Doctors: Don't Abuse Antibiotics
May 14, 2001
Patients who want antibiotics to treat colds and respiratory infections need to have a better understanding of the cause of their ailments. Recently, there has been a tremendous increase in antibiotic-resistant infections. This resistance can be traced to the overuse of prescription antibiotics.
Often, patients demand that their doctors give them an antibiotic prescription when they experience a cold or respiratory infection. Unbeknownst to many of these patients, colds and many respiratory infections are the result of viruses, not bacteria, and "antibiotics don't affect viruses," says Vincenza Snow of the American College of Physicians.
In order to better educate consumers and provide doctors and other health care professionals with better guidelines for prescribing antibiotics, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention has joined with the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Infectious Disease Society to formulate a plan. Their goal is to create clear-cut procedures for prescribing antibiotics during the respiratory season for healthy patients under the age of 65. These guidelines reiterate the fact that colds and respiratory infections are typically caused by viruses, making antibiotics useless.
Ironically, seventy-five percent of all antibiotic prescriptions are for respiratory infections. Such abuse has caused an increase in health care costs, as well as creating "super" bacteria that are antibiotic resistant. The CDC believes that by making consumers aware of the appropriate use of antibiotics and the likelihood of antibiotics' inability to treat colds and respiratory infections, the abuse of these powerful drugs may decrease.
-- Article Courtesy of InjuryBoard.com
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