Looking for a quick fix for that cough? Don’t automatically ask for an antibiotic. | Opinion

sick op-ed

An infectious diseases physician and associate professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School says it’s not unusual for people to visit their doctor expecting to get a prescription for an antibiotic. But taking antibiotics when they won’t work can harm you without providing any benefits.

By Tanaya Bhowmick

Fall is in the air and so are signs that we are headed for an intense season of respiratory illnesses, which are often unnecessarily treated with antibiotics. As we approach the U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week (November 18-24, 2022), it is a good time to share information about when antibiotics are useful and when they cause harm.

Hospitals have been filled this fall with children with RSV, a common virus that hits young children and the elderly especially hard. Flu cases began climbing earlier than usual and the rise of these two seasonal viruses seems to be on a collision course with another wave of COVID-19.

When respiratory symptoms become severe, it’s not unusual for people to visit their doctor expecting to get a prescription for an antibiotic, which many have come to think of as wonder drugs for a quick cure.

But antibiotics don’t kill viruses, which are the cause of the common cold, the flu, RSV and COVID-19. Taking antibiotics when they won’t work can harm you without providing any benefits. Common side effects can include rash, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea and yeast infections. More serious side effects can sometimes include a severe life-threatening form of diarrhea. Frequent rounds of unneeded antibiotics have been associated with the development of inflammatory bowel disease.


      

At Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and other health care facilities throughout the U.S., we have teams dedicated to making sure antibiotics are only used when needed and that we choose the right medication at the most effective dose and length of time for the condition. But 80% of antibiotics are used outside of hospitals and up to half are used inappropriately. Primary care providers cite patient pressure for prescribing antibiotics for viral illnesses.

Infections become resistant to antibiotics when the bacteria that cause them adapt and change over time, developing the ability to resist the drugs designed the kill them. The result is that many antibiotics are becoming less effective at treating illnesses. If you take these medicines when they aren’t helpful, antibiotic-resistant bacteria can grow in your body and these resistant bacteria can spread to others.

Every patient has a role in protecting themselves from unnecessary side effects and in making sure the drugs we have now continue to be effective. The first step is to have a basic understanding of how antibiotics work: They kill bacteria that cause infections, but they do nothing to stop viruses.

The next step is to have open conversations with your doctors on whether antibiotics are really needed. Approach your doctor with an open mind. Sometimes rest and taking time off work when possible is the best approach to healing. Follow your doctor’s advice for managing symptoms with things such as cough suppressants or ibuprofen. In some cases, monitoring and evaluating how you feel is better than getting an antibiotic “just in case.”

It also is important to ask your doctor whether you can get better on your own – and whether any drugs you are taking already could interact in a bad way with antibiotics.

Avoiding viral infections in the first place is the ideal approach. Get vaccines for flu and COVID-19 right away if you haven’t. Practice personal infection prevention: Protect people around you by staying home when sick, wear a mask if you or someone at home is sick and must go out in public and wash your hands frequently.

Antibiotics can be lifesaving when used correctly (fighting off bacterial infections). These drugs are a resource we need to use responsibly.

Tanaya Bhowmick is an infectious diseases physician and an associate professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She also serves as the chair of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

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