Another Reason to Forego Antibiotics
A new study may have you thinking twice before picking up a few bottles of amoxicillin on your next trip to Mexico. Of course we've all heard about antibiotic resistant super bugs, but we seldom think about side effects or adverse drug reactions when we consider using antibiotics for a cold which may or may not respond to the medication anyway.
An article in the February 2009 issue of Clinical Advisor states that while there is only a 1 in 4,000 chance that an antibiotic will help an acute respiratory infection there is a 1 in 1,000 chance that the antibiotic itself will land the patient in the Emergency Department with a rash, allergic reaction, or diarrhea. Yikes!
Of course, if you have an infection that is truly bacterial rather than viral you need an antibiotic. Physicians are cautioned to find out what the infection is and to identify the best antibiotic to treat it before writing a prescription. The problem is that many patients are not satisfied unless they leave the doctors office with a prescription in hand. Some patients will go as far as to hound physicians relentlessly until the doctor finally gives in and prescribes an antibiotic.
The invention of antibiotics revolutionized the field of medicine but now we are facing a very different problem. Super bugs such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus are becoming more and more common, causing a huge amount of time and money to cure. So even though you've heard it before you're going to hear it from me one more time. Don't take antibiotics unless prescribed specifically to you for your current ailment and take them exactly as prescribed until the entire bottle is empty. One can only hope that other countries will get on board with this policy which I believe is in the best interest of everyone.
Comments
Yes, indeed taking antibiotics w/out them being warranted is ill-advised. But, as you say, sometimes they are advised. I’m so hyped up on not taking them, I recently was very ill for 3 weeks before seeing the doc, because you hear that they will not prescribe AB for colds. But, I went, he diagnosed me with acute bronchitis and took AB’s and w/in 2 days was so much better. The bottom line, don’t nurse yourself, like I did and tend to do…I think doctors still know best when to use AB in treatment, especially the newer ones.