{"id":510,"date":"2020-11-18T22:57:38","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T22:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\/malawi\/?p=510"},"modified":"2020-11-18T22:57:38","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T22:57:38","slug":"never-share-your-prescribed-antibiotics-with-others-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/never-share-your-prescribed-antibiotics-with-others-doctor","title":{"rendered":"Never share your prescribed antibiotics with others\u2014Doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\">Africa-Press<\/a> &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\/malawi\">Malawi<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>November 18-24 is World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW), set aside by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections.<\/p>\n<p>The theme for 2020 is \u2018Antimicrobials: handle with care\u2019 and Malawian medical practitioner, Dr. Parth Patel says in order protect oneself and their family from antibiotic resistance, never share antibiotic with others and not to save them for later.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not take antibiotics prescribed for someone else,\u201d says Dr. Patel in an exclusive interview. \u201cTalk with your doctor and pharmacist if you have any questions about your antibiotics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if you are feeling better and symptoms have improved, that does not always mean the infection is completely gone. If you stop taking the antibiotic prescription too soon, all of the bacteria causing the infection might not be killed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou might become sick again, and the remaining bacteria might become resistant to the antibiotic you\u2019ve taken,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Other measures to protect from antibiotic resistance include cleaning hands, covering coughs, staying home when sick, and getting recommended vaccines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTake antibiotics only when they are needed is an important way you can protect yourself and your family from antibiotic resistance,\u201d says Patel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTalk with your doctor about the best treatment if you are sick \u2014 never pressure your doctor to prescribe an antibiotic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen antibiotics aren\u2019t needed, they won\u2019t help you and their side effects could still cause harm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said it is best to ask a doctor or pharmacist about steps one can take to feel better when an antibiotic isn\u2019t needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf your doctor decides an antibiotic is the best treatment when you are sick, take the antibiotic exactly as your doctor tells you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He explained that antibiotics are critical tools for preventing and treating infections caused by specific bacteria in people, animals, and crops.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBacteria and fungi are germs found inside and outside of our bodies. Most germs are harmless, and some can even be helpful to humans but some can cause infections, like strep throat and urinary tract infections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He described \u2018Superbugs\u2019 as bacteria that have become resistant to multiple antibiotics typically used to treat them.<\/p>\n<p><b>What is antibiotic resistance?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAntibiotic resistance is the natural process by which bacteria develop resistance over time to the medicines used to treat them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs resistance develops, these medicines become progressively less effective \u2014 and eventually they lose their effectiveness entirely.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAntibiotic resistance is a consequence of the use of antibiotics, and misuse accelerates the emergence of resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patel says infections caused by antibiotic-resistant germs are difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat and require extended hospital stays.<\/p>\n<p><b>Inappropriate use of antibiotics<\/b><\/p>\n<p>This, according to Patel, is when antibiotics are taken when not needed, or taken for too short period of a time, at very low doses.<\/p>\n<p>Both overuse and underuse play a role \u2014 overuse such as through the over-prescribing of antibiotics and underuse due to lack of access, inadequate dosing and poor adherence.<\/p>\n<p>He added that everyone has a role to play in improving antibiotic use and appropriate antibiotic use helps fight antibiotic resistance and ensures these lifesaving drugs will be available for future generations.<\/p>\n<p>Patel said antibiotic resistance is certainly part of the problem that creates antibiotic resistance but it is also much broader than that as drug resistance is a natural process, all microorganisms could eventually develop resistance to the medicines used to treat them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cImplementation of national policies and the rational use of medicines by providers and patients, can help considerably in slowing down the development and spread of resistance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cData from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 30% of the times antibiotic courses are prescribed for infections, they are not required, like for colds and the flu each year.<\/p>\n<p><b>Do antibiotics help with  common cold or flu?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo!\u201d  Patel emphasises. \u201cAntibiotics only work for bacterial infections. The common cold and flu are caused by viruses, so antibiotics will not work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAntibiotics do not work for some common respiratory infections, including most cases of bronchitis, many sinus infections, and some ear infections.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Patel said one can be prescribed to again take an antibiotic, saying they are lifesaving tools and are important part of medicine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen prescribed and taken appropriately, they are vital in treating bacterial infections. Many routine vaccines prevent bacterial infections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut if a person does not get infected in the first place, there is no need to treat with antibiotics.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Malawi. November 18-24 is World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW), set aside by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. The theme for 2020 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,9],"tags":[233,227,234],"class_list":["post-510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-health","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Never share your prescribed antibiotics with others\u2014Doctor - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/never-share-your-prescribed-antibiotics-with-others-doctor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Never share your prescribed antibiotics with others\u2014Doctor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; Malawi. November 18-24 is World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW), set aside by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. 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