http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202446.html

For a particular disease requires up to 10 days.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202365.html

Minimum of 14 days.

My teenage daughter, 40kg is taking 200g twice a day for just 5 days.

http://www.cdc.gov/travel/malariadrugs.htm
minimum of 7 days after leaving a malaria free area.

In Malaysia, it is now common to prescribe 3-day doses of antibiotics,
mostly ampicilin or derivatives.

Usually my family is prescribed 4-5 day doses.

I don't mind if they are cured within a day and a half.
If it persists for 2 days, I shall request for a longer duration, i.e.
given another 5-day dose but I have to haggle hard for this.
Sometimes nice doctors will change the antibiotic.

My brother who suffered from recurring sore throat, had to blackmail
doctors to prescribe 14-day doses because he kept on being prescibed
5-day doses.

My current rule of thumb is to take 3 times the number of days that the
fever disappear, i.e. body temperature normalise to less than 37 degree
Celsius.

Today I am a bit worried.
My daughter is prescribed metronidazole. She is now cured but only
after taking 3 tablets out of 10 200mg, prescribed twice a day.

Normally it should be alright but this time, she is taking with her,
Ampicilin derivatives, given for a 5-day doses, that reduces her fever
but not eliminate it within 3 days, before the doctor prescribe her the
Metronidazole.

If she continue taking the first antibiotic, she should be completely
cured within 5 days, so a dosage of 14 days should be sufficient. In
Malaysia, this is very rare. I have to fight with doctors to be
prescribed this amount, even when we pay for them, just as my brother
did.

Metrodinazole is a strange drug to me. This is probably the 2nd time
that I see it prescribed. First was to my 10 year old son for a
persistent stomach ache just a few months after an appendicitis
operation.

This is despite taking 14-day antibiotics. The antibiotics especially
for intestine infection initially was effective for a few days, but the
stomach ache returns. It really worried me so much especially when he
had just been discharged from a child specialist.

He was cured by a stomach specialist who prescribed something that does
not end with "in", that is normally associated with antibiotics, but in
"le" or something. I presume, it is this Metronidazole.

Hopefully my daughter is cured completely and no recurrence withing a
month.

My experiences with this recurrent fever started with my wife. At that
time I had encouraged the practise of stopping the antibiotic when the
symptoms disapper. I regretted it forever.

But it does recur, once in a while despite my rule of thumb because I
am too tired to argue all the time. Some doctors argue that it could be
a different bacteria attack, not the previous one.

Once I tightened the 3 times duration rule further, the recurrence rate
almost zero.

My other son, who suffered from enlarged tonsils since he was 2 years
old suffer from monthly tonsilitis. When his tonsils was finally
removed, his adenoid was also removed and there is too much puss. No
wonder antibiotics was not effective, even 2-week doses of Augmentin.

Even after  the operation, he suffered from a lapse of fever, while
taking augmentin for about a week after the operation. He was
prescribed almost a month dose of augmentin, if I remember correctly,
by an EMT specialist.

CONCLUSION:

We should avoid the 3-day doses, and this should be cheaper for
everybody, and works for the majority, the risk is too much.

WHO and CDC should investigate the medical practises of each country
especially private doctors on the minimum duration of dosage for
antibiotic.

This is vital in order to reduce the incidence of drug-resistant
bacteria.

Everyone should be vigilant in enforcing the 3-times duration ruling or
advise me and others on publications relating to this strategy. I
picked it up in pieces when reading articles about various antibiotic
and anti-malarial articles.