H E A LT H
W
Thinking of taking
antibiotics for a sore
throat? Think again
hile the sun blazed merrily in Islamabad; I relentlessly combed the streets of Blue Area in
search of a pharmacy. Secretions poured from
my nose and my eyes itched incessantly. A sore throat
also quickly followed due to the unabated release of
histamine throughout my body. It was easy to discern
that I was suffering from a full blown allergy attack. As I
stumbled into a pharmacy with a paper towel shielding my nose; I immediately caught
the attention of several clerks. At the time,
I was a final year medical student eager to
commence my professional life as a practicing physician. In this upscale pharmacy,
I was approached by a salesman. He had
asked me a few questions unaware of my
medical background and reached a shocking conclusion. Brother, you need a course
of antibiotics. You will feel immediate relief.
I nearly choked.
With no fever, productive cough, source of
infection, or underlying medical problem I
was alarmed by this salesmans’ recommendation. What's worse is that many health
care providers would recommend the same.
While my emotions flared, I took a deep
breath and calmly reflected on the situation. How could
he not know the potential harmful consequences of giving antibiotics when they are not warranted? Sadly, most
people are unaware of the consequences of freely dispensing unnecessary antibiotics.
The potential harm of over-prescribing antibiotics
In my case, I was suffering from a post nasal drip and
unchecked allergies that ultimately irritated my throat.
There was no indication for any antibiotic use whatsoever.Antibiotics have a very strong likelihood of hurting you
in instances where they are not indicated and should
be used cautiously. Putting any chemical in your body
blindly can be devastating. The side effects of antibiotics
are too numerous to list in this blog but do include diarrhea, nausea, decreased oral intake, and potentially life
threatening allergic responses.Additionally, utilising antibiotics unnecessarily can cause bacteria to mutate in
your body and make infections in the future much harder
to treat. Because we use antibiotics more often than they
are indicated; multi-drug resistant organisms are arising causing significant morbidity.We have already seen
the emergency of life threatening drug resistant bacteria
such as Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus. There is no
tangible data to elucidate how common the overuse of
antibiotics is; but judging by my personal experience it
appears to be rampant.
Sore throat
An assortment of things can lead to a sore throat. Asthma, Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (Heartburn),
Post-Nasal Drip are common noninfectious causes of a
sore throat.A study in America demonstrated that Strep,
a common bacterial cause of sore throat is only responsible in 10 percent of instances. Yet, more than 60 per
cent of people who complain of sore throat received a
prescription for antibiotics. It is important that your physician or care provider spend an ample amount of time to
explore the etiology of your sore throat.Common colds,
cough, flu, and bronchitis usually do not require antibiotics. In fact, most of these conditions are caused by
viruses. The conditions often respond favorably to conservative measures such as drinking lots of fluids, resting, and taking anti-pyretic medications such as Tylenol.
Receiving antibiotics for these conditions is not only
wasteful but very harmful.Most doctors fall into the trap
of prescribing antibiotics when unjustified because patients assume they feel better when receiving antibiotics.The use of antibiotics in children is reaching an even
more alarming rate. It is imperative that when you see
your physician to explore the cause of your symptoms
and understand the risks of taking antibiotics.As a health
care provider, I always act with tremendous caution and
reasoning prior to giving a prescription of antibiotics. Ensure that your health care provider is doing the same.
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