Is penicillin still administered as a antibiotic?

Of course.

Yes, but relatively rarely.

@jerv Any sources of that info?

I had it prescribed as part of dental work. I have no idea why he prescribed just penicillin rather than Amoxicillin or Augmentin (the enhanced formulations) but I assumed he knew what he was doing.

But that was several years ago. Nowadays I would definitely ask about it. I’d want to know the reasoning behind his decision.

I’m just guessing when I assume that some prescribers are more conservative and don’t haul out the big guns right away.

The more broad-spectrum an antibiotic is, the more bacteria it wipes out, including good bacteria.

Many penicillins have been discontinued. One penicillin is my magic pill, and if it is ever discontinued I might have to go back to school and learn how to make it—Augmentin. Thank Gid for that drug. Augmentin is still prescribed fairly regularly, although a lot of doctors do opt for other choices. Similar spectrum to that drug is Unasyn. I think straight Amoxicillin is still available also. My aunt is allergic to many of the other antibiotics, so whenever a penicillin will be effective for her, if she needs an antibiotic, she is prescribed penicillin.

I seriously doubt that Augmentin will be discontinued as long as people have pets (or random encounters with cats or dogs).

It is by far the drug of choice for cat bites or scratches because it’s effective against a particular organism peculiar to animals. I can’t remember the name offhand but it’s one that other antibiotics don’t cover.

Yeah, the Clauvanate helps to prevent resistance, and broadens the spectrum so much that it is effective for many infections. We aren’t 100% sure why it works for me, truly a miracle drug.

My kid is on it now for his throat infection. I’m allergic.

Penicillin V (oral form of the original penicillin) is still used and very effective against susceptible infections. It’s a while since I’ve seen penicillin G (IV version) but admitedly I work in a pretty specialised hospital and we see some amusingly resistant bacteria.

Yes.

My daughter, when she was about 10, had a bad strep throat infection. She’d not a fan of pills or syrup, but she needed course of penicillin. We were sitting in the fast track of our ER and the nurse looks at her and says, “We can give you pills or syrup, or (somewhat joking) we could give you a shot.”

Daughter immediately answers: “I want the shot.”
The nurse looks at her, “Really? Are you sure?” and turns to me incredulously. I said, “She wants the shot because she can get it out of the way.” My daughter nodded vigorously..

Even the doctor came over to confirm. As the nurse was preparing to give the injection she said, “Kids NEVER pick the shot. This is a first.” My daughter said, “I’m not normal.”

LOLL!!!! Nice @Rarebear!

@Rarebear I love that story.

@Lightlyseared GA! Thanks!

@Rarebear

Congrats on raising a rugged individualist. She must be quite a unique kid :)

I’m sure she had no choice with a dad like that! But…the student is overtaking the teacher. ;)