Virus consultant Dr. Kattan to Okaz: Misuse of antibiotics resists treatment Muhammad Daoud - Jeddah Saudi researcher and virus consultant Dr. Ilham Talaat Kattan warned of misuse of antibiotics in cases that do not require taking them, such as colds, influenza and headaches. Persons

They go directly to the pharmacists to dispense antibiotics, especially to children.

She indicated that taking antibiotics should be with a prescribed prescription for specific doses, as the medical diagnosis determines the nature of the disease and the quality of the antibiotic, and taking the antibiotic on its own is a risky behavior.

She added, "Antibiotics are one of the medicinal groups that are used to eliminate microbes, and they work either by eliminating these microbes directly or by stopping their growth so that the immune system in the body overcomes them, indicating that most infectious diseases are caused by two types of germs, bacteria or viruses, and the antibiotic treats infection." Bacterial, but it does not treat viral infections, for example, colds, influenza, and most cases of nasopharyngeal congestion are caused by a viral infection, and therefore the antibiotic will not help in treating it and will not protect others from catching the infection.

She indicated that microbes are living organisms that have the ability to adapt and defend themselves against antibiotics in various ways, such as secreting some enzymes that reduce the effectiveness of the antibiotic, especially if the antibiotic is used randomly or with an insufficient dose or duration, and thus strains of microbes appear that have the ability to resist treatment. With some or all of the available antibiotics, the more antibiotics are used, the greater the chance of infection with antibiotic-resistant microbes.

On how to overcome the problem of microbial resistance to antibiotics, Kattan explained, that this problem is overcome with optimal use, stressing that the individual''s use of the antibiotic when it is not needed makes some bacteria resistant to the antibiotic, so it becomes more virulent and more difficult to get rid of. It remains in the body and causes severe infection that is difficult to treat with the usual antibiotics, and the more antibiotics are used, the greater the chance of infection with antibiotic-resistant microbes. In addition, antibiotics may also cause various side effects such as allergies, stomach upset, stomach cramps and diarrhea....