Some patients may request for antibiotics for a viral infection and do not understand why it isn’t a good option.
Some patients, on the other hand, may be too concerned about the side effects of medication, or they may have heard about overprescribing of antibiotics, thus refuse to take them at all.
Here are some common questions and misconception about antibiotic.
1. Can antibiotics treat common cold?
Colds are caused by viruses, which wouldn’t be affected by antibiotics. Viruses are not considered as alive because they do not reproduce on their own. Antibiotics kill bacteria or prevent bacteria from dividing – since viruses are not alive and do not divides, antibiotics cannot do anything to stop it.
2. Antibiotics can keep other people from catching the illness?
No, it wouldn’t. It doesn’t help anything other than bacterial infection.
3. What is antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic resistance happens when the antibiotic has lost its ability to effectively kill or control bacterial growth.
4. Is my body resistant to that antibiotic?
It is, in fact, the bacteria inside your body become resistant to the drugs.
5. Which one is the best antibiotic?
The choice of antibiotic mainly depends on which infection you having and the most likely bacteria causing the infection. There are differences between broad-spectrum antibiotics (which target a range of bacteria) and targeted antibiotics (which only works for a few or certain types of bacteria).
6. Why do I need to finish the whole course of antibiotics?
If an antibiotic is being stopped in mid-course, the bacteria may only be partially but not completely killed. The bacteria which survived may then change their form or structure (mutating) and become resistant to that particular antibiotics.
7. What are the possible side effects?
Most side effects are mild – nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach upset. (But, please consult pharmacist for further advice). In rare cases, some people develop serious allergy reaction to some antibiotics.
Don’t assume you need antibiotics when you’re sick, use them wisely!
-JiaFui-