'Don't take antibiotics over the counter if you think you have an infection'

Do not take antibiotics over the counter without a doctorrsquos consultation said Dr M Srinivas director at AIIMS Delhi on Monday December 29 even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned against their misusePM Modi in his last Mann Ki Baat of the year on Sunday raised concern about ldquoextremely worryingrdquo Antimicrobial Resistance AMR levels in the country and urged people not to take antibiotics casuallyThe Prime Minister cited a recent alarming report by the Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR which stated that antibiotics are becoming less effective against diseases such as pneumonia and UTIs in IndiaIf everyone takes antibiotics and gets resistance we wont have any drugs to treat them in the ICU It is very harmfulrdquo Dr V Srinivas Director at AIIMS saidldquoThe message is dont take antibiotics over the counter if you think you have an infection a fever or any other symptoms he addedThe doctor urged people to consult a doctor who will then know which antibiotic to giveThe physician will prescribe the medicine with the lowest possible risk and you should take it for the prescribed durationldquoSelfprescription of antibiotics should not be done It is very important that we do not take antibiotics until the doctor gives them to usrdquo he advisedThe expert also noted that antibiotics will not work with viral infections as there are antivirals for themDr Bimal Kumar Das Professor and Head Department of Microbiology AIIMS lauded the Prime Ministers speech about the importance of antibiotics and the serious issue of their misuse and overuse across the countryAntibiotic resistance has now become a major public health concern Bacteria are increasingly acquiring resistance to almost all classes of antibiotics that are commonly used both in hospital settings and in the community Das saidThis situation is extremely worrying because we already have a very limited number of effective antibiotics and very few new antibiotics are being developedAs a result it has become critically important to focus on this issue and promote the rational use of antibioticsAntibiotic resistance exists not only in hospital settings but also in the community making it a widespread and serious challenge Das saidDr Neha Rastogi senior infectious diseases consultant at a citybased hospital said that India is bearing a silent and large pandemic in terms of high burden of infectious diseases with UTI and pneumonia facing major brunt Easy overthecounter availability of antibiotics irrational prescribing and incomplete treatment courses have accelerated resistanceMajor issues are the ease of access to antibiotics and the way prescriptions are implemented with limited checks and balancesMass awareness behavioural change better diagnostics alongside stringent regulation and implementation of national policies on controlling AMR are key to tackling the crisis Rastogi saidThe expert also suggested prevention of infections via vaccination proper sanitation and better management of environmental factorsFurther preempting early and improved affordable diagnostics avoidance of selfmedication the right dose right duration protocol can be key pillars to build and sustain the drive against antimicrobial resistanceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever