Converted from Rich Text

Went to the doctor again yesterday as my throat infection had still not cleared after one dose of antibiotics.
 I had the youngest doctor in the practice - a lot younger than me, and she looked at me patronisingly and said "The reason it's not healing is its a virus that antibiotics are no good against. If you're a fan of antibiotics I suppose you can have some more but if you wait two or three weeks it'll clear up on it's own"
 Two or three WEEKS. Of coughing myself hoarse all night and not having the voice to yell at my children - no thanks! I took her antibiotic prescription and left in a huff.
 Now I know that doctors are constantly bombarded with people asking for antibiotics for their common colds. But I'm not someone who pops down the doctor's at every ittle sneeze. I know the difference between a cold (sore throat, runny nose, sneezes, whole family goes down with same) and a throat infection (no sore throat, no runny nose or sneezes, barking like a seal if I have any voice at all, and rest of family totally immune even after three weeks).
 I also know that the first antibiotic she gave me was the one commonly dished out to kids (and I expect it is prescribed to adults mainly as a placebo because I'm sure most adults have developed an immunity to it). So I'm not surprised it didn't work and I asked for something stronger this time.
 Twenty-four hours in and my voice is noticeably better, and I slept for most of the night without coughing. See, I told you I had an infection. Three weeks my a**e!
 I did get one piece of good advice from the mature lady at the pharmacy counter. If you've got a persistant throat infection then buy a new toothbrush and throw the other one away. Disinfect the new brush regularly until the infection clears. Now that does seem to make sense - why can't doctors dispense such wisdom?