When you need antibiotics and when you do not have them

Half of the antibiotics prescribed by primary care physicians are used so inappropriately and fuel the emergence of superbugs resistant to antibiotics.

So it looked like something like this. Many people have contracted simple infections and have often died. Then we invented the medical miracle of antibiotics and many people have not contracted simple infections and have often died. And then we started using antibiotics All the time and the bacteria they were supposed to fight started to fight back. The bacteria began to grow stronger, and now many of these so-called super bacteria are laughing at our once miraculous antibiotics. And that's it, welcome to the scary world of antibiotic resistance – which the CDC calls one of the most serious public health problems in the United States and which "threatens to bring us back to the time when simple infections were often fatal. "

Is it bad? According to a new report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), superbug infections could kill an estimated 2.4 million people in Europe, North America and Australia during next three decades, unless more action is taken to combat antibiotic resistance. .

At present, in the United States alone, at least 2 million people each year are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and at least 23,000 people die from these infections. Antibiotics are useless against these resistant microbes.

In countries covered by the OECD report, half of the antibiotics prescribed by primary health care physicians are treated inappropriately. In the United States, according to the CDC, about 30% of antibiotics, or 47 million prescriptions, are unnecessarily prescribed in doctors' offices and emergency rooms.

The authors of the OECD report suggest five strategies for tackling this potentially catastrophic health problem, ranging from improving hygiene in hospitals to better diagnostic tools (ibid.). to learn more about these strategies from page 19 of the report). But the one that caught my attention, and the one that we can start treating as patients, is to promote a more careful use of antibiotics. For while the report lists many reasons why a doctor may prescribe antibiotics when it is not needed, it is often to satisfy the patient's request. (The reasons why doctors frequently dispense antibiotics inappropriately are fascinating, you'll find out more about this here on page 28 of the report.)

Thus, antibiotics are often essential and essential for fighting infections caused by bacteria. We need antibiotics to fight serious infections such as pneumonia and life-threatening infections such as sepsis. We need antibiotics for people at high risk of contracting infections, such as those undergoing surgery or those undergoing chemotherapy. That's enough.

But not all bacterial infections will be helped by antibiotics. The CDC notes, "Antibiotics are not going to help for some common bacterial infections, including most cases of bronchitis, many sinus infections, and some ear infections."

Here is the key though: Antibiotics will not help you if you have a viral infection. If you're sick of a virus – like a cold, flu or runny nose (even if the mucus screams an "infection"), the antibiotics will not do anything for you.

According to the report of the OECD, the abuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics in humans and in agriculture are the driving forces of antibiotic resistance. It is our responsibility to use them only when it is really necessary. Not to mention side effects, such as: rash, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, yeast infections and Clostridium difficile infection, which causes diarrhea that can lead to serious damage to the colon and death. A person close to me just has to have both achilles tendons ruptured under the effect of antibiotics. And of course, people can also have serious and potentially fatal allergic reactions.

So what to do instead? The CDC recommends discussing with your health care provider the best treatment for your illness or that of your loved one. "If you need antibiotics, take them exactly as they were prescribed to you.Talk to your health care professional if you have questions about your antibiotics, or if you develop side effects, especially diarrhea, It's hard the infection, which must be treated immediately. "The Center explains that respiratory viruses usually go away in a week or two without treatment, but in the meantime, there are ways to feel better, where you can ask your doctor.

And it's never bad to not get sick in the first place. Washing your hands properly is your first defense. get vaccinated against the flu. And if you get sick, spare others – cover your cough (and spit and sneeze carelessly!) And stay home if you can.

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