Antibiotic Resistance Puts Your Life and Others at Risk

The successful use of any therapeutic agent is compromised by the potential development of tolerance or resistance to that compound from the time it is first employed. This is true for agents used in the treatment of bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral infections and for treatment of chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes; it applies to ailments caused or suffered by any living organisms, including humans, animals, fish, plants, insects, etc. A wide range of biochemical and physiological mechanisms may be responsible for resistance. In the specific case of antimicrobial agents, the complexity of the processes that contribute to emergence and dissemination of resistance cannot be overemphasized, and the lack of basic knowledge on these topics is one of the primary reasons that there has been so little significant achievement in the effective prevention and control of resistance development. Most international, national, and local agencies recognize this serious problem. Many resolutions and recommendations have been propounded, and numerous reports have been written, but to no avail: the development of antibiotic resistance is relentless.

What contributes to antibiotic resistance?

There are many factors that contribute to antibiotic resistance. Here are some of them that you should know to avoid making any of it.

Overuse of antibiotics – Just like using any other drugs, overuse of antibiotics will lead to antibiotic resistance. In future use, antibiotics will no longer be able to control or destroy the bacteria in your body because it is resistant already.
Antibiotic use is stopped early – often, patients do not follow what is prescribed to them by their doctors. This may cause to leaving behind some strains of the bacteria thus the illness will recur. The next medication may not be able to stop the bacteria anymore.
The dose or schedule instructions for the antibiotic are not followed – Some people take more than the dosage of antibiotic prescribed to them thinking this will make their recovery quick. There are also some who doubles it especially when they forget what time they should have intake their antibiotic. These practices lead only to antibiotic resistance because the effectiveness of the drugs doesn’t have the right impact anymore to the bacteria.

Taking antibiotics without proper consultation – As we’ve said, antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infection. So if antibiotics are taken to recover from flu, colds or coughs, it will not work because these are caused by viruses and not by bacteria. A person should always consult their doctors first before taking any medicine. It is better to have the proper healthcare worker prescribed the right medication than to take chances and make the illness much worse than before.
Reusing unfinished antibiotic for later use – Do not take left-over antibiotics to cure the same illness later. This is because you are not sure if you still have the same strain of bacteria when your doctor prescribed you that antibiotic. It is possible that this time, you have a different type of bacteria and that left-over antibiotics will not help you.

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It is still possible to slow or reverse resistance by being more responsible about the way we use antibiotics. This will help ensure that the antibiotics we now have can continue to be effective while medical researchers work to develop new types of antibiotics or other treatments for serious bacterial infections. Just remember to consult first your doctor before taking any medicine to cure whatever it is you are feeling.

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