World Antibiotic Awareness Week.

From November 11 to 17, 2024, World Antimicrobial Awareness Week is being held in our country.

The purpose of this event is to raise public awareness of the problem of antibiotic resistance and is aimed at promoting their proper use among the public and healthcare professionals.

Antibiotics are a remarkable discovery in medical science, thanks to which a huge number of lives have been saved. Many diseases that were previously life-threatening have been overcome with the help of these drugs.

However, in the modern world, the wide availability, irrational, and widespread use of this group of drugs are becoming the main cause of antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is a phenomenon in which microorganisms that cause infectious diseases become resistant to the action of antibiotics. This creates a serious problem in medicine, as it complicates or even makes impossible the treatment of not only the primary diseases but also those that were previously considered ordinary.

The emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance are the result of incorrect and inadequate use of antibiotics. Frequent and incorrect self-medication, incomplete courses of treatment, or failure to follow doctors' recommendations on dosage and duration of antibiotic intake contribute to the development of microorganism resistance to drugs.

In the fight against antibiotic resistance, it is necessary to:

1. First and foremost, pay attention to the prevention of infectious diseases. This includes observing hygiene rules (hand washing, using personal hygiene products), and adhering to vaccination recommendations.

2. Share responsibility between healthcare professionals and patients. Doctors should check the necessity of prescribing antibiotics and use them only when indicated. Patients, in turn, should take antibiotics strictly as prescribed by their doctor, without prematurely stopping the course of treatment.

3. Doctors must have comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of modern methods of antibiotic use, their pharmacodynamics, dosage, and duration of treatment courses. Patient education on the correct use of antibiotics and awareness of the problem of antibiotic resistance are also important.

Recommendations for the public:

1. DO NOT take antibiotics unless there are objective indications for it. There is no need to take antibiotics if the infection is viral or for prophylaxis when family members are sick.

2. Antibiotics must be taken strictly as prescribed by a doctor and in the dosage and for the period of time specified by the doctor. It is not recommended to substitute one drug for another without consulting a specialist.

3. Do not hesitate to ask your doctor why they are prescribing a particular drug.

4. Do not ask your doctor for a "stronger antibiotic to be sure to recover"; trust the specialist.

5. Lead a healthy lifestyle, follow preventive measures against infectious diseases, and get vaccinated – then antibiotics will not be needed.

By following the recommendations for the use of antibacterial drugs, each person can contribute to ensuring that antibiotics protect us for as long as possible from increasingly dangerous microbes.

Stay healthy!

State Institution "Rassonsky RCGE", 2024.