Pitfalls of using antibiotics

Self-treatment is like a custom for Malayalis. Many people go directly to medical stores and buy medicines not only for colds and coughs but also for severe diseases without a doctor's prescription. A person will self-prescribe the medicine that a doctor prescribed for him to his neighbours, friends and all those who need it! However, people should realise that antibiotics are not like normal medicines. Many of them are very strong and can cause serious side effects with continued use. The doctor would prescribe a specific antibiotic for a patient after assessing the disease condition, age, health, possibility of allergy etc of the specific patient. The danger of buying and using the same medicine again after a while or recommending it to someone else for the same disease is greater than we can imagine.

It is our common habit to use antibiotics without a doctor's prescription even for minor ailments. Uncontrolled use of antibiotics is increasing worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2050, one million people will die worldwide due to a serious health condition called antimicrobial resistance due to unscientific use of antibiotics. It is a dangerous situation where pathogenic organisms will be able to survive the medicines due to continuous and uncontrolled antibiotic use. Awareness about this has been going on all over the world for a few years now.

The decision taken earlier by the health department to cancel the licenses of pharmacies and medical stores that sell antibiotics without a doctor's prescription is Kerala's move in that direction. Medical stores should display a notice stating that antibiotic medicines are not dispensed without a prescription. An order was also issued to provide antibiotics in blue envelopes for quick identification. As a second step, operational guidelines have been issued for District Level Antimicrobial Resistance Committees aimed at extending antibiotic regulation to district levels. Apart from awareness, measures such as prescription audits, infection control committees in hospitals, stewardship committees, surgical safety checklists etc. are also included in the guidelines.

India consumes the most medicines in the world. Kerala holds the first position in the country in that regard! It is estimated that Malayalis consume medicines worth Rs 15,000 crores annually. A large part of these drugs are antibiotics! Let government-level awareness and regulatory measures go ahead in that direction. We ourselves need to think seriously about the strange paradox of putting health and life at risk through unregulated antibiotic use. We also need to strictly control the use of unnecessary drugs. We must not allow ourselves to create a very dangerous situation where germs survive the drugs and subjugate humans. That would be tantamount to deciding one's own death.