Antibiotic Treatment

What Is It?

Antibiotic medications kill or weaken many of the organisms that attack our bodies and cause disease. Antibiotics are very effective throughout our lives for treating infectious diseases like pneumonia.

What about Terminal Illness and Antibiotics?

A person who's suffering from a terminal illness can also get sick with other diseases. In fact, your weakened condition may make it more likely that you will catch an infectious disease. So antibiotics can be an important part of comfort care, relieving cough and fever and other symptoms that might be interfering with your life. But unlike a person whose general health is good, you might reasonably decide not to treat an infection, if you feel that doing so no longer fits your goals. It's especially important to think about this question as you plan for times when you won't be able to decide, such as when you've lost consciousness and aren't expected to regain it. Your advance directive can say that in that situation you want to be left untreated and allowed to die. Death from a bacterial infection like pneumonia comes quickly and gently, which is why that disease was called "the old man's friend" in the days before antibiotics.

What Are the Drawbacks of Antibiotic Treatment?

	The use of antibiotics may prolong the dying process
	Medication in the form of pills and liquid may be difficult to swallow