Physicians of Karimnagar launch campaign against excessive use of antibiotics
K M Dayashankar
World antimicrobial awareness week from November 18 to 24
KARIMNAGAR: The Association of Physicians of India (API) Karimnagar chapter has appealed to the people to use the antibiotics judiciously and avoid self-medication and follow medication only from a qualified medical practitioner.
As part of the ongoing World antimicrobial awareness week (November 18 to 24), the API Karimnagar chapter had released a pamphlet educating the people about the importance of safe use of antibiotics and watching the bacterial resistance progression. At a programme organised in Karimnagar town on Saturday, API Karimnagar chapter president Dr Vaddeboina Laxman, secretary Dr Sesha Shailaja, API members Dr Chaitanya, senior physician Dr D Raghuraman had released a pamphlet specially prepared with dos and don’ts on use of antibiotics.
The pamphlet titled “Spread awareness – Stop Resistance” (initiate judicious use of antibiotics) states that the excessive use of antibiotics would wipe out whole populations of bacteria – both good and bad including those that are beneficial to the body. Following the heavy use of antibiotics for every common illness such as cold, viral fevers, flu etc, and some bacteria become resistant to antibiotics to enable them to survive the adverse condition thereby reducing the efficacy of the antibiotics.
Different antibiotics are used for treating serious infections in surgical patients, protecting cancer patients, people with compromised immune systems and promoting growth and preventing disease in livestock. Moreover, once treatable infections are becoming difficult to cure due to antibiotic resistance due to over-use or abuse of antibiotics, raising costs to healthcare facilities and patient mortality which seriously affect individuals and society.
They stressed the need for going in for organic farming and reducing the use of antibiotics for the livestock and encouraging rearing of local breeds. Educating the people to accord priority for physical exercises, they informed the people to maintain a proper diet. They urged the people to stop using antibiotics for every small illness and instructed them to consult the doctors and use antibiotics as per their prescriptions.
