Antibiotics: Why its abuse comes with grave consequence

By Oluwatise Osinaike

Nigeria is perhaps one of the few countries in the world where citizens use drugs, especially antibiotics indiscriminately. The abuse is embarrassingly high, especially among uninformed people. But then, educated folks also get carried away. They use antibiotics indiscriminately.

They are quick to take antibiotics whenever they sense something is wrong with their system, sometimes used for cold and catarrh. The most abused from my little findings are amoxicillin and ampicillin. Some have gone to the extreme of using chloramphenicol anyhow.

It’s funny how patients don’t trust trained medical personnel but rather prefer to get medical counsel from roadside drug peddlers. It is indeed ironic that people who are supposedly well-educated seek medical advice from those who only have surface knowledge about the drugs they sell.

Now to the point. While antibiotics are used to treat severe and various types of infections, it’s also advisable to use them only when needed. You might be smart in trying to do the prophylactic treatment, that is trying to prevent an ailment from degenerating by taking anti-biotics. But then, you may well be doing yourself more harm than good.

Why should I stop indiscriminate use of antibiotics?

Some bacteria are in some specific parts of the body. Some are located in the gut, some in the skin, and some in the female genitalia. They play crucial roles in the body. Using antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum ones would inhibit the growth of all kinds of bacteria in the body including the good ones.

In a simpler term, broad-spectrum means it’s an all-rounder. That is, it doesn’t select. It doesn’t consider the ones that are essential for the body, but instead, it goes ahead to destroy both the essential ones and the ones causing the infections. Now imagine consistent use of it.

Another dangerous thing that can happen is you can develop from the abuse of antibiotics is that you can develop high-level resistance to it. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria develop the ability to survive and multiply despite the presence of antibiotics.

This means that the antibiotics you use are no longer effective against the bacteria it’s fighting. What must have probably happened is that the receptors must have lost their sensitivity to the binding of that particular drug due to continuous binding. When this happens, it is often difficult to take care of the infectious disease. Doctors will most times recommend a higher antibiotic, or increase the dose of the usual antibiotic recommended for you.

When should I use antibiotics?

It is safe to follow a doctor’s recommendation when it comes to the use of antibiotics. Antibiotics should be given only when needed. And it is usually recommended to treat bacterial infections.

Using an antibiotic for a fungi infection would not work. To ensure effective use of an antibiotic, use it at the same time every day. Some may be required to take it every 12 hours. Once you use the first dose by 8 am and 8 pm on the first day, use it consistently until the dosage is completed.

Also never forget to complete the dose of your antibiotics. Even if you have recovered completely after two days of using the drug, still complete the recommended dose. This is because the bacteria never completely dies, once you stop halfway it has a way of resurfacing again and even becomes worse than it was before.

After using antibiotics you must take either a multivitamin or a blood tonic to regain lost vitamins and replenish lost blood.

Oluwatise Osinaike studied Pharmacology at Olabisi Onabanjo University.