Still coughing up yellow phlegm after antibiotics

Why Taking Antibiotics for a Cold Can Be a Problem

It might not seem like you're doing any harm if you take a medicine even though it doesn't treat your cold, but it can. When people take antibiotics when they don't have to, over time, the medicine becomes less effective. Someday you'll really need one because you've got an illness caused by a bacteria, but it won't work.

The reason has to do with the bacteria themselves. They can be sneaky. When they come into contact over and over with antibiotics, they may change in order to survive.

These new strains are "resistant" to some types of antibiotics. If you get an infection with one of these bacteria, your doctor may need to try several types of drugs until they find one that works. You could get a lot sicker while you wait for the one that can treat you.

Antibiotics also have side effects, some very serious. Minor problems include dizziness, vomiting, yeast infections and diarrhea, More serious problems include allergic reactions, difficulty breathing and damage to the colon as the result of infection growing in the body.

When Antibiotics Can Help

When they're used the right way, antibiotics can save lives. For example, they can treat bronchitis, pneumonia, strep throat, ear infection, and pinkeye -- as long as they're caused by bacteria.

Sometimes, you get infected with a bacteria after you've got a cold. Some signs of bacterial sinus infection are pain around your face and eyes that may get worse when you bend over. You might also cough up thick, yellow or green mucus.

These symptoms may also occur with a cold. But if they last for more than a week or are severe, you may have a bacterial infection and need antibiotics.

Only your doctor can prescribe antibiotics. Talk to them if you think you might need them.

Take Antibiotics Responsibly

Here are three things to remember when you're thinking about taking antibiotics:

Listen to your doctor. They'll let you know if you're sick because of a virus or a bacteria and will prescribe antibiotics if you need them.

Follow instructions carefully. Finish all the medicine your doctor asks you to take and stick to the schedule. If there are pills left when your treatment ends, don't save them "just in case" you might get sick later on.

Don't share medicine. Never give antibiotics to anyone else, and don't take someone else's drugs. They're not the same. When you need one, it's important that you take the right medicine for your condition.

Prescribing antibiotics for patients with discoloured phlegm caused by acute cough has little or no effect on alleviating symptoms and recovery, a Cardiff University study has found.

Acute cough is one of the common reasons why people visit their GP and accounts for a large proportion of antibiotics prescribed in the community. One of the most common questions asked by GPs to their patients is about their phlegm: "Are you coughing anything up?" or "What colour is your phlegm?"

Clinicians and patients commonly believe that yellow and green phlegm production is associated with a bacterial infection, which is more likely to benefit from antibiotic treatment compared to non-productive cough or cough that produces clear phlegm.

However, in a new study published in the European Respiratory Journal, Professor Chris Butler and his team from Cardiff University's School of Medicine, together with colleagues from 14 European centres present data from an observational study of 3402 adult patients with acute cough presenting for health care in 14 primary care networks.

The research found that patients producing discoloured phlegm are prescribed antibiotics more frequently than those not producing phlegm unlike those producing clear/white phlegm.

Crucially, antibiotic treatment was not associated with greater rate or magnitude of symptoms score resolution among those who produced yellow or green phlegm. Neither was recovery among those feeling generally unwell on its own, or taken together with phlegm production, associated with antibiotic treatment.

Clinicians and patients are therefore likely to both be over interpreting the importance of the colour of phlegm in the decision whether or not to prescribe, or take, antibiotics.

Professor Butler, who led the study said: "One of the exciting things about this research is that our findings from this large, multi-country observational study resonate with findings from randomised trials where benefit from antibiotic treatment in those producing discoloured phlegm has been found to be marginal at best or non-existent.

"Our findings add weight to the message that acute cough in otherwise well adults is a self-limiting condition and antibiotic treatment does not speed recovery to any meaningful extent.

"In fact, antibiotic prescribing in this situation simply unnecessarily exposes people to side effects from antibiotics, undermines future self care, and drives up antibiotic resistance."

A single centre study, using different research methods, by one of Professor Butler's predecessors at Cardiff University came to similar conclusions to this new research. Despite this, non-evidence based practice remains common across the UK.

###

Journal

European Respiratory Journal

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

Should I still be coughing up phlegm after antibiotics?

How long should I be coughing up yellow phlegm?

Does yellow mucus mean antibiotics are working?

Does coughing up yellow mucus mean you are getting better?