Do You Really Need To Take Prescribed Antibiotics?

In this country, antibiotics are often over prescribed. In what situations are antibiotics needed?

Antibiotics can work miracles in treatment of serious bacterial infections, but for simple sore throats or ear infections, they are of limited benefit. Antibiotic treatment is of little or no use in most of these instances because the infection is viral in nature. Allergic reactions, digestive issues and liver toxicity are some possible side effects of using antibiotics. Some research actually indicates that frequent use of antibiotics could make one more prone to developing some types of cancer, especially breast cancer. The problem of antibiotic resistance is not even taken into account. Even worse, some physicians allow patients to talk them into prescribing an antibiotic for an ailment that is caused by a virus.

This brings up an important topic. When should you take antibiotics? Antibiotics are useful for bacterial infections instead of viral infections. We will now name a few situations where antibiotics might not be necessary.

The Common Cold or The Sniffles

People often ask their physician for an antibiotic as soon as they feel the symptoms of a cold. In addition to the fact that an antibiotic will not be helpful in relieving cold symptoms or helping one recover sooner, it will destroy the good bacteria in the digestive system that help the immune system fend off infections. And let’s not forget the unpleasant diarrhea that can occur. It’s too bad there is no cure for the common cold. Even though it is not proven, it can be safer to use a natural herb treatment like Echinacea.

Most Sore Throats

Not every sore throat is going to be Strep throat. A lot of sore throats are the result of a virus, and you have to let them run their course. If you are unsure, the doctor can do a strep test to see if you need an antibiotic. You are better off not taking antibiotics except in cases of diagnosed Strep throat.

The Flu

If only antibiotics could cure the flu that comes around every year! Influenza is caused by 3 strains of the virus, Influenza A, B, and C. When taken within the first 48 hours of becoming symptomatic, anti-viral medications can shorten the duration of the flu, while antibiotics will do nothing, except perhaps cause side effects.

Cough

Sometimes antibiotics are necessary for treating coughs, such as if a patient has been suffering from bronchitis for some time or when a chest x-ray indicates that a patient has pneumonia. Normally coughs are a result of viruses, so antibiotics are not needed in those cases.

Sinus Infections

While results of one study indicate that antibiotics can be moderately helpful in treating sinus infections, before taking antibiotics, one should consider the pros and cons. A sinus infection usually clears up without treatment in about 2 weeks. An antibiotic may be necessary if you are suffering severe symptoms, but treatment of symptoms is sufficient for dealing with most sinus infections.

Ear Infections

Similar to sinus infections, ear infections usually get better without any medication and research indicates that administration of an antibiotic does not do much to help one recover sooner. The Journal of Pediatrics published an article regarding research that demonstrated that treatment of ear infections with antibiotics yielded the same results as no treatment as far as symptoms and patient satisfaction. If the outcome is identical, why risk the side effects?

Remember that we are speaking in generalities here and antibiotics may be necessary to deal with certain ailments. These are all topics you should discuss with your physician.

Tags: amoxicillin, antibiotic treatment, zithromax

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 7:00 am and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.