Viral infections do not only affect people with poor immune systems but they are also recurrent to healthy people with strong immune systems. Viruses cause some of the most common infections that people experience including colds, flu, sore throats and diarrhea among others (Andersson & Hughes, 2010). Most patients expect their general practitioners to prescribe to them antibiotics when they acquire some of these infections, and this might not sometimes be possible, medically speaking. If in fact, doctors who give in to customers’ requests to prescribe antibiotics for viral infections receive very low ratings from HMOs, especially seeing as the same is widely considered a bad medical practice.’
Antibiotics use is the main cause of antibiotic resistance because up to one half of antibiotics use in human beings is either unnecessary or wrong. According to a recent research about healthy antibiotics use, there are 48 million cases of unnecessary and inappropriate administration of antibiotics by doctors in the United States (Andersson & Hughes, 2010). This has since made unnecessary prescription of antibiotics a national concern and priority. Doctors are advised to prescribe them when they are really needed and patients are advised to use them correctly.
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For instance, in case a patient came to me with a request for antibiotics because he has a cold but he suspects that it is not just a cold and the only way he believes he can get better is by using antibiotics, I would not be quick to prescribe them to him. My decision would remain firm even if he brings with him another antibiotic prescription from a previous doctor’s appointment saying that it worked miracles for him. If he presents his case saying that the infection has developed into more serious infections, I would review the situation to determine if the illness will change and become worse or if I’m worried about any new symptom that may develop. If i notice that his illness may worsen with time, or if I notice he has acquired some complications, I may consider prescribing antibiotics. However, I would tell him that I understand why he thinks the best treatment for him would be antibiotics but then I would give him my professional opinion. I would go ahead to explain why it is not the best option because I understand the value of patient doctor relationship. A board member in the American academy for family physicians found out that most patients know that doctors no longer issue antibiotics to patients with viral infections but they do not know why it happen (Andersson & Hughes, 2010).
First, I would advise him on the adverse effects of antibiotics. This is because I know that even some of the most serious cases of viral infections like sinus and ear infections get better without using antibiotics. Instead, the best treatment for such infections would be to administer symptom relief to the patients. I would take such a patient through statistics proving that antibiotics do not cure viral infections such as sore throats, they do not prevent other people around from getting infected and in most case they cause unnecessary side effects such as yeast infections. Lastly, antibiotics may develop resistance in which case the bacteria resist the effects of the bacteria and continue causing harm to the patient (Andersson & Hughes, 2010). I would instead offer such a patient other options to treat the viral infection without causing more harm to them. For example, I would give them over the counter treatment options to help reduce symptoms of the infection
References
Andersson, D. I., & Hughes, D. (2010). Antibiotic resistance and its cost: is it possible to reverse resistance?. Nature Reviews Microbiology , 8 (4), 260-271.
Briefing: American office based physicians used to continue the care ... (1999). BMJ , 319(7206), pp.3a-3a.
