Updated on March 29, 2023.
Among the great advances in modern medicine, antibiotics have been one of the biggest success stories. Numerous illnesses that would have been deadly hundreds of years ago have been rendered manageable with these treatments.
But today we’re facing a new challenge, one in which many types of infections are resistant to the effects of even our strongest antibiotics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has noted that we live in a “post-antibiotic era,” meaning that some infections are resistant to any existing antibiotics.
Why is this happening?
Antibiotic resistance explained
Antibiotic medicines are less effective than they have been in the past due to a combination of factors. For one, patients are sicker in general and are more likely to develop more infections, which require more treatment. But many factors are related to ineffective and incorrect use of antibiotics:
- Antibiotics are over-prescribed.
- Antibiotics are overused in healthy food-producing animals.
- Patients may not complete their full antibiotic prescriptions, may take someone else’s prescription, or may save leftover antibiotics and take them again the next time they get sick without getting a new prescription.
The consequences of such practices are severe. Each year, antibiotic-resistant bacteria cause at least 35,000 deaths and more than 2.8 million illnesses in the United States, according to a 2019 report from the CDC.
What can we do about antibiotic resistance?
For starters, the best approach is to avoid getting sick in the first place. Practice good hygiene, get any and all vaccinations recommended by your healthcare provider (HCP), and avoid contact with others when you or they are ill. When you prepare meals, don’t forget to keep your work area clean, keep raw meats away from other food, and cook meat all the way through.
In the meantime, follow these guidelines for smart antibiotic use:
Use antibiotics only when necessary. Many conditions—such as ear, upper respiratory, and throat infections—will resolve on their own without an antibiotic since they’re caused by viruses rather than bacteria. In these cases, the only thing you’re getting with an antibiotic prescription is an increased risk of side effects and a chance of contributing to resistance. Remember, all antibiotics come with certain risks.
Take the full course of an antibiotic. That means taking every pill as prescribed by your HCP, even if you start to feel better before taking your last dose. If you are getting stomach irritation or other side effects, along the way, talk with your HCP before stopping the antibiotic.
Never take an antibiotic that has not been prescribed precisely for your current condition. You might feel tempted to use up a half-empty bottle in your medicine cabinet from a previous prescription, but remember that different antibiotics have different uses, and taking one for a throat infection when you have a leg infection is unlikely to resolve your condition and is likely to create more issues.
Protect yourself
When you’re ill, speak to your HCP about your symptoms and the best course of treatment. Depending on your situation, you may be advised to try standard over-the-counter therapies, such as:
- Acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain and fever
- Pseudoephedrine, loratadine, nasal saline sprays, oxymetazoline, or phenylephrine for nasal congestion
- Dextromethorphan (cough suppressant) or guaifenesin (expectorant) for cold and flu symptoms
Unless you have a high fever, significant pain in any one area, difficulty breathing with productive cough, or other significant discomfort, many of these common symptoms will improve with these non-prescription treatments.
The CDC, researchers, and physicians everywhere are taking steps to help reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance. But it takes everyone’s help and cooperation to solve this problem for the good of patients everywhere.