Antibiotics – A double-edged sword

Antibiotics are substances created from microorganisms, fungi, synthetic or semi-synthetic chemicals intended to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria by acting on an important site or reaction. certain effects in the growth of bacteria.

Each antibiotic only works against certain types of bacteria and also brings many dangerous side effects such as: hives, diarrhea, anaphylaxis, … and worst of all, death. Therefore, antibiotics must be used according to the doctor’s instructions, indiscriminate use of antibiotics will be a sharp double-edged sword, ready to end your life.

Why overuse antibiotics?

The misconception of many people, lack of understanding, is that antibiotics can cure all diseases. For example, when a child has a viral fever, also known as viral fever, with a fever as high as 39-41 degrees Celsius, many parents rush to give their children antibiotics right away without knowing the cause of their child’s illness and resistance. Birth only works against certain types of bacteria, has no effect on viruses and does not help the child’s condition to improve or even the mentality that it is better to drink by mistake than to miss it so that your child can recover from the disease. fast.

Many people use antibiotics indiscriminately, putting themselves at risk.

Doctor Nguyen Tien Dung – former head of pediatrics, Bach Mai hospital once warned: “Over 30 years in the profession, I have witnessed many sad stories caused by antibiotics. In some cases, the baby had symptoms of acute respiratory infection but quickly turned into acute pneumonia. The reason was that the family members had used antibiotics before, making the doctors unable to turn back in time. Having a grandchild after only a few hours, the lungs were white due to the type of bacteria that 2nd and 3rd generation antibiotics could not help, the cost of treatment was extremely expensive.”

So why do so many people have antibiotics to take without a doctor’s prescription? That is the situation of drug trading rampant on social networks with sources that have not been tested for quality, promoting drugs with miraculous effects, curing all diseases, ….

Consequence

It is because of that overuse of antibiotics that the situation of superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics is increasing, becoming a global health crisis. Currently, around the world, 1.2 million people die each year from antibiotic-resistant bacteria (2019 data of the Lancet medical journal), it is predicted that by 2050 this number will reach 10 million. People.

How to treat patients with antibiotic-resistant superbugs?

When a person is infected with a superbug that is resistant to all antibiotics, death is almost certain. Therefore, an alternative therapy is needed. In the journal Nature Communications on January 18, 2020, doctors in Belgium announced the cure of a foot infection caused by antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae by phage method (using viruses to treat). bacterial infections). This can be one of the alternative methods when the patient is already resistant to antibiotics.