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When you or a loved one is under the weather, the first instinct is to head to the medicine cabinet, the local pharmacy or the family doctor in search of a remedy. Patients – and parents of sick children – routinely leave their doctor’s office with a prescription for an antibiotic to make things all better. However a new trend is emerging – to wait, rather than medicate. This is because overuse and improper use of antibiotics may result in a more serious illness or the risk of unnecessary exposure to side effects. In the long run, inappropriate use of antibiotics may render them ineffective against certain bacterial infections.

Antibiotic resistance – the growth of super-bacteria that do not respond to medication – has been called America’s most pressing public health crisis by the Food and Drug Administration. More than 80 percent of Americans take one or more prescription drugs, and 27 percent take more than five prescriptions simultaneously at any given time – an increase of 60 percent since 1995, according to recent data from the American Pharmacists Association.

Aside from growing concerns about antibiotic resistance, several considerations impact your doctor’s decision about how to treat an illness. At the most basic level, the type of illness – bacterial or viral – will decide the course of treatment. Antibiotics can help fight bacterial infections, such as strep throat, an ear infection, or sinus infection; but not viral infections: colds, flu, coughs and sore throats. For illness caused by a viral infection, your doctor can help recommend at-home or over-the-counter remedies for symptoms relief while a virus runs its course.

“Antibiotics were first used in the 1940s.” said Dr. Ted Newman of Birmingham Doctors. “When used properly, antibiotics treat bacterial infections, reduce potential complications from diseases, support the body’s natural defenses and save lives.” Over time (shelf life or length of time a person uses it), certain antibiotics routinely lose their effectiveness and pharmaceutical companies replace the marketplace with newer, stronger formulas.

The concern comes when certain antibiotics are not used properly leading to the emergence of drug-resistant strains of bacteria. Antibiotic drug resistance develops when potentially dangerous bacteria mutate and render certain medications less effective or completely ineffective. Health experts believe that overuse and misuse of antibiotics are a key cause. According to the Food and Drug Administration, many important bacterial infections are becoming untreatable. When a person is infected with an antibiotic-resistant bacteria, treatment of the patient is more difficult – and, the infection may spread to other people.

Several strains of “super bugs” and drug-resistant bacterias that cannot be killed with antibiotics have developed over the years: tuberculosis, malaria, pneumonia, skin infections, certain sexually transmitted diseases, and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureaus (better known as MRSA). These drug-resistant infections can cause serious disability and even death. MRSA – a potentially deadly drug-resistant staph infection – can be acquired in the hospital or a community setting through close personal contact (i.e., in schools, gyms and contact sports). Each year in the hospital setting, MRSA causes several thousand surgical and bloodstream and is such a prevalent concern that patients diagnosed with MRSA are segregated from the rest of the hospital population.

The development of these drug-resistant infections has caused health experts to reevaluate the treatment of certain illnesses and the use of antibiotics. In 2004, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Otolaryngology issued guidelines encouraging doctors to utilize a one- to three-day “observation period” before prescribing antibiotics for an ear infection, watching and waiting and instead focusing on pain relief.

Following proper protocols for antibiotic use can help you and your family return to better health more quickly, and more safely, too. If you live in the Birmingham, AL area and need to find Birmingham Physicians, please visit www.trinitymedicalclinics.com to schedule an appointment.

Remember that this information is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor, but rather to increase awareness and help equip patients with information and facilitate conversations with your physician that will benefit your health.

When taking a prescription medication, remember these tips for safety and effectiveness:

• Never take an antibiotic without a prescription.
• Talk with your doctor about antibiotic resistance: ask whether an antibiotic is likely to be beneficial for your illness, as well as any other measures you can take to feel better, sooner.
• If your doctor determines that you do not have a bacterial infection, ask about ways to help relieve your symptoms. Do not pressure your provider to prescribe an antibiotic.
• Do not take an antibiotic for a viral infection like a cold or the flu.
• Do not save some of your antibiotic for the next time you get sick. Discard any leftover medication once you have completed your prescribed course of treatment.
• Take an antibiotic or prescribed medication exactly as your doctor tells you. Do not skip doses. Complete the prescribed course of treatment even if you are feeling better. If treatment stops too soon, some bacteria may survive and re-infect.
• Do not take antibiotics prescribed for someone else. The antibiotic may not be appropriate for your illness and taking the wrong medicine may delay correct treatment and allow bacteria to multiply.

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Sources:
FDA www.fda.gov, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention www.cdc.gov, American Academy of Family Physicians www.aafp.org, National Institutes of Health www.nih.gov