Understand the risks of antibiotics
What happens in the dentist’s office or urgent care center in Naperville today or with a doctor from Aurora next week can have a long-term impact in the Chicago area and it can affect your health in unexpected ways.
When used correctly, antibiotics save lives. However, people are often not given information about the harms of antibiotic use. A study published recently in the Lancet blamed misuse of antibiotics for growing antibiotic resistance that could kill 39 million people in the next 25 years.
Dental, urgent care and primary care offices are places where antibiotics are commonly overprescribed. These providers have reported prescribing antibiotics because they believe patients expect them, or because time constraints make it an easier choice versus taking the time to explain why they aren’t needed.
Look out for yourself and the communities you are part of by taking a few simple steps to avoid unnecessary antibiotics. First, simply tell your provider that you don’t expect an antibiotic from them if it’s not needed. Let them know that you understand the benefits and risks of antibiotics and you will trust them if they tell you antibiotic treatment isn’t needed. Also, ask some basic questions that will give you a better understanding of any medications prescribed for you, especially antibiotics. You have the right to ask these questions. Any provider should answer them willingly:
Why should I take this medication and how will it help me?
What will happen if I don’t take this medication?
What potential harms or negative effects could this medication cause?
Antibiotics are lifesaving treatments that are essential to modern health care. All of us must do our part to use antibiotics responsibly to protect ourselves, our families, our neighbors in Illinois and the rest of the world, while also ensuring their availability for generations to come.
Muhammad Dhanani, Northwestern Medicine Physician and Assistant Professor of Medicine at The Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago