Antibiotics are powerful medicines used to treat certain illnesses caused by bacteria. Used properly, they can save lives by killing infection causing bacteria or keep them from reproducing. However, antibiotics do not cure everything, and unnecessary antibiotics can even be harmful.
There are 2 main types of germs – viruses and bacteria that cause most infections. Viruses cause colds, flu, runny noses, most coughs and bronchitis and most sore throats. Bacteria cause most ear infections, some sinus infections, strep throat, urinary tract infections.
Antibiotics cannot kill viruses or help you feel better when you have a viral infection. Antibiotics do kill specific bacteria. Your doctor can determine what type of infection you have and recommend appropriate treatment.
Each time you take an antibiotic, bacteria are killed. Sometimes, bacteria causing infections are already resistant to prescribed antibiotics, or they may become resistant during treatment of an infection. Resistant bacteria do not respond to the antibiotics and continue to cause infection. A common misconception is that a person’s body becomes resistant to specific medicines. It actually is the bacteria, and not people that become resistant to the medicines.
Each you take an antibiotic unnecessarily or improperly, you increase the chance of developing medicine resistant bacteria. Therefore, it is critically important to take antibiotics only when necessary. Because of these resistant bacteria, some diseases that used to be easy to treat are now becoming nearly impossible to treat.
The World Health Organization guidelines to prevent and control the spread of antibiotic resistance:
- Only use antibiotics when prescribed by your doctor;
- Never demand antibiotics when your doctor says you don’t need them;
- Always follow your doctor’s advise when using antibiotics;
- Never share or use leftover antibiotics;
- Prevent infections by regularly washing hands, preparing food hygienically, avoiding close contact with sick people, keeping vaccinations up to date;
- Prepare food hygienically and be conscious of your meat and dairy choices. Choose foods that have been produced without the use of antibiotics for growth promotion or disease prevention in healthy animals.
While there are some new antibiotics being developed, none of them are expected to be effective against the most dangerous forms of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. When infections can no longer be treated by first-line of antibiotics, more expensive medicines must be used.
Infectious diseases travel as fast as an airplane. It is critical to stop the misuse and overuse of antibiotics to save lives now – to ensure that the antibiotics retain their power when they’re needed in future.