Antibiotic: Think before you pop
Can you get me some antibiotic please when you come? Riyaz, who was in India from #Fiji for his father's heart treatment, called up and asked Sushant from the guest house he had made their arrangement at. Why not but what for; all well?, Sushant asked inquisitively.
Sore throat, Riyaz replied. "I had ice-cream last night and it's hurting me now," he added. Sushant gave him some homely advise and he was alright by the evening he went to see him with the medicine (which had a very little role to play then).
In their conversation it came out that antibiotic consumption is very rampant in #Fiji. Many people treat it as a very first line-of-treatment and don't mind (rather like) popping it every single time they have a problem, irrespective of its nature and severity level.
It's wrong
One should never take antibiotic unless and until it has been advised by a doctor and that too only if a blood test report suggests that. While it may give you instant relief with unnoticeable/ negligible side-effect, irrational and excessive consumption of antibiotic can prove out to be life-threatening in the long run.
The long term impact
When you have too much of antibiotics, toxin level in your body goes up and your immune system (body defense mechanism) weakens, resulting in frequent illnesses. With time bacteria gets accustomed and tuned with it (just like how a child gets tuned with stick if you try to deal him with it all the time), develops immunity and stops responding. Now, when you will actually need it in the event of some serious illness, it won't be helpful. Bacteria may multiply, causing some very serious health concerns.
What to do
Bring antibiotic into use only when it is a must. Avoid it as much as you can, at least in the case of common illnesses like flu, cold, cough, sore throat, mild fever, loose motion and so on. Try home remedies instead.
Most importantly, do not pop in antibiotic yourself, even if a doctor had prescribed you antibiotic last time for the same symptoms. The problem can be little different this time and the doctor might like to do some blood tests again to find the exact cause and accordingly decide line of treatment.
Sadly, some doctors have been noted to be prescribing antibiotics left and right so that patients get well very soon and their name goes up in the community. Ask him if you actually need it.
In case antibiotic is inevitable and advised, complete the prescribed dose even if you have got well. It is to be understood here that all the bacteria needs to be killed completely, otherwise the left out bacteria may learn to survive antibiotic attack and create serious problem next time.
