The dangers of using antibiotics indiscriminately to treat sore throats

Indiscriminate use of antibiotics will cause antibiotic resistance, increasing the death rate in common medical procedures.

New research published by the Global Respiratory Infection Partnership (GRIP) during Antibiotic Awareness Week shows that people globally have high levels of antibiotic dependence , especially when treating diseases. Common respiratory diseases such as sore throat.

Scientists say there are many misunderstandings about treating sore throats that lead to overuse of antibiotics . Some people cannot distinguish between bacterial and viral sore throats, leading to indiscriminate use of antibiotics. This condition causes some bacteria to become resistant to drugs, also known as antibiotic resistance, which is a growing concern globally.

"We are rapidly running out of antibiotics to treat important, life-threatening infections that were previously treatable," said Dr. Martin Duerden, a medical consultant at Cardiff University in Wales, who GRIP representative said on December 27.

This means procedures that were considered safe in the past such as joint replacement surgery, heart surgery, neonatal care, childbirth and cesarean sections have become much riskier. The development of new antibiotics cannot keep up with the rate at which bacteria adapt.

In addition, research shows that people seek antibiotics as soon as they have mild symptoms such as sore throat, mainly due to psychological anxiety .

Many people arbitrarily buy antibiotics to treat sore throat even though the disease is caused by a virus. (Photo: Freepik)

Scientists surveyed 12,000 people in 12 countries, aged 18 to 64, who had been treated for respiratory diseases in the past 6 months. More than half of the volunteers said they had taken antibiotics even for a mild illness such as a sore throat. This habit is especially common in people under 35 years old. 45% of people in this age group said they do not know any other way to treat sore throat other than antibiotics.

"This work highlights the need to improve awareness of antibiotic use in many countries, that antibiotics must be considered a scarce, important resource and used only for patients with infections. severe ," Dr. Duerden said. According to him, about 90% of sore throat cases will go away on their own without the use of antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the leading causes of death in most countries. Analysis of the global burden of disease shows that in 2019, the world had about 4.95 million deaths related to antibiotic resistance. 1.27 million deaths are directly due to the lack of effective antibiotics.

Rates are highest in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Eastern Europe. Other studies have found that this is a growing global problem, but is especially rampant in China.

Vietnam is also one of the countries with the highest rate of antibiotic resistance in the world. 1/3 of the antibiotics used in our country are considered "inappropriate", leading to drug resistance. The information was stated by experts at a conference in early November.

According to Mr. Duerden, young people tend to overuse antibiotics because they do not understand that most serious diseases are caused by viruses, only a few are caused by bacteria. Both types of common sore throat can clear up on their own within a week thanks to the immune system.