Have you ever taken antibiotics without a doctor's prescription? If so, you should not do this again because the careless use of antibiotics can be bad for your health in the future. Antibiotics are a class of prescription drugs to treat bacterial infections that cannot be bought freely.
Choosing the right type of antibiotic for the infection you are experiencing needs to consider many factors. Therefore, the proper and safe use of antibiotics always requires instructions from a doctor.
Doctors will not carelessly give antibiotics to patients. Before prescribing medication, the doctor will do an examination to ensure that the infection is caused by bacteria or parasites that can indeed be destroyed by antibiotics. If the infection is caused by a virus, taking antibiotics is not only an ineffective measure but can also be detrimental to your body.
There are also various types of antibiotics, such as penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides, fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, tetracyclines, and other types of antibiotics. In prescribing antibiotics, the doctor will choose the type of antibiotic based on the most likely cause of the infection that attacks your body. The doctor will choose the best antibiotic to fight the type of bacteria that causes the infection.
The following are examples of diseases caused by bacterial infections that can be treated with antibiotics:
- Urinary tract infection
- Wounds or skin infections
- Meningitis or inflammation of the lining of the brain
- Sexually transmitted infection
- Bacterial pneumonia
Then, diseases caused by viral infections, such as the flu, most types of coughs, bronchitis, and viral gastroenteritis cannot be cured with the use of antibiotics.
Impact of using antibiotics that are not in accordance with doctor's recommendations
- Disrupts the balance of bacteria in the stomach
Antibiotics are very effective at killing bacteria, but if you consume them in excess, the good bacteria in your body will also be killed. The intestine contains about 100 trillion bacteria. Not all bacteria in the stomach are bad bacteria that can make humans sick. Some bacteria known as gut flora are actually needed to help the digestive system.
- Causes antibiotic resistance
Taking the wrong antibiotics, both in terms of dosage, type, and frequency, can cause bacteria to become resistant. These resistant bacteria adapt and become resistant to the antibiotics that were once able to destroy them. This often occurs due to misuse of antibiotics.
A body infected with bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics is more difficult to recover and treat. Infections also become more easily developed and cause various complications.
- An allergic reaction has occurred
The dangers of antibiotics for those of you who take antibiotic drugs by relying on their own measurements and without a doctor's prescription can be at risk of experiencing an allergic reaction. If the type of antibiotic you are taking is not in accordance with the actual needs of the body, it will be difficult for the body to tolerate the drug so that it tends to cause allergic reactions.
If an allergic reaction appears, you will usually experience swelling of the tongue, face, and even a rash on the skin. More serious things can also appear, such as difficulty breathing or what is also known as anaphylaxis .
Those are some of the dangers that can arise if you use antibiotics inappropriately. What needs to be remembered, taking antibiotics must always be through consultation and a doctor's prescription. Improper use of antibiotics will only result in losses such as side effects, wasted costs and resistance which can lead to severe infections in the future. #LiveExcellently