[LisaT]

yes I always get anxious when taking new meds but think of all the people who take antibiotics without problems, i bet you've taken them before? all meds have side effects even paracetamol lol

[LisaT]

can have I should say

[Ingenious]

Yes, it can be frightening taking a new medicine especially if you decide to read the leaflet inside!!

Patient leaflets have to include information about possible reactions, but if you read them carefully you'll see that only some people have reactions, and severe reactions are rare. Unless you have a previous history of problems with specific antibiotics then you should take them, they would not be prescribed unless they were safe for most people.

You should also be careful to distinguish between side effects and an allergic reaction. Many people get side effects from antibiotics and although they're a pain in the arse (literally in the case of diarrhoea!) are not serious. An allergic reaction is much rarer, but even then, it won't always be bad - I'm allergic to a couple of types of antibiotics and all they did was bring me out in a rash, so I stopped taking them and the GP gave me different ones :)

[Natalie x]

Thanks for your replies guys. I'm usually okay with taking tablets, but for some reason am worrying about taking these. I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and start to take them! x

[nomorepanic]

Which ones are they Natalie?