Health Beat
As flu season approaches, and cases of HINI continue to spread, some people will seek antibiotics from their medical providers to treat their aches and pains. But using antibiotics to treat illnesses such as the flu is a dangerous practice that can lead to the development of drug-resistant infections.
Antibiotics are designed to kill bacteria, and are correctly prescribed for patients with bacterial illnesses such as a urinary tract infection. But the flu and the common cold are caused by viruses, not bacteria, so antibiotics are not effective against these infections, and using them will promote antibiotic resistance.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria develop the capacity to resist the effects of antibiotics or other agents. This resistance reduces and sometimes eliminates the ability of these drugs to prevent or cure infections, so bacterial illnesses that were once easily cured can become life-threatening.
Antibiotic overuse has been a worry in the medical community for a long time, but this concern has not always trickled down to patients, who often demand antibiotic prescriptions from their providers and complain if they don't receive them. And although most — 75 percent — of the antibiotic prescriptions written by doctors are for upper respiratory infections, Dr. Lucas Wolf, a North Shore Infectious Disease Specialist, estimates that 90 percent of these illnesses are viral and don't call for antibiotics.
"There is a perception that bronchitis and sinusitis are bacterial infections, but the huge majority are viral and will go away without antibiotics if you give them enough time," Wolf said.
Other common viral problems that should not be treated with antibiotics include sore throats (with the exception of Strep throat), most ear infections and coughs. He pointed out that previous generations did not have antibiotics, yet few people died of minor illnesses such as bronchitis or sinusitis, which are often treated erroneously today with antibiotics.
"Antibiotics should not be perceived as 'lifestyle enhancers,' they need to be kept in reserve for more serious infections," Wolf said. "If you take an antibiotic, no matter what's going on, the antibiotic will kill far more bacteria than the bugs you're after, and when the good, protective bacteria are gone, it leaves a vacuum; drug resistant bacteria can fill that void and set up shop."
Antibiotic resistance is among the CDC's top concerns, since almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment in recent years. These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family members, schoolmates, and co-workers, which threatens entire communities with new strains of infectious disease that are more difficult to cure and more expensive to treat.
Wolf said hospital patients are on the front lines of antibiotic resistance, and are increasingly developing illnesses such as MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus). MRSA's "main attribute," he continued, "is its resistance to the old-fashioned antibiotics such as penicillin and Keflex."
The CDC states that people infected with antibiotic-resistant organisms like MRSA are more likely to have longer hospital stays and require treatment with second- or third-choice medicines that may be less effective, more toxic and more expensive than the old standbys. Such patients are also more likely to die when the drugs of choice don't work.
In local hospitals, "we're seeing some extremely drug resistant bacteria in patients heavily exposed to antibiotics," Wolf reported. One patient's pneumonia, he said, was resistant to every single antibiotic, so the patient died. "It was just like 1900," he said. "These days, we assume all bacterial infections are treatable, but that is not always the case. We're running out of antibiotics! Every time you take one, it gives the bacteria a chance to become resistant in your system."
Wolf noted that the research and development of new antibiotics is no longer a priority of pharmaceutical companies, and that several have declared they will not develop any new anti-microbials. "Bacteria are mutating and adapting much faster than we can make new drugs, so the bugs are becoming resistant faster than we can come up with new weapons," he said.
He warned that we are heading into a "post-antibiotic era," where drug resistance is the norm and physicians will have far fewer effective treatments for bacterial illness. This scenario could be delayed or prevented, however, by the prudent and correct use of antibiotics.
The CDC recommends that cold and flu sufferers request medications for symptom relief, such as cough syrup or decongestants, from their providers, not antibiotics. Patients with lingering illness may need to be evaluated by a medical provider, Wolf said, because there are cases where antibiotics are appropriately prescribed for illnesses that do not resolve within a few weeks.
The focus should also be on preventing viral infections like the flu with proper immunizations, and by observing precautions such as hand washing.
"With our current approach to antibiotics, we're using up a very valuable resource for a trivial purpose," Wolf concluded. "It's like using $100 bills as dinner napkins. It serves the purpose, but you will regret it later."
For more information about the overuse of antibiotics, visit www.cdc.gov.
This article is part of a regular health education series provided by the Gloucester Health Department and Addison Gilbert Hospital
