I will explain my antibiotic experience and why I am- and everyone else should – support Antibiotic Research UK as a matter of high priority.
The most important thing to say is that without antibiotics I would almost certainly not be alive today! If you think about it, were it not for effective antibiotics, a great many people each of us know would have suffered early death (or disablement) – as was the situation 100 years ago.
In my thirties, after a squash match, I developed a swollen left leg. This was in 1981 and it took a long time for the medics to work out that I had primary lymphoedema caused by a bacterial infection, and that I would be prone to cellulitis needing immediate courses of antibiotics.
Over the years, the regular episodes of cellulitis very much affected my life, including my work, and two Christmas’s in a row which were pretty much cancelled.
When I had a hip replacement in 2009, I developed severe cellulitis, which required a return to hospital for intravenous antibiotics.
However, there is some good news (besides my supporting Antibiotic Research UK!) I now need less antibiotics. Why? This is because I have sought ways of preventing the leg infections: acupuncture worked (to my great surprise!), and I have recently had an NHS course of treatment addressing the leg swelling through bandaging and hosiery.
One of my next aims is to help educate GPs, as I believe that many of my cellulitis episodes could have been prevented e.g. by keeping the leg in good condition (I now have a repeat prescription for emollients), and by using protection for the leg against wounds.
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