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Show Volume II, Issue VII The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 7 1 April 2000 Antibiotics Not Always the Answer By Br ian Fr yer, Pu b l i c Relations writer for M c Kay- D ee H os pital H e re is a f amilia r sce na rio. Yo u o r your child are in the grips o f a cold—coughing, sore t h r o a t, r unny nose e tc . So, you g o t o the doctor looking for r e l i e f . M aybe an a ntibiotic will d o t h e tr ick, r ight? Think a ga in. W hile s ome bac te rial infec t i o n s have s ome cold-like sympt o m s, colds ar e c ause d by v i r u ses , agains t whic h antibio t i c s a r e us eles s . B ut ma ny pe ople go to their doctors d e m a n ding antibiotics for c olds a n y w ay or get them through o t h e r methods . After all, comm o n antibiotics are availa ble w i t h o ut a doctor s pre sc ription in m a n y countr ies . In a ddition, s o m e phys icians will prescribe t h e m when ther e is no c le ar a n s w er to a s et of symptoms, or j u st t o placate patients. In other w o r d s, jus t to “give ” the m somet h i n g . But the m isuse a nd ove ru se of antibiotic s is c ausing a r i se i n antibiotic resista nt bac te r i a l str ains all ove r the world a nd s e r i o us ly compromising the a b i l i t y to tr eat b a cteria l infe ctions. A dding to the misuse of a n t i b iotics is the widely he ld n o t i o n that, if we are sic k a nd go t o a doctor w e s hould wa lk out w i t h a pr es cr iption for some t h i n g . “M any people fe el tha t if y o u d on’t give them some drug, y o u haven’t done a nything,” s a i d Dr. Stephen Sc ha rmann, a f a m i l y phys ician a t McKayD e e ’s Por ter Fa mily Pra ctic e Cl i n i c. “I ’ ve had pa tients come i n a n d s ay ‘ I wen t to see doc tor s o a n d s o, and he didn’t give me a n y t h ing s o I ma de an a ppointm e n t w ith you.” T he rea son the y d i d n ’t get anything be fore —a n a n t i b iotic w ouldn’t ha ve helpe d them. D r. S char m ann and ma ny o t h e r phys icians fe el it is import a n t t hat people unde rsta nd the l i m i t s of antibiotic s, and rea lize w h y they may or ma y not pres c r i b e them f or patients. Ty p e s of An t ibiotic s A ntibiotics ar e divide d into t w o categor ies , bac te riosta tic a n d bacter iocidal. B a cteriocid a l a re us ed to actua lly kill bac t e r i a and ar e us ua lly used in a h o s p i tal s etting. B ac te riosta tic d r u g s s top a bacteria from reprod u c i n g, allow ing the body’s i m m une s ys tem to do its job. A n t i b iotics pr es cribed by doct o r s may be one or the other, or m a y h ave a combina tion of ba ct e r o c idal and bac te re osta tic p r o p er ties . S o m e of the most common a n t i b iotics have sold unde r n a m e s s uch Am ox ic illin, Ampicillin, Augm ete n, C efzil, A z i t h r om ycin and Zithromax. S i d e Ef f ect s an d Alle rgic R e a c tion s We all have na tura lly oc curr i n g bacter ia in our bodies tha t a r e b e nef icial to us. B ut, antibio t i c s don’t dis tin guish be twee n “ g o o d” and “bad” bac te ria thus a ff e c ting both. Since ma ny of o u r h elpf ul bacteria are in our d i g e stive s ys tem s, common side e ff e c ts of los ing the “good” ba ct e r i a ar e ups et s tomac h a nd diarr h e a while taking the drugs. S o m e antibiotics c an a lso de crea s e t h e effect i v en es s o f birth c o n t ro l d ru g s . P h arm acists a n d d o ct o rs ad v i s e wo m en ta king b i rt h co n t ro l p i l l s t o t ak e extra precau t i o n s wh i l e t ak i n g antibio t i cs . Agai n , b ecau s e “g o o d ” b act eria are al s o k i l l ed o ff wi t h t h e “bad,” s o m e p eo p l e, es p eci al l y wome n , m ay b e m o re p ro n e t o ye ast infect i o n s aft er a co u rs e o f antibio t i cs . Some p eo p l e h av e an al l erg i c re ac tio n t o a p art i cu l ar an t i b i o t ic . If yo u h av e t ak en t h e fi rs t few dose s o f t h e m ed i cat i o n an d notice a ras h o r s t art d ev el o p i n g hive s, s t o p t ak i n g t h e d ru g an d contac t y o u r p h y s i ci an . If y o u be gin hav i n g d i ffi cu l t y b reat h ing aft er t ak i n g an t i b i o t i cs , y o u should g o t o t h e n eares t h o s p i t al emerge n cy d ep art m en t an d bring t h e d ru g s wi t h y o u . Ther e are m an y d i fferen t fo rmula tio n s o f an t i b i o t i cs an d i t i s like ly o n e i s av ai l ab l e wh i ch will no t cau s e an al l erg i c reaction. Follow th e I n s tru cti o n s One o f t h e m o s t i m p o rt an t things t o d o wh en u s i n g an t i b i otic s is t o fo l l o w t h e d i rect i o n s closely. Yo u s h o u l d fi n i s h al l o f the pres cri b ed p i l l s , ev en i f t h e infe cti o n s eem s t o b e g o n e aft er the firs t few d ay s o f t reat m en t . The disap p earan ce o f s y m p t o m s is a sign t h e d ru g s are wo rk i n g (stoppi n g t h e g ro wt h ) b u t t h e infe cti o n m ay n o t b e co m p l et el y gone . If y o u s t o p t ak i n g t h e antibio t i cs t h e i n fect i o n co u l d come b ack , t h i s t i m e h av i n g an immun i t y t o t h e d ru g y o u were ta king. Don ’t ev er t ak e an t i b i o t i cs that we re p res cri b ed fo r s o m eone els e. Nei t h er o f y o u wi l l b e ge tting t h e n eces s ary d o s es , creating re s i s t an t s t rai n s . Antibio ti cs fro m O u ts i d e th e U.S. Antib i o t i cs an d o t h er d ru g s usua lly o n l y av ai l ab l e wi t h a prescri p t i o n i n t h e U. S . are s o l d over th e co u n t er i n o t h er co u n trie s such as M ex i co . Acco rd i n g to phar m aci s t J erry P et ers en o f the Mc Kay -Dee LT D P h arm acy, wh i l e t h e d ru g s s o l d o u t s i d e t h e U. S . m ay carry t h e sa m e n a m e a s t h o s e s o l d i n t h e U.S . t h e F o o d an d Dru g Ad m i n i s t r a t i o n d o e s n o t m o n i t o r t h em . Thus the d ru g s m ay b e o f q u e s t i o n a b l e q u al i t y. P et ers en s t a t e d t h a t wh en h e was i n p ha r m a c o l o g y s ch o o l , s t u d en t s t est e d a b a t c h o f a co m m o n an t aci d d r u g s o l d b y p res cri p t i o n i n th e U . S . b u t av ai l ab l e o v er-t h e- c o u n t e r i n M ex i co . “We t es t ed i t a n d f o u n d t h e s t ren g t h o f t h e p i l l s v a r i e d 60 to 500 milligrams [from] wh at t h ey were su p p o s e d t o [b e], ” h e s ai d . “Yo u a r e j u s t b e t t er o ff g et t i n g y o u r d r u g s t h ro u g h y o u r d o ct o r a n d t h r o u g h a good pharmacy where the drugs are regulated.” P re s c r i p t i o n N o t A l w a y s t h e Answer D r. S c h a r m a n n a n d p h a r m a cist Petersen agree that the improper use of antibiotic drugs is a real cause for concern, and that it is important to remember they may not be the answer to all illnesses. “ I f t h e d o c t o r d o e s n ’t g i v e y o u s o m e t h i n g a n d y o u d o n ’t u n d e r s t a n d w h y, a s k m o r e q u e s tions,” said Petersen. “A lot of times those ‘chicken soup and rest’ kinds of remedies really are the best thing.” SNOW-N-MOW Trent Rounkles Professional 1413 28th St. Ogden, UT 84403 Home (801) 393-6072 Cell (801) 390-3068 *Lawn Care *Pruning *Fertilizing *Weed Control *Snow Removal *Sprinkler Repair * Senior Discounts *Satisfaction Guaranteed CALL TO INQUIRE ABOUT OUR FREE OFFER. 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