The Right Cure

Flu season is rapidly approaching and after last year's H1N1 pandemic, every minor symptom of sickness results in a visit to the doctor. But when the doctor's give you the good news that all you have is the common cold, what's the best course of action? It used to be the age-old remedy of cough syrup and rest, but now doctors hand out antibiotics to adults like they do candy and stickers to children. For viruses such as the flu or the common cold, these antibiotics are about as effective as the stickers.

Antibiotics are a marvel of modern medicine, having been discovered accidentally by Alexander Flemming in 1928. They are actually natural chemicals released by certain bacteria and fungi as a defensive mechanism. The antibiotics kill other bacteria which they perceive as their natural competitors. However, antibiotics are not effective against viruses.

Bacteria are single-celled organisms which have been found living in some of the most extreme environments on Earth. Some live in extreme temperatures such as inside volcanoes or glaciers. The human digestive system uses almost a thousand different types of friendly bacteria to help absorb maximum nutritional value from foods and to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria. Many people may feel nauseous after taking antibiotics because the pills kill many of these helpful digestive bacteria.

Viruses, on the other hand, are single celled parasites, found only living within other organisms. They require a host to survive and reproduce, and destroy the host's cells in order to do so. Because they invade and alter a cells in order to reproduce and cannot do so on their own, they are not considered organisms, unlike bacteria. Since antibiotics are designed to target only bacteria (and not all bacteria at that) rather than the patient's own cells, they are completely ineffective in treating viral infections.

You might think that it won't hurt to take antibiotics for viral infections just to be safe, because after all, sometimes it can be hard to determine whether an infection is viral or bacterial. You'd be wrong. Because of our widespread use of antibiotics and the wonders of natural selection, many types of bacteria are rapidly becoming resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics. While this process of antibiotic resistance has existed naturally for thousands of years, invasive bacteria in humans are developing resistances at a much faster rate than those in other animals. Every time antibiotics are taken, there is a chance that some bacteria will resist it and produce resistant offspring.

The rate at which antibiotics are prescribed for viral symptoms has significantly decreased in the past 20 years, due largely to to changes in CDC policy and increased patient awareness. Unfortunately, the rate is still high enough to be deemed “alarming” by the researchers who conducted the most recent antibiotic study, which will be released in next month's Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

So why do doctors continue prescribing antibiotics for viral infections? Data from a 2007 study published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy suggests that doctors continue prescribing antibiotics because we want them. Patients who have been prescribed antibiotics in the past and show similar symptoms are open to the suggestion of more antibiotics, and sometimes even ask for them. But patient ignorance of proper antibiotic use goes further.

Antibiotics are prescribed in cycles in order to kill the maximum number of bacteria that are resistant, reducing the rate of antibiotic resistance. While doctors emphasize that antibiotic cycles must be completed, many patients are left with some leftover pills. If these are taken to extend the recommended cycle, it harms only the patient's friendly bacteria. If saved and taken to relieve symptoms of a separate infection, the cycle can not be completed and any bacteria the patient may harbor are actually more likely to become resistant than if no antibiotics had been taken at all.
As consumers with invested interest in our own well-beings, we need to be informed about what we put in our bodies. When you visit the doctor, don't ask them for medicines, wait for them to prescribe them to you. If you are prescribed antibiotics, ask your doctor if they think you may have a bacterial infection. This is information you will want to know anyway, since bacterial infections often last more than two weeks while the virus which causes the common cold typically only lasts up to ten days. If you have extra antibiotics at the end of your cycle and your prescribed cycle and your symptoms have gone away, throw them out. They will not come in handy at a later time, if you need antibiotics in the future, your doctor can write you another prescription.

As always, the best way to prevent the flu is to get a flu shot. Cold and flu symptoms are often signs of viral rather than bacterial infections Vaccines build up your immune system, making you less likely to contract the virus, while unnecessary antibiotics only strengthen harmful bacteria.