Consuming antibiotics to recover from common cold, fever or cough without consulting doctors is a dangerous practice and can prove to be dangerous in the long run, said Dr Anudita Bhargav, Assistant Professor of Microbiology in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur.
“You must also question your doctor even when he or she prescribes antibiotics for minor ailments because antibiotics do not have any effect on the virus,” she said at a press conference in the city on Thursday.
She said that antibiotics, in the long run, makes the viruses resistant. Medicines for common infection in the urinary tract cost Rs 100-200 earlier but now those medicines have little impact.
These days, only strong medicines that cause harm to our body and cost around Rs 2,000 are proving to be effective, Bhargav said. Even though the medical shop owners are instructed not to provide medicines to patients without proper prescription, the practice is continuing unabated and the patients, too, try avoiding seeing a doctor in case of minor illness. The practice of often taking antibiotics affects the fighter viruses within the body and makes them prone to illness. After a period of time, the body fails to recover from ailments unless introduced to a strong drug.
AIIMS and Pt Jawahar lal Nehru Medical College, Raipur are jointly organising a national seminar under Continuing Medical Education (CME) on ‘Emerging Pathogens’ on February 15. Several microbiology experts will participate in the seminar and discuss latest technologies and researches done on the treatment of diseases caused by microbes.
“Though the old diseases are diminishing, their place is now being taken by the evolved version of those illnesses. Continuous study of microbes can help us find cures to diseases before they become hazards,” said Dr Arvind Neral, Head of the Microbiology Department of the medical college during the press conference.
He said a modern laboratory to test samples for various diseases will come up in the city within two years. “Currently, we have a Grade 3 laboratory in the city.”