Recently, a patient who is in his mid-30s and whom I have been seeing for a chronic medical condition asked me for antibiotics.
“My phlegm is yellow. Every time this happens, I ask for antibiotics from my GP, take them and I get better in a few days,” he said.
Many doctors would have encountered similar requests from patients, who see them for the common cold and influenza, which are upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) that are primarily caused by viruses.
The problem is that antibiotics are effective only against bacteria but not viruses.
Viruses and bacteria belong to different classes of microorganisms and do not share the same characteristics.
Taking antibiotics for URTI does not treat these viral infections or hasten the resolution of the symptoms.
A common misconception is that the colour of your phlegm or mucus indicates if the infection is viral or bacterial.
However, having yellow or green phlegm does not mean you are having a bacterial infection and therefore require antibiotics.
YOU FEEL BETTER, BUT IT’S NOT BECAUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS
“But what’s wrong with taking antibiotics, doctor? I get better after taking them.”
Symptoms of URTI generally improve in three to five days and URTI may take one to two weeks to completely resolve.
Patients often start taking antibiotics after three to five days, which is when their illness is about to improve.
This leads to the mistaken belief that antibiotics can cure URTI.
When used to prevent or treat bacterial infections, antibiotics are powerful life-saving medicines.
However, antibiotics are not harmless. Common side effects include abdominal discomfort and diarrhoea. Some patients may develop allergic reactions. Antibiotics may also cause drug interactions with other medications.
Another major problem is antibiotic resistance, which has been declared a global health threat by the World Health Organisation.
It occurs at an accelerated pace when antibiotics are overused or inappropriately used. Taking antibiotics when you do not need them increases the chance of you carrying bacteria that common antibiotics do not work on. Worryingly, the antibiotic-resistant bacteria can spread to your loved ones.
The development of new antibiotics has not kept up with the spread of antibiotic resistance. In extreme cases, some bacteria strains have developed resistance to all currently available antibiotics, resulting in untreatable infections.
According to a global review, if left unchecked, antibiotic resistance will lead to millions of deaths and loss of trillions of dollars globally by 2050.
TRUST YOUR DOCTOR TO KNOW BETTER
“This sounds so serious, doctor. So, no antibiotics for me?”
Trust your doctor to assess you and decide if you need antibiotics.
If the benefits of taking antibiotics outweigh the risks, then you should take them.
If you have URTI, taking over-the-counter medications such as decongestants or paracetamol may relieve your symptoms.
Washing your hands frequently with soap and water can reduce the spread of an infection and staying home when you are sick can prevent the transmission of the disease.
Vaccinations can also lower the risk of influenza infections.
THE FLU VACCINE DID NOT CAUSE YOUR FLU
“But doctor, the last time I took the flu vaccine, I had the flu immediately!”
Flu vaccines are usually administered once or twice a year, depending on how well-matched the vaccine is to the circulating flu virus strain. The flu vaccines available in Singapore are inactivated vaccines which cannot give you the flu.
The cold and sniffles that you have after getting the flu shot may be caused by viruses that the flu vaccine does not guard against.
The influenza vaccine is especially recommended for adults who have underlying medical conditions such as asthma and lung diseases, diabetes, heart disease and kidney disease.
Antibiotic resistance is a threat that requires immediate action from all of us. We can all do our part to prevent and control its spread.
Read the article here.
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
