4 Things You Must Know About Antibiotics

Overuse of antibiotics is a key factor contributing to antibiotic resistance. So, we must be careful in its usage. Here are some facts one should know about antibiotics. 1. Antibiotics don’t Work for Everything

Antibiotics fight bacterial infections, but they won’t work against viral infections. This means they are not effective against the flu or the common cold. One in three Americans believes that antibiotics work effectively against colds.

2. Taking Unnecessary Antibiotics May Harm You

Here’s the biggest problem with overusing antibiotics. Bacteria become resistant to drugs over time. In rare cases, this leads to deadly drug-resistant bacterial infections.

3. Antibiotics are not One-Size-Fits-All

The antibiotics that work for a urinary tract infection aren’t the same as the ones that will fight your strep throat. The “broad-spectrum” antibiotics used to fight infections in hospitals aren’t the same as the very specific antibiotics your doctor may prescribe to treat a bacterial ear infection.

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4. Should not Save Old Antibiotics

You can’t just assume that your leftover medication will work. Different antibiotics treat different types of bacterial infections. And, again, taking the wrong medicine when it won’t help means you risk side effects and future drug resistance.

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Source-Medindia