Ask any pharmacist, and they will tell
you that apart from painkillers, the next drugs that people buy over the
counter are antibiotics.
This is because many of us don’t regard antibiotics as specialised medications that must be used under a physician’s guidance.
In
their self-medication spree, some people assume that if you have boil,
antibiotics must come to the rescue. Ditto if you have self-diagnosed
typhoid fever, runny stomach, open wound… Name the illness and many
people are ready to give you prescriptions, even though they are neither
doctors nor pharmacists!
Continue reading after the cut.....
Yet, authorities are warning that the
human race risks developing antibiotic resistance simply because we are
bingeing on a drug that, otherwise, should be used sparingly, in
complete dosage when the need arises and under a physician’s directive.
This past week, the World Health
Organisation sounded the alarm that antimicrobial resistance has become a
source of global concern and that in order to draw global attention to
it, the first World Antibiotic Awareness Week will be held from today,
November 16-22.
The global health body says the campaign
aims to increase awareness of global antibiotic resistance and to
encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and
policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic
resistance.
How antibiotics work
The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy says normally, antibiotics kill bacterium by causing its cell wall to disintegrate.
AMCP explains, “Antibiotics are
chemicals that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria and are used to
treat bacterial infections. They are effective in the treatment of
bacterial infections, preventing the spread of disease and minimising
serious complications of diseases.
“They can prevent the bacterial cells
from multiplying, so that the bacterial population remains the same,
allowing your defence mechanism to fight the infection or literally kill
the bacteria by stopping the mechanism responsible for building their
cell walls.”
A General Practitioner, Dr. Biodun
Oluwa, says, when an individual develops antimicrobial resistance, a
particular antibiotic drug will not work when used for what it,
ordinarily, would have treated.
Antibiotic overkill
Many of us are happy that we don’t abuse
medications, antibiotics inclusive. But, would you know that we ingest
antibiotics in many ways, even when we are not taking them as drugs?
Veterinary doctors confess that
antibiotics are used in animal husbandry. And, although there are safety
measures that guide such operations, regular consumption of meats of
such animals can lead to high antibiotic exposure and, consequently lead
to antimicrobial resistance eventually.
Here’s how it works. A veterinarian, Dr.
Oladele Yusuff, says when an animal is treated with a certain
antibiotic over time, the bacteria living in that animal will become
resistant to that drug.
“If a human being eats the resistant
bacteria through improperly cooked meat and becomes ill, he or she may
not respond to antibiotic treatment,” Yusuff explains.
What this translates into is that foods
such as meat, eggs, fish, and dairy products may not be free of
antibiotics if you buy your foods from large-chain supermarkets instead
of the local market.
In other words, your ‘agric’ chicken,
farmed fish such as catfish, ‘agric’ eggs, etc., may be products of
animals that have been given antibiotics at certain point in time.
While you may do well by cooking your
meat properly, you may also choose local breeds of animals or birds for
your animal protein. Such meats are usually lean and devoid of the fats
that are common in farmed animals.
While this is not to raise false alarms,
Oluwa says since you probably don’t know the source of your foods, you
can reduce your possible antibiotic intake by consulting with your
doctor whenever you are ill, instead of resorting to self-medication.
Frivolous antibiotic use and your health
Experts say the discovery of antibiotics as a medication for treating broad spectrum of infections make them life-savers.
However, they warn, the misuse of this class of drugs has increased the number of drug-resistant germs.
Oluwa says there’s a difference between
bacterial and viral infections; and that while antibiotics are effective
in the treatment of bacterial infections, the same cannot be said about
using the medication for viral infections. Many people are ignorant of
this!
She counsels, “Some infections that
won’t respond to antibiotic treatment include common cold, flu
(influenza), bronchitis, most coughs, most sore throats, some ear
infections, some sinus infections, and viral gastroenteritis (stomach
flu).”
Consequently, physicians say, you will
be setting yourself up for possible antimicrobial misuse and eventual
resistance if you employ antibiotics to treat any of these infections.
Antibiotic dosage
When it comes to taking antibiotic
medications as prescribed, doctors warn that unlike many drugs,
antibiotics are usually taken between one and four times a day —
depending on the symptoms and the unit of measurement such as the ‘mg’
that accompanies specific drugs.
“Generally, antibiotic doses should,
ideally, be equally spaced throughout the day and taken at the same
times each day, say, every four hours, for instance. This helps to
maintain a constant level of medication in your bloodstream, making your
recovery progressive and timely,” Oluwa says.
She counsels that if, for whatever
reason, you miss a large dose of your drugs, you should discuss with
your physician who will guide you as to how to complete your dosage.
She says even if you feel completely okay before your drugs finish, you should continue until they finish.
“If you don’t finish the course or if you miss several doses, the infection may return,” the physician warns.
The bottom line: As with any drug, antibiotics are not to be used anyhow. See the doctor when you are ill.
-Punch
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