Don’t believe the hype: Antibiotics

Antibiotics, since their discovery and development for mainstream use, have saved millions of lives worldwide, with the ability to treat minor conditions to life-threatening conditions, like pneumonia and sepsis. They can also be used in those who have a high risk of developing infection, including people undergoing surgery, or patients receiving cancer treatment. But antibiotics have created a new risk in themselves which the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) have called ‘one for the most urgent threats to the public’s health’.

Antibiotic resistance means that the germs change in response to the use of antibiotics and therefore it becomes harder to treat infections because the bacteria doesn’t react in the same way that it used to. This means that in order to treat infections, more powerful antibiotics need to be used, which can have a lot more side effects and can be very expensive in comparison to standard antibiotics, which are very affordable.

When infections stop reacting to antibiotics, this results in prolonged hospital stays, increased costs and higher rates of mortality. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is so concerned about antibiotic resistance that they now promote World Antimicrobial Awareness Week that runs every November (18-24 November in 2021) to raise awareness of the impact that drug-resistant infections are having on the World’s health.

Although antibiotic resistance occurs naturally over time, the misuse of antibiotics in both humans and animals is speeding up that process. In a CDC study in 2016, of the 154 million prescriptions that were written by doctors and in emergency departments in the United States, researchers found that antibiotics were unnecessary in 30% of all cases.

Often, antibiotics were being prescribed before test results came back to confirm whether it was a bacterial infection or not, which would determine whether antibiotics would actually be effective.

For a long time, there has been a perception that antibiotics are a cure all for any illness, used in the same way that painkillers might be, but for viral infections such as colds and flu, they won’t make any difference at all, as antibiotics only impact bacterial infections. In a lot of milder illnesses, including throat and ear infections, often the immune system of an otherwise healthy person will be able to fight these off without the need for antibiotics, but, particularly in the West, people have become accustomed to seeking medical interventions for these types of illnesses.

How can I help prevent antibiotic resistance?

  1. Don’t share antibiotics: you should only take antibiotics as prescribed by your doctor
  2. Don’t self-prescribe antibiotics: there are many types of antibiotics and if you take some that you have left over or obtain them elsewhere, you might not be using the right ones for your condition. You may also not have enough for a course of treatment so it won’t fully resolve the issue if you don’t take enough to ensure the infection has gone, or make the infection worse.
  3. Finish the whole course of antibiotics: make sure you don’t just stop taking the antibiotics when you feel better but finish off the course that’s been prescribed. If you stop mid treatment, the infection can develop a resistance to the antibiotic and spread.
  4. Wash your hands: help reduce the spread of infection by practicing good hygiene. This means washing your hands before and after you leave the house, when you get into work and before eating.