DANGERS OF USING ANTIBIOTICS How often have you gone to a chemist and consulted him/her for a dose of antibiotics. Well, this is a pretty common occurrence in India. While we all know that a pharmacist is not equipped to diagnose and prescribe medicines, it is still something we prefer doing, when compared to visiting a physician. This trend is not only bad for your health but it is also the reason for the growing strains of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
In order to curb this growth the World Health Organisation has launched their first global campaign for the better use of antibiotics. Likely to be launched as the World Antibiotic Awareness Week (November 16 to 22), this event is aimed at reminding people that the rate of resistance to antibiotics is growing. The theme of the campaign will be Antibiotics: Handle With Care and will aim at improving the general public's level of awareness about the use and misuse of antibiotics, involving public authorities, health professionals and agriculturists.
Why you need to pay attention:
When discovered, antibiotics have saved many lives. But their overuse and misuse has led to antibiotic resistance. This is where an organism genetically alters itself so that it is no more affected by a particular type of antibiotic or concentration of the same. This has led to an alarming increase in the number of multidrug-resistant bacteria. A very good indicator of exactly how bad the situation is can be seen by the rise in the number of in hospital-acquired infections. According to the WHO this a real public health problem that the WHO is constantly fighting against.
Some of the deadly ailments caused due to bacteria that have mutated to become resistant to antibiotics are TB (tuberculosis), pneumonia, HIV related infections and urinary tract infections.
In a report, the WHO has outlined some preventive steps that everyone should take to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, they are as follows:
Have antibiotics only when prescribed by your doctor to treat an infection.
Complete your course of medication. Do not stop just because you are feeling better.
Do not use antibiotics leftover from a previous infection.
Never share antibiotics with anyone even if they show similar symptoms as you.
Stay clean, wash your hands the right way, avoid contact with people who might be ill.
Finally, get all your recommended vaccines
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