Your Body: When to Take Antibiotics and When to Pass on Them
Published at | Updated at
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready ...
iStock/ThinkstockBy DR. JENNIFER ASHTON, ABC News Senior Medical Contributor
If you’re about to undergo surgery, antibiotics beforehand can be life-saving. But there also times when it may be beneficial to pass on them.
Researchers looked at 31 studies to determine whether the number of infections after surgery was increasing even in those receiving pre-operative antibiotics. Using this data, scientists have determined that if antibiotics become 30 percent less helpful in killing bacteria, we may see more than 100,000 additional surgical site infections every year.
So here’s my prescription:
- Only take antibiotics when absolutely necessary. So many people ask for antibiotics at the first sign of a sore throat or earache, when the medical fact is that these symptoms are usually caused by viruses. And viruses don’t respond to antibiotics.
- If you are given antibiotics, take the entire recommended course of treatment even if you feel better immediately.
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.