5 common mistakes when using antibiotics

Self-prescribing habits, using excess antibiotics from old prescriptions that have not been used up or changing the doctor's treatment course . are common mistakes of many people.

Common mistakes when using antibiotics

According to the recently published report 'Using antibiotics and antibiotics in Vietnam' , bacterial infections are still quite a common disease in Vietnam. Meanwhile, antibiotic resistance becomes alarming again. The report also analyzes some common mistakes of patients, leading to the following antibiotic resistance :

1. Self-prescribing

When children have symptoms, they should be examined by specialized doctors .

The use of antibiotics must have a doctor's opinion, because at their level it is possible to identify the right disease, the type of antibiotic, the dose and the time taken. In fact, antibiotics can only be used when the child determines infection. However, many people have abused antibiotics as soon as they have symptoms of respiratory infections such as sneezing, runny nose, cough .

2. Extend or shorten the course

After the time of using antibiotics but not improving, many people decide to arbitrarily extend the course, or shorten the course when the situation is relieved without re-examining on time. Many parents also treat their children with other children's prescription, leading to the disease getting worse.

' Failure to comply with antibiotic treatment in general causes the disease to not go away completely, easily relapse, causing patients to respond to poorer treatment, severe disease proliferation and complications. Since then, the cost is more expensive due to treatment, hospitalization and having to switch to more expensive antibiotics , 'MA. Dr. Tran Anh Tuan, Head of Respiratory Department of Children's Hospital 1 analysis.

3. Reusing excess antibiotics from previous prescriptions

Many patients recover from the previous antibiotic episode, seeing that the drug is effective, so when there are such symptoms, it is necessary to take over the medicine.The principle is that excess medicine should be removed, not kept for future use.

4. Prescribe or take medicine from others

This condition is evaluated by health experts as quite common in Vietnam. Many people often take medicine according to the experience of the 'people's doctors', when they see similar symptoms. Improper antibiotics can cause complications, aggravate the disease and cause bacteria to proliferate, contributing to more severe resistance . The World Health Organization said that the situation of antibiotic resistance is often called 'drug resistance' of Vietnam is currently in the highest countries in the world.

5. The concept of antibiotic resistance to short-term treatment is ineffective

While many patients often do not fully comply with long-term antibiotic therapy, others think that short-term antibiotics are not enough time to kill the pathogenic bacteria.

According to MSc. Dr. Tran Anh Tuan, antibiotic therapy for short-term treatment is a tendency to treat infections, because of the benefits. Patients who use short-term antibiotics (3-5 days) often find it easy to follow the course, do not skip horizontal, bring maximum treatment effect.

'Using antibiotics with short-term therapy is still sufficient to completely recover from disease and avoid recurrence. In addition, the use of antibiotics with short-term course of treatment is less costly, minimizes side effects and minimizes the risk of antibiotic resistance. However, it should be noted that no disease, any patient, any antibiotic can apply this measure. Only through full examination and evaluation can your doctor make this decision , 'he stressed.