“There’s a pill for that” is the new post-Covid lockdown reality for many people still trying to figure out how to navigate life in a time of pandemic.
We are overmedicated and rely too much on psychotropic medications to help us cope with life. But there is another class of drugs that poses a grave threat to humanity: antibiotics.
The over-reliance on them is a public health concern worldwide, warns the Gauteng provincial health department this World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (18-24 November 2023).
“Common bacteria such as those that cause urinary tract infections, tuberculosis, wound infections, sepsis, pneumonia and sexually transmitted infections have become increasingly difficult to treat due to the development of resistance against antibiotics,” warns the department.
“This is due to a large number of people incorrectly using antibiotics to try to cure viral infections such as flu, sinusitis, viral pharyngitis and bronchitis amongst others, as well as not completing their antibiotic treatment regime when diagnosed with bacterial infections.”
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“Antimicrobials – including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics – are medicines used to prevent and treat infectious diseases in humans, animals and plants,” explains the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Antimicrobial medicines are the cornerstone of modern medicine. The emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens threatens our ability to treat common infections and to perform life-saving procedures including cancer chemotherapy and caesarean section, hip replacements, organ transplantation and other surgeries.”
“The GDoH wishes to urge the public to vaccinate to prevent and cure viral infections which further extend to include measles, mumps and tetanus amongst others,” the department warms. “Vaccines have proven to boost and help improve one’s immunity against viral infections.”
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The following precautions are recommended:
- Wash hand’s frequently to prevent infections and bacteria.
- Complete antibiotic treatment regime when treating bacterial infections.
- Continue with HIV and or Tuberculosis treatment to prevent drug resistance.
- Do not insist on or agree to be prescribed antibiotics when diagnosed with a viral infection like colds and flu.
