Many adults use antibiotics without consulting doctor, survey finds
Adding to fears about the overuse of antibiotics, a new Texas study finds that one in every 20 adults has hoarded the drugs and used them without a doctors guidance.
For years, health experts have warned that overuse of antibiotics is leading to drug-resistant superbug bacteria that could pose dire health problems. Self-diagnosis and overuse of the drugs could now be adding to the problem, the researchers behind the new study said.
When people self-diagnose and self-prescribe antibiotics it is likely that the therapy is unnecessary because most often these are upper respiratory infections that are mostly caused by viruses, said study lead author Dr. Larissa Grigoryan. She an instructor in Family and Community Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
The most common conditions patients reported self-treating with antibiotics were sore throat, runny nose or cough -- conditions that typically would get better without any antibiotic treatment, Grigoryan said in a news release from the American Society for Microbiology. One infectious-disease expert expressed alarm at the new findings.
This report on people using previously prescribed antibiotics, for self-diagnosed reasons, is terribly disturbing, potentially dangerous for the individual and clearly detrimental to society as a whole, said Dr. Howard Selinger.
He is chair of family medicine at Quinnipiac University School of Medicine, in Hamden, Conn.
HealthDay
