Fifteen-month-old Aniket
was suffering from a minor bout of cold and fever. Instead of taking him to a
paediatrician, his parents preferred to administer some over-the-counter drug
from a medical shop. When his condition did not improve after three-four days,
they took him to their general physician (GP) who administered another dose of
antibiotic medicine. Unfortunately, Aniket showed no signs of improvement.
By the time his parents
took him to a paediatrician, Aniket’s condition had deteriorated and he had
stopped responding to regular doses of antibiotics. He had to be kept on a
ventilator for a week while the doctors increased the dose of antibiotics.
According to the doctors,
Aniket was lucky that his body responded to the increased dosage. In some
cases, rampant use of antibiotics, especially among children, lead the bacteria
in their bodies to become antibiotic-resistant.
President of Academy of
Paediatricians Dr Chetan Trivedi said, “In Aniket’s case, he had a bacterial
infection and had stopped responding to the first and second line
ofantibiotics. We had to give him a higher dose. Though we had our
reservations, we are happy that he responded to the higher dosage. It took 20
days of medication for him to recover.” In another case, a 2year-old suffered
from diarrhoea. His father took him to a doctor who prescribed a course of
antibiotics. But as the child’s condition improved within two days, the parents
didn’t complete the course. Twenty days later, the child again had diarrhoea
and this time the previous drug didn’t work on him. He had to be hospitalised
and administered third-line antibiotic.
These are a few of the
several such cases that doctors have to deal on a day-to-day basis. According
to doctors, irrational use of antibiotics has led to a surge in instances of
drug-resistant bacteria in infants. “Overuse, incorrect use or abuse of
antibiotics make bacteria resistant to treatments.
Most of the patients with
infections like fever, cold or diarrhoea don't need antibiotics. But doctors
still prescribe them to help early recovery,” said Trivedi.
Trivedi explains that every
human body hosts certain bacteria, which when exposed to antibiotics also
evolve and tend to develop resistance to it. Dr Sanjeev Goel, president of
academy of paediatrics, Gujarat, paints ascary picture when he says that abuse
of antibiotics might lead to antibiotic crises in the state in the next 15
years.
He says, “The number of
approved antibiotics for children is very limited. In such cases, doctors have
to prescribe higher doses of antibiotics. Developing higher doses of
antibiotics that can fight the drug-resisting bacteria is extremely
time-consuming and an expensive affair.” Goel says, “While prescribing
antibiotics to infants, one has to be careful. The dosage can’t be increased in
an uncontrolled manner. So, misuse of antibiotics needs to be checked.
Both doctors and parents
have to be careful.” Goel also points out that in most cases, parents force
doctors to prescribe antibiotics as they want their child to get well soon.
“But that is actually not helping the child. Dosage is there for a reason.
Indiscriminate prescription of antibiotics will make the bacteria resistant to
drugs.” Another reason, doctors say, is incomplete course of antibiotics.
Leaving the course incomplete is inviting trouble as it gives bacteria the time
to develop resistance against the drug.
The Gujarat Academy of
Pediatrics along with 23,000 members of Indian Academy of Pediatrics and Indian
Medical Association is planning to launch ‘Avoid antibiotic Abuse’ campaign
today.
THINGS TO AVOID
» Avoid self medication
» Take medical advice
» Complete the course of
antibiotic
» Don't give your
antibiotic to other
» Avoid overuse of
antibiotic
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