Use Antibiotics Judiciously
“Seek advice from a Qualified Healthcare professional before taking antibiotics”
Antibiotics are a wonder discovery of the 20th century. It has been a boon for many decades to treat bacterial infection, improve quality of life and increase life expectancy. Today this has become a major issue worldwide due to antibiotic resistance.
Reasons for Antibiotic Resistance:
Antibiotics are prescribed to kill the bacteria which is causing the infection, but only some bacteria present. For example when a child has cold the infections due to viruses and when one consumes antibiotics it encourages antibiotic resistance among the bacteria that normally inhibit in that child’s intestinal tract. Later if this child develops a bacterial infection those bacteria will be resistant to the antibiotics that were used unnecessarily earlier.
If Antibiotics an Overused it Leads to:
- Increase of Antimicrobial resistance
- Increase of more severe diseases
- Increase of long term diseases
- Increase of risk of complications of diseases
- Increase of health care costs
- Increase Mortality Rate
- Increases risk of adverse effects of the medications
Tips to Avoid Possible Antibiotic Resistance
- Consuming antibiotics when there is a clear indication for the treatment of bacterial infections.
- Never treat cold or viral infections with antibiotics.
- Antibiotics should be administrated and taken according to the prescribed dose and for a stipulated prescribed of free as advised.
- Infection prevention eliminates the need to use antibiotics. Newer technologies to disinfect environmental surfaces, people and food along with traditional methods seem quite effective.
- Law enforcement to prohibit the illegal over-the-counter sale of antibiotics at pharmacies and the sale of antibiotics for humans and animals on the free market should be promoted worldwide.
- Education and public awareness is mandatory.Interventions include the publication of guidelines, educational sessions on appropriate prescribing of antibiotics, educational sessions on the diagnosis and management of infectious diseases, review of prescribing data for practices, local interviews by pharmacists, messages included on TV, radio and other mass media, etc
Antibiotics resistance is due to overuse of antibiotics by patients and cannot be prevented by completing a course.”Stop when you feel better” should be the message given to patients
