A patient voices their frustration on not being prescribed an antibiotic for sore throat or sinusitis because in the past, the prescribed antibiotics cured the sore throat.
For the physician, do you respect the patient’s wishes on being prescribed an antibiotic? Or do you decline their wishes on the basis of new evidence on antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic Resistance:
- Occurs when bacteria stop responding to antibiotics which are designed to kill them.
- Antibiotic resistance is a growing public health issue around the world caused by misuse or overuse of antibiotics.
- As a society, we need to care about antibiotic resistance because:
- It can affect anyone around the world
- Common colds and injuries will not get ‘cured’
- Individuals with common bacterial infections will die
- Demand on the hospitals will increase
Remember, every medication, including antibiotics have side effects.
