Snort.
Sniffle. Sneeze. No antibiotics, please!
The Arizona Department of
Health Services is joining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to
help promote Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work, a national campaign
aiming to help Americans become better informed about antibiotic treatment,
especially during the cold and flu season.
The campaign’s key
message is a basic medical fact: antibiotics do not effectively treat colds,
flu and other viral illnesses. Governor Janet Napolitano has proclaimed
September as Antibiotic Resistance Awareness Month.
“There is a misconception
among many people that antibiotics can kill viruses as well as bacteria, and
that’s certainly not the case,” said Dr. Bob England, State
Epidemiologist. “People go to the doctor expecting to get antibiotics for a
sick child or themselves. Many times, a prescription for antibiotics is the
wrong course of treatment.”
According to CDC, tens of
millions of the antibiotics prescribed in doctor’s offices are for viral
infections that are not treatable with antibiotics. Doctors cite diagnostic
uncertainty, time pressure and patient demand as the primary reason for this
over-prescription.
Dr. England said the other
major contributors to the problem of antibiotic resistance are taking
antibiotics for viral infections; stopping the use of a prescribed antibiotic
before all of the medication is taken; and using leftover antibiotics from
previous prescriptions.
“Some viruses such as
those that cause the common cold or flu are best treated through ‘old-fashioned’
measures such as getting adequate sleep, drinking lots of fluids, and taking
any over-the counter medications recommended by your doctor,” Dr. England
said.
Antibiotic resistance
occurs when bacteria causing an infection are not completely eliminated by the
prescribed antibiotic. The surviving bacteria can develop resistance to the
antibiotic, and continue to reproduce. Unfortunately, new infections caused by
these bacteria no longer can be effectively treated with the same antibiotic.
More importantly, some of these bacteria can develop resistance to many other
antibiotics.
Antibiotics are important weapons necessary to treat, and sometimes prevent,
infections caused by bacteria; however, their effectiveness against
infections, ranging from an earache and bronchitis to the more serious
pneumonia and meningitis, decrease with widespread use.
In an effort to combat this
challenge of antibiotic resistance, the ADHS has partnered with a coalition of
health professionals and other public health agencies in a group called State
of Arizona Group on Understanding Antibiotic Resistant Organisms, or SAGUARO,
to help reduce antibiotic resistance in Arizona.
SAGUARO is comprised of
professional medical societies, managed care plans, pharmaceutical companies,
hospitals and public health agencies. Over the past four years, SAGUARO has
channeled its messages through activities such as community education,
seminars with health care professionals, and educational literature.
For more information on how
to combat antibiotic resistance, please contact the ADHS, Office of Infectious
Disease Services at (602) 364-4562.
What Can
You Do To Fight Antibiotic Resistance?
* Always wash your hands
thoroughly.
* Take the antibiotic exactly as your physician prescribes.
* Take the antibiotic until it is gone, even if you are feeling better soon
after you start taking it.
* Never save antibiotics to treat yourself or others later.
* Never take antibiotics for a viral infection, such as a cold, or flu. Only
bacterial infections can be cured by antibiotics.
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