}

Antibiotics for throat

2001/09/19 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia


XX. In the middle of the 20th century the use of antibiotics quickly spread, but now we are suffering the risk of consequences of excessive use.

According to a study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, doctors usually prescribe antibiotics to cure the sore throat, although they do not work for it. According to experts, throat infections are caused by viruses and not by bacteria. Antibiotics are antibacterial drugs that do not affect viruses. However, doctors choose the simplest treatment, using antibiotics. On the other hand, the antibiotics prescribed by doctors are not cheap products such as penicillin or erythromycin, but next-generation 'broad spectrum' drugs.

This behavior is causing an increase in problems arising from antibiotic abuse. On the one hand, bacterial resistance to antibiotics increases. As a result, in developed countries the outbreaks of some diseases that have long been considered controlled are resurfacing. On the other hand, the allergic response to patients also increases.

The study was conducted between 1998 and 1999, and initiated campaigns have allowed doctors to prescribe fewer and fewer antibiotics to treat throat infections.

Gai honi buruzko eduki gehiago

Elhuyarrek garatutako teknologia