Antibiotics are only effective against bacteria
Victims of their own success, antibiotics are too often seen as a remedy that heals everything, right away… but this is not always true! Read the antibiotic use…
Antibiotics can do nothing against viral illnesses such as nasopharyngitis, influenza, acute bronchitis, or most tonsillitis. They are only effective against diseases of bacterial origin (eg: cystitis, pneumonia, bacterial angina with positive RDT, etc.).
Antibiotics do not directly relieve symptoms. Fever, cough, headaches, digestive disorders, muscle aches… Antibiotics can do nothing against these symptoms… when the infection is viral. Medicines exist to relieve them, in particular paracetamol for fever and muscle aches.
Antibiotics do not heal faster. In case of common viral diseases, you will heal naturally in 1 to 2 weeks, without antibiotics… The body can defend itself against these frequent viruses in winter, it just needs a little time.
Antibiotics are only effective against bacteria. Since their first use in the middle of the 20th century, they have made it possible to advance in the treatment of infectious bacterial diseases. But their massive and often inappropriate use gives rise to resistance.
WHAT ARE ANTIBIOTICS USED FOR?
Victims of their own success, antibiotics are too often seen as a remedy that heals everything, right away… but this is not true.
Antibiotics are only effective against diseases of bacterial origin:
- cystitis (urinary tract infection or bladder disease)
- pneumonia,
- bacterial angina with positive Rapid Diagnostic Test in favor of a bacterial origin of angina
- most ear infections (otitis media)
- nasty bacterial skin infections (impetigo)
- bacterial meningitis…
Antibiotics can do nothing against viral illnesses such as nasopharyngitis, influenza, acute bronchitis, or most tonsillitis.
Antibiotics do not directly relieve symptoms. Fever, cough, headache, digestive problems, body aches … Antibiotics can do nothing against these symptoms… when the infection is viral. Medicines exist to relieve them, in particular paracetamol for fever and muscle aches.
Antibiotics do not cure a viral infection faster. With common viral illnesses, the person heals naturally in 1 to 2 weeks, without antibiotics… The body can defend itself against these common viruses in winter, it just takes a little time.
HOW TO PRESERVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTIBIOTIC USE?
The inappropriate and too often incorrect use of antibiotics has contributed to the development and spread of bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics. This resistance develops when a bacteria transforms and develops defense mechanisms, reducing or canceling the action of the antibiotics that fight it.
This resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, called antibiotic resistance, has developed gradually and could become one of the main causes of death in the world: it is thought to cause nearly 12,500 deaths each year in France. This resistance calls into question the ability to cure even the most common infections.
To fight against the development of bacterial resistance and preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics, two measures are essential.
Prevent infections
This is the first step in the fight against antibiotic resistance. An infection avoided: it is an antibiotic preserved!
To prevent infections:
- wash your hands frequently, especially after going to the bathroom, when you come home from work, before preparing a meal, after sneezing and blowing your nose, before and after caring for someone, before and after have taken care of your animal;
- store food and prepare meals under the appropriate conditions for each food;
- respect the compulsory and recommended vaccinations: they protect you and those around you. Certain bacterial diseases are prevented by vaccination (for example, against whooping cough, against certain germs responsible for pneumonia or meningitis: pneumococcus, meningococcus, haemophilus influenzae, etc.)
Fewer infections = fewer antibiotics prescribed = less resistance of bacteria to antibiotics
Better use of antibiotics
Trust your doctor because he knows when antibiotics are needed and when they are not. Do not take antibiotics without a prescription and without medical advice.
Your doctor will only prescribe antibiotics for you to treat bacterial infections. He chooses the antibiotic that is most effective against the bacteria in question. In some cases, a bacteriological analysis with an antibiogram is necessary.
When your doctor prescribes treatment with antibiotics, be sure to:
- Observe the dose, the frequency of intakes and the duration of your antibiotic treatment prescribed by a doctor;
do not use your treatment for someone else. A treatment is specifically prescribed for a particular type of infection and adapted to each person; - ask your doctor for advice if you think you are having an adverse reaction to your treatment (rash, nausea, etc.);
do not stop your treatment prematurely, even if your condition improves. You must take the antibiotic for the prescribed time; - after treatment is finished, do not reuse an antibiotic, even if you have symptoms that resemble those you had previously;
- at the end of the treatment, return to your pharmacist all opened or unused boxes.
Together, let’s save antibiotics. By preserving them today, we can benefit from their effectiveness when we really need them. Antibiotics: used wrongly, they will become weaker.
DISEASES THAT CURE WITHOUT ANTIBIOTICS
Flu, tonsillitis, bronchitis… some common illnesses are often the subject of antibiotics, although they are of viral origin in the majority of cases. Take stock of diseases that heal naturally in a few days.
Seasonal flu
Seasonal influenza is viral in origin and is a highly contagious acute respiratory infection. The epidemic returns every fall and lasts until spring. Vaccination can prevent it.
Nasopharyngitis
Nasopharyngitis begins with a fever (often below 39 ° C) and a sore throat. The latter often persists for 1 to 3 days. The nose becomes blocked and then runs for two to ten days. The secretions are initially clear then become thick, yellow or greenish. A cough may also appear and last for a few days.
Viral angina
Angina is most often a minor illness. Angina is an inflammation of the tonsils in the back of the throat. Each year in France, around 9 million tonsillitis are diagnosed.
There are 2 types of angina: viral angina, the most common, caused by a virus, and bacterial angina caused by bacteria, most often “streptococcus”. They require different treatments. Only bacterial angina, confirmed by RDT or rapid diagnostic test, requires antibiotic treatment.
Acute bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi, most often caused by a virus. It manifests itself by a dry then greasy cough, fever and sometimes difficulty in breathing.
Bronchiolitis
Every winter, bronchiolitis plagues infants and toddlers. It usually begins with a simple cold or nasopharyngitis, then a cough and respiratory discomfort appear.
Impact
When an infection can no longer be treated with a first-line antibiotic, more expensive drugs must be used. In addition, prolonging illness and treatment, often in the context of hospitalization, increases health care costs, as well as the financial burden on families and society.
Resistance to antibiotics compromises the achievements of modern medicine. Without effective antibiotics to prevent and treat infections, organ transplants, chemotherapy, and some surgeries such as cesarean sections will become much more dangerous.
Sources: World Health Organization (WHO), PinterPandai
Photo credit: Pixabay
