Hi Sarah,
I don't like antibiotics one bit. My Dad is having dreadful problems at the moment. He's had chronic sinus/respiratory infections for years and had many different ABs for it and it's never gone. He's just got over heart surgery which had to be cancelled first time as he had his resp. infection again. He got stomach ulcers after the op and now his cancer surgery has been cancelled because of his infection again. He is back on another AB which has made his stomach ulcers bleed (that's one of the side effects). I have been searching for alternatives to help him and Christine (Spain) kindly gave me a link about Manuka honey and we are trying that.
Although they may be lifesavers, I think AB's can be very dangerous and should only be given when absolutely nesseccary. Too many bugs are becoming resistant to them. It's also vital that people finish a course. Some people stop because they feel better before the end or because they think they aren't working (I know often they *aren't*!) If a course is abandoned early any bugs not killed are then immune to that antibiotic hence superbugs.
Have you tried cranberry juice for bladder infections? It stops the bacteria sticking to the bladder wall.
http://www.1stvitality.co.uk/az/cranberry/ Not recommending this site in particluar but it has a bit of info. :)
Kath
EDIT. Sarah, this site I *can* recommend. They scrutinise medical trials so there opinion is usually sound. :)
http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band6/b6-3.html