Question

Identify 3 ways that we as patients contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria?

Answer 1

Antibiotics are certain substances which have the capability to check the growth of bacteria and fungi and subsequently the microorganisms are killed. However, in modern days due to the lack of knowledge and supervision or some other reasons, the bacteria are becoming antibiotic-resistant i.e they can no longer be killed with the antibiotics which earlier were deadly to them.

Numerous causes contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistance, among which the 3 ways patients contribute to this problem are written below--

1) Self-medication- without consulting a physician, sometimes many patients buy over the counter antibiotics without knowing the suitable dosage. This over or under dosage of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistance.

2) Another reason is not completing the full course prescribed by the doctor. In this case, when we( patients) feel a little better, we stop taking antibiotics. As the full course is not completed the pathogenic bacteria is not completely eradicated from our system and subsequently, they become resistant to the antibiotic as they have developed the resistance.

3) Sometimes, when antibiotics are not needed or there is no infection, some patients still take antibiotics as a precautionary measure. This leads to the antibiotic resistance of the bacteria which commonly live in our body.