Table of contents:
- What is antibiotic resistance?
- Is it true that antibiotic resistance can cause death?
- How do you avoid antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic resistance is currently one of the leading causes of death worldwide. About 700 thousand deaths worldwide are caused by this phenomenon. In fact, health experts including the World Health Organization (WHO) agree that if there is no proper prevention, antibiotic resistance will result in an estimated one million deaths globally every year by 2050.
What is antibiotic resistance?
Doctors will usually prescribe antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. Unfortunately, bacteria over time can adapt to drugs and become increasingly difficult to kill. Well, this is what is called antibiotic resistance.
Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics in several ways. For example, because bacterial genes undergo changes or bacteria get genes that are resistant to drugs from other bacteria. This condition can gradually threaten the body's ability to treat infectious diseases. So, the longer and more often antibiotics are used, the less effective they are in fighting bacteria.
If the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria increases, various medical procedures such as organ transplants, chemotherapy, diabetes treatment, and major surgeries become very risky. The effect is further, the patient has to bear longer and more expensive treatment.
Is it true that antibiotic resistance can cause death?
Dr. Anis Karuniawati, Ph.D., SpMK (K), Secretary of the Antimicrobial Resistance Control Committee (KPRA) said that antibiotic resistance can indeed cause death.
Met by the Hello Sehat team at the UI Hospital, Depok on Thursday (15/11) dr. Anis explained that antibiotic resistance is caused because bacteria can no longer be killed by antibiotics, thus threatening the body's ability to fight infectious diseases. The result can result in disability and even death.
"Because the infectious disease is caused by bacteria that cannot be treated with the available antibiotics, that is what can cause death," said Dr. Anis, who also serves as the central administrator of the Indonesian Association of Clinical Microbiologists (PMKI) and the teaching staff of FKUI.
Even so, dr. Anis explained that antibiotic resistance was not the only cause the patient's condition continued to worsen and ultimately increased the risk of death. The reason is, there may be other things that can affect the patient's own condition, for example, the patient's illness. Usually patients who are seriously ill with their immune system will continue to decline, thereby reducing the performance of antibiotics in killing bacteria that cause infection.
In addition, the worsening of the patient's condition could also be caused by the drugs that were taken. This can be affected by the quality and method of storage of the drug that is not suitable. Yes, storage of drugs that are not according to the rules can cause the working potential of the drug to decrease, which in turn affects the patient's condition.
"There are many things that cause the drug to not work. So, not only because of the problem of resistance, "said dr. Anis.
How do you avoid antibiotic resistance?
Dr. Anis said that the key to avoiding antibiotic resistance is to prevent the infection itself. This can be done by:
- Maintain health by fulfilling nutritional intake so that your immune system is getting stronger so you don't get sick easily.
- Prepare your food hygienically.
- Be diligent in washing your hands thoroughly, especially after sneezing or coughing and before eating and touching other things.
- Pay attention to the ventilation in the house so that sunlight can enter the house and the air circulation is smooth.
- Vaccinating as recommended by the doctor to prevent certain diseases.
Dr. Anis also added that everyone must know the correct rules for taking antibiotics. Here are some rules for taking antibiotics that must be considered:
- Always take antibiotics according to doctor's instructions.
- Always buy the amount of antibiotics your doctor prescribes.
- Always finish the antibiotics your doctor gave you, even if your condition has improved.
- Always take medication at the right dose and at the right time.
- Never repeat a prescription for antibiotics.
- Never take antibiotics that are prescribed for others or give antibiotics that you have to other people, because their needs may not be the same.
- Always tell your doctor if you are taking other medications, supplements, and herbs.
