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Taking Antibiotics Safely
By peace | November 24, 2005
Antibiotics are medicines used to treat bacterial infections. There are different types of antibiotics because there are so many different strains of bacteria that can cause illness. Prescribing antibiotics requires a thorough understanding of which bacteria are likely to cause a particular type of infection, and which antibiotic is most likely to kill those bacteria. For example, a throat infection and a bladder infection are usually caused by very different bacteria, and the antibiotic that would be best for your urinary symptoms won’ t work as well for your sore throat.
Over the years, bacteria have become more difficult to kill with medicine. Bacteria can quickly change their cell structures to fend off antibiotics. This is a particular problem if you don’ t take all the pills in an antibiotic prescription. Naturally, you’ll begin to feel better quickly. Then most people either forget to take pills, or stop taking them intentionally because they think the infection is gone.
When this happens, the weakest bacteria are killed first. But when pills are not taken long enough, the heartier bacteria are not killed. Not only do they survive, but since they have “seen” the antibiotic, they can change their structure so that antibiotic will not kill them in the future. When this happens, the bacteria are said to be resistant to a particular antibiotic.
If you don’t take your entire prescription of antibiotics, you may still get better. But you can infect someone else, and the common antibiotic you took may not kill the bacteria in subsequent infections. Another, more expensive, antibiotic with more side effects may be required. The concern in the health care community is that the “back up” antibiotics are not as effective as they once were, and there are fewer back-ups to choose from. Eventually, there may be “super bugs” that no antibiotic will kill.
You can help reduce the risk of bacterial resistance for all of us. First, understand what antibiotics will treat and what they won’ t. Antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses. The common cold, influenza and many illness that predominate at this time of year are caused by viruses, and antibiotics won’ t cure these infections. In general, if you have a bacterial infection, symptoms tend to be limited to one area of the body. For example, strep throat will cause sore throat and fever. If you have a viral infection, such as the common cold or influenza, you will have symptoms all over: sore throat, headache, body aches, low grade fever, runny nose, congestion, and maybe a cough.
If you are concerned that you might have a bacterial infection, contact your health care provider. A test called a culture should be done to determine which bacteria, if any, are responsible for your illness. A companion test, the sensitivity test, then determines which antibiotics are most effective against that particular organism. More and more experts strongly recommend that a culture and sensitivity test be done for every patient before antibiotics are prescribed.
Without a culture, your health care provider must choose an antibiotic based on an educated guess of what bacteria are most likely to be causing your illness. Sometimes, those educated guesses are wrong.
Tips for Safe Antibiotic Use
Don’ t demand antibiotics for every infection — they don’ t treat viruses.
Keep taking the antibiotic until the prescription is finished, regardless of how soon you feel better.
