Antibiotics misuse: A global health concern

After a long time of not being available to write; I’ve decided to “break the silence” with a very important pressing issue—The misuse of Antibiotics.

Over the years; antibiotics misuse has become even worse. People just pop these pills for almost anything and everything. It’s really alarming (especially in our country where we don’t have adequate health care and self medication is the order of the day). In fact, I’ve observed that people see antibiotics as “the saviour”. Once you feel a little sick, someone would recommend an antibiotic to you and tell you “it works” (for what infection exactly?)

Recently, I saw a friend holding packs of antibiotics. I was curious to know why he holding them, so I asked. Apparently, his friend was sick the previous week and didn’t complete his dosage. As a result, he started feeling sick again the next week. So, my friend helped him gather antibiotics that “might work”. I was livid. This is just one out of many cases of antibiotics misuse

Dangers of Antibiotics Misuse

Antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s most pressing world’s problems. Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria can no longer be killed by the antibiotics usually used to kill them. Because the antibiotics become less effective; the infections become harder to treat. In other words, when you misuse antibiotics, you make the bacteria resistant to that drug. When it’s time for the real treatment, the drug might not work.

The overuse and misuse of antibiotics are key factors contributing to antibiotic resistance.

Also, antibiotics not only kill bad bacteria, but also kill the body’s good bacteria, which protect certain parts of the body against infections. This can result in unexpected adverse infections.

Prevention and Control of Antibiotic Misuse

• Avoid pressuring your doctor to give you an antibiotic prescription. Ask your doctor for advice on how to treat symptoms.
• Use antibiotics only as prescribed by your doctor.
• Take the prescribed daily dosage, do not skip any dose, and complete the entire course of treatment.
• Never take leftover antibiotics for a later illness or antibiotics prescribed for another person. They may not be the correct antibiotic and would not be a full course of treatment.
• Practice good hygiene, to avoid bacterial infections that need antibiotic treatment.
• Regularly washing hands,prepare food hygienically, and cook foods to a safe internal temperature, to reduce your risk of getting a food borne bacterial infection.

I want us to be part of the fight against antibiotics misuse/abuse and overuse by starting from ourselves. Let’s stop the misuse; to avoid the repercussions of antibiotic resistance that accumulate over the years.