In the response to infectious diseases, many people suffer from the error of using antibiotics as long as possible after infection. Such misconceptions may not only delay the correct treatment of the condition, but may also entail unnecessary risks to the body.
Antibiotics are mainly used to treat bacterial infectious diseases, and their mechanism is to help the human immune system overcome infections by inhibiting or eliminating bacteria. However, when we become infected, the body’s immune system quickly activates defence mechanisms. For some mild bacterial infections, after a period of time with appropriate antibiotics, the number of bacteria is significantly reduced and the immune system is able to gradually remove the remaining bacteria. Problems may arise if antibiotics continue to be used for long periods of time at this time.
The prolonged use of antibiotics can disrupt the normal population balance of the human body. Within our bodies, especially in the intestinal tract, there are a large number of beneficial bacteria involved in vital physiological processes such as food digestion, nutritional absorption and maintenance of intestinal barriers. Antibiotics kill harmful bacteria while also affecting them without discrimination, leading to intestinal fungus disorders. This may lead to a range of digestive system problems, such as diarrhoea, abdominal swelling, abdominal pain, etc., which may even lead to difficult symbiosis, causing pseudo-film enteritis, a more serious and difficult intestinal disease.
In addition, overuse of antibiotics increases the production of bacterial resistance. Bacteria are very “smart” and adaptive micro-organisms, and when they are exposed to long-term exposure to antibiotics, they gradually mutate and render antibiotics ineffective. For example, some common bacteria, such as the golden fungus, which is sensitive to penicillin, have now emerged as a result of the long-term and irrational use of penicillin, which is highly difficult to treat after infection, often requiring the use of more effective, expensive and side-effect antibiotics, and sometimes even conventional antibiotics that are not able to control the infection, posing a great health threat to the patient.
In terms of the effect of the treatment, the less long the antibiotic is used, the more thorough the treatment is. If the symptoms of infection are clearly contained, such as a return to normal body temperature, a decline in inflammation indicators and an improvement in local infection stoves, continued use of drugs may only increase the risk of an adverse drug response, and further improvement of the condition will not be helpful. When they prescribe antibiotics, doctors usually determine the type, dose and course of treatment on the basis of a combination of the type of infection, the severity of the infection and the individual circumstances of the patient. The principle of “sufficient, sufficient, but not excessive” is generally followed.
For our ordinary people, the misconception that “the longer the antibiotic is used, the better the better”. In the use of antibiotics, medical advice must be strictly adhered to and do not extend the time of the drug or increase the dose. If there is doubt about the treatment, the doctor should be contacted in a timely manner. At the same time, we need to focus on improving our own immunity, increasing the body ‘ s resilience to infection, reducing the incidence of infectious diseases, and thus reducing the need for antibiotics through a rational diet, adequate exercise, and adequate sleep. Only by properly understanding and using antibiotics can they contribute to the rational use of antibacterial drugs in society while safeguarding their health, slowing the development of bacterial resistance and allowing antibiotics to remain effective in safeguarding human health in the future.
