Should I Drink Antibiotics For Flu And Colds?

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Should I drink antibiotics for flu and colds?

Any licensed healthcare professional has a solid knowledge that antibiotic therapy for colds and flu is completely pointless. Both district doctors and doctors who practice in hospitals are aware of this. Nonetheless, antibiotics are prescribed, and often as a preventive measure. After all, a patient who goes to a doctor expects treatment from him.

If you ask a doctor whether to drink an antibiotic for flu and colds, the answer will be unequivocally negative. All treatment for ARVI is reduced only to drinking plenty of fluids, adherence to bed rest, taking vitamins, good nutrition, cleansing the nose, rinsing the throat, inhalation and symptomatic therapy. Antibacterial drugs are not required, but often the patient himself insists on them, literally asking the doctor for an appointment.

It is even worse when a person buys an antibiotic on his own at a pharmacy and takes it without medical advice. It takes time to visit a specialist, and entering a pharmacy is as easy as going to a store. Moreover, only in the Russian Federation the sale of antibacterial drugs is carried out over the counter and openly, which is not available in any other country in the world. Although today most of these pills still require a prescription, not every pharmacy adheres to this rule. Indeed, due to the over-the-counter sale of antibiotics, trade is significantly increased.

In pediatric practice, antibacterial drugs are often prescribed for the purpose of reinsurance, so that a bacterial complication does not arise against the background of a viral infection. Therefore, the doctor recommends an effective drug to parents, calling it a "children's" antibiotic to protect themselves from unnecessary questions. However, complications can be avoided simply by watering the child in a timely manner, moistening the air he breathes, washing his nose and applying other symptomatic treatment. With such adequate support, the body will cope with the disease on its own.

The question is quite natural as to why the pediatrician still prescribes an antibacterial drug for influenza and ARVI. The fact is that the risk of complications of colds and flu in preschoolers is actually very high. Their immune defenses are imperfect, and their health is often undermined by improper nutrition, poor environmental conditions, etc. Therefore, if a complication develops, then only the doctor will be to blame. It is he who will be accused of incompetence, even prosecution and job loss are not ruled out. This is what makes many pediatricians recommend taking antibiotics in cases where they could be dispensed with.

It is important to understand that in the overwhelming majority of cases (in 90%) the common cold is of a viral nature, and it is impossible to destroy viruses with the help of antibacterial drugs.

The indication for the appointment of antibiotics is the addition of a bacterial infection, which is a complication of flu and colds. This happens when the body itself could not overcome the virus.

Content:

• Is it possible to understand from the tests that antibiotics are needed?
• How do you know by how you feel that complications have arisen?
• When are antibiotics not indicated for colds or uncomplicated SARS?
• When is it possible to use antibiotics for uncomplicated acute respiratory infections?
• Antibiotic indications
• Main conclusions

Is it possible to understand from the tests that antibiotics are needed?

It is, of course, possible to understand from the analyzes that antibacterial treatment is required.

However, they are not done in every case:

• Collecting urine or sputum for culture is an expensive test that clinics are trying to save on their budget;
• Most often, a swab is taken from the nasal cavity and pharynx with diagnosed angina. A smear is taken on Lefler's stick, which is the cause of diphtheria. Also, doctors can direct the patient to take a swab from the tonsils for bacterial culture if the patient is pursuing chronic tonsillitis. Another common test is selective urine culture for pathologies of the urinary system;
• An increase in ESR and the level of leukocytes, as well as a shift in the leukocyte formula to the left, is an indirect sign that bacterial inflammation occurs in the body. You can see this picture on a clinical blood test.

How do you know by how you feel that complications have arisen?

Sometimes you can even understand that a bacterial complication has arisen.

This will be indicated by the following signs:

• The secret that is separated from the ENT organs or from the eyes becomes cloudy, turns yellow or green. Normally, the discharge should be transparent;
• First there is improvement, and then the temperature rises again. The second jump in body temperature should not be ignored;
• If bacteria attack the urinary system, then the urine becomes cloudy, a sediment may be found in it;
• If a bacterial infection has struck the intestines, then mucus or pus will be present in the stool. Sometimes even blood impurities are found, depending on the severity of the infection.

With regard to acute respiratory viral infections, the addition of bacterial flora can be suspected by the following signs:

• Against the background of the already diagnosed cold, there was an increased body temperature, which began to decrease by 3-4 days, but then again jumped to high levels. Most often this happens on the 5-6th day of illness, and the general well-being again sharply worsens. The cough becomes stronger, shortness of breath occurs, painful sensations appear in the chest. Most often, this condition indicates the development of pneumonia. See also: symptoms of pneumonia;
• Diphtheria and tonsillitis are also common complications of ARVI. Their onset can be suspected by sore throat, which occurs against the background of increased body temperature, a layer of plaque forms on the tonsils. Sometimes there are changes in the lymph nodes - they increase in size and become painful;
• Discharge from the ear and the appearance of pain that increases when the tragus is pressed are signs of otitis media, which often develops in young children;
• If the pains are localized in the forehead, in the face, the voice becomes nasal and rhinitis is observed, then sinusitis or sinusitis should be excluded. Suspicion can be confirmed by such a sign as increased pain when the head is tilted forward and loss of smell.

If it is quite possible to suspect a bacterial complication due to the symptoms of the disease and a deterioration in well-being, then only a specialist can choose a specific antibacterial agent.

This is influenced by many factors, including:

• Localization of inflammation;
• The patient's age;
• Medical history;
• Individual intolerance to a particular drug;
• Pathogen resistance to antibacterial drugs.

When are antibiotics not indicated for colds or uncomplicated SARS?

• Rhinitis with purulent-mucous discharge lasting less than 2 weeks;
• Conjunctivitis of a viral nature;
• Tonsillitis of viral origin;
• Rhinopharyngitis;
• Tracheitis and mild bronchitis without high body temperature;
• The development of herpes infection;
• Inflammation of the larynx.

When is it possible to use antibiotics for uncomplicated acute respiratory infections?

• If there are disorders in the functioning of the immune defense, as indicated by specific signs. These are conditions such as HIV, cancer, constantly increased body temperature (low-grade fever), viral infections that occur more often than five times a year, congenital disorders in the functioning of the immune system.
• Diseases of the hematopoietic system: aplastic anemia, agranulocytosis.
• If we are talking about a child under six months, then antibiotics will be recommended for him against the background of rickets, with insufficient body weight and with various malformations.

Antibiotic indications

The indications for the appointment of antibiotics are:

• Angina, the bacterial nature of which has been confirmed by laboratory tests. Most often, therapy is carried out using drugs from the macrolide or penicillin group. See also: antibiotics for angina for an adult;
• Acute bronchitis, laryngotracheitis, recurrence of chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis require antibiotics from the macrolide group, such as Macropen. To rule out pneumonia, a chest x-ray is required to confirm pneumonia;
• Taking antibacterial drugs, visiting a surgeon and hematologist requires a disease such as purulent lymphadenitis;
• Consultation with an otolaryngologist regarding the choice of drugs from the group of cephalosporins or macrolides is for patients with diagnosed otitis media in the acute stage. The ENT doctor also treats diseases such as sinusitis, ethmoiditis, sinusitis, which require an adequate antibiotic. This complication can be confirmed by X-ray examination;
• Penicillin therapy is indicated for pneumonia. In this case, the strictest control of the therapy is required and the confirmation of the diagnosis using an X-ray image.

The study, which was carried out in one of the children's polyclinics, is very indicative in terms of inadequate prescription of antibacterial agents. Thus, an analysis of the medical records of 420 children of primary preschool age revealed that 89% of them had acute respiratory viral infections or acute respiratory infections, 16% had acute bronchitis, 3% otitis media, 1% with pneumonia and other infections. At the same time, antibiotic therapy was prescribed in 80% of cases for viral infections, and for bronchitis and pneumonia in 100% of cases.

It was found that pediatricians are aware that viral infections cannot be treated with antibiotics, but they still prescribe them based on considerations such as:

• Installation manual;
• Children under 3 years of age;
• The need to prevent complications;
• Lack of desire to visit babies at home.

At the same time, antibiotics are recommended to be taken for 5 days and in small doses, and this is dangerous in terms of the development of bacterial resistance. In addition, there are no test results, so it is not known which pathogen caused the disease.

Meanwhile, in 90% of cases, viruses were the cause of the malaise. As for bacterial diseases, they were most often provoked by pneumococci (40%), Haemophilus influenzae (15%), staphylococci and mycotic organisms (10%). Such microorganisms as mycoplasma and chlamydia contributed to the development of the disease very rarely.

You can take any antibacterial drugs only after a medical consultation. Only a doctor can competently determine the appropriateness of their appointment after collecting an anamnesis, taking into account the patient's age and the severity of the pathology.

The following antibacterial agents can be used:

• Penicillin drugs. Semisynthetic penicillins are recommended in the absence of allergies to them. It can wash Amoxicillin and Flemoxin Solutab. If the disease is severe, then experts recommend taking protected penicillins, for example, Amoxiclav, Augmentin, Flemoklav, Ekoklav. In these preparations, amoxicillin is supplemented with clavulanic acid;
• Macrolide antibiotics are used for the treatment of pneumonia and respiratory infections provoked by chlamydia and mycoplasma. This is Azithromycin (Zetamax, Sumamed, Zitrolide, Hemomycin, Azitrox, Zi-factor). With bronchitis, the appointment of Macropen is possible;
• From drugs-cephalosporins, it is possible to prescribe Cefixime (Lupine, Suprax, Pantsef, Ixim), Cefuroxime (Zinnat, Aksetin, Zinacef), etc.;
• From the fluoroquinolone series, the drugs Levofloxacin (Floracid, Glevo, Haileflox, Tavanik, Fleksid) and Moxifloxacin (Moximak, Plevilox, Avelox) are prescribed. Children of this group are never prescribed drugs due to the fact that their skeleton is still forming. In addition, fluoroquinolones are agents that are used in especially severe cases, and they represent a reserve to which the bacterial flora of a grown child will not be resistant.

The doctor should determine which antibacterial drug to use for the treatment of a particular disease. A separate issue is that pharmaceutical companies strive to maximize profits. They put drugs into circulation, which should have been kept in reserve for a certain time. In this regard, the resistance of bacteria to drugs is growing, which threatens serious problems in the future, when humanity may be left without effective antibiotics.

Main conclusions

• Using antibacterial drugs for colds of viral origin is not only pointless, but also harmful. They are needed to treat a bacterial infection.
• Antibacterial drugs have a wide list of side effects: they can negatively affect the functioning of the liver and kidneys, can provoke the development of allergies, have a depressing effect on immunity, and disrupt the normal microflora in the body.
• For preventive purposes, the use of antibacterial drugs is unacceptable. It is important to monitor the patient's condition and prescribe antibiotics only if an antibacterial complication has actually occurred.
• An antibacterial drug is ineffective if the body temperature does not decrease after 3 days from the start of its administration. In this case, the product must be replaced.
• The more often a person takes antibiotics, the faster the bacteria will develop resistance to them. Subsequently, this will require the appointment of more serious drugs that have a detrimental effect not only on pathogenic agents, but also on the patient's body.

Author of the article: Alekseeva Maria Yurievna | Therapist

Education: From 2010 to 2016 Practitioner of the therapeutic hospital of the central medical-sanitary unit No. 21, city of elektrostal. Since 2016 she has been working in the diagnostic center No. 3.