Antibiotics are drugs used to prevent and treat infections caused by bacterial microbes. Bacteria are small living things called microbes that cannot be seen with the naked eye, but can be made visible by magnifying them with microscopes. But microbes are not just bacteria. We can divide them into main groups as follows:
*Bacteria:
-Bad bacteria: Harmful bacteria that cause diseases,
- Good bacteria: Those that do not cause disease and are necessary for the body. and beneficial bacteria.
* Viruses,
* Fungi,
* Protozoa (such as the microbe that causes amoebic dysentery).
Microbes. Only bacteria are affected by antibiotics. Other microbes are not affected by antibiotic treatment at all. Therefore, using antibiotics against other groups of microbes that can cause disease in the human body is useless and even harmful to the body.
What are the features that should be considered in the use of antibiotics, especially for children who are sick frequently during the school period?
*For antibiotics to be effective The cause of the disease must definitely be a bacterium. Bacterial infections usually differ from viral infections by causing much higher fever, extreme weakness and fatigue. Whether the microbe of a disease is bacteria or not can only be determined by a doctor's examination. Sometimes, even examination is insufficient to make this distinction and tests such as hemogram, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, CRP and cultures may be required.
*Then, we can summarize: Using antibiotics may be unnecessary and harmful unless prescribed by a doctor.
* Antibiotics should be used in the correct dose and for a sufficient duration. If the dose is low, the drug may be ineffective and resistance to the antibiotic may develop. If overdose is given, side effects such as diarrhea, abdominal pain and allergies may occur. The duration of use planned by the doctor should be followed.
*The time of administration of the antibiotic should be taken into consideration. The usage hours recommended by the doctor should not be disrupted. Giving the medicine at most 1 hour before or 1 hour after the appointed time does not affect the treatment much. For medications that occur during school hours, parents must go to school during medication hours and take their child's medication. � or ask for help from the classroom teacher.
*It is necessary to protect the antibiotic under the conditions and environment written on the box. Antibiotics that have lost their properties and are suspected of deterioration should not be used and should be thrown away.
What are the diseases for which antibiotics should not be given?
If the appropriate antibiotic is not selected for the disease. Far from being beneficial, these drugs are even harmful. Antibiotics can only affect bacteria and treat the diseases caused by them. Antibiotics have no positive effects in the treatment of diseases caused by VIRUSES or other microbes. 70 - 80% of the diseases we frequently encounter in daily life are caused by viruses. The names of many of these have entered our daily lives. We can list the most common diseases caused by viruses, which are very common and are not affected by antibiotics at all, as follows: COMMON FLU, FLU, COLD, PALUMARYLAX, MEASLES, RUBELLA, CHICKENPOX, KISSING DISEASE, MUMMALS, FIFTH DISEASE, SIXTH DISEASE, HAND-FOOT-MOTH. Diseases, herpes, canker sores, contagious jaundice, VIRUS DIARRHEAS.
What are the harms of using antibiotics for children?
1) Antibiotic resistance: Antibiotics used unnecessarily or in the wrong dosage cause the bacteria in the body to acquire properties that will protect themselves against the drug used. As a result, resistance to antibiotics develops and the antibiotic becomes unable to affect and kill the bacteria. When the resistant microbe spreads to other people, it becomes impossible to treat those people using the same antibiotic. The miracle drug penicillins, which were the first antibiotics to be very effective against bacteria when they were first discovered a hundred years ago, have now become insufficient or ineffective against many bacteria due to unconscious and incorrect use of antibiotics. If wrong and unnecessary antibiotics continue to be used, other antibiotics that are very effective today will perhaps become ineffective in the near future. Perhaps there will be major epidemics that will affect millions of people and treatments will be useless.
A Every year in the United States, 2 million people are sickened by bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics, and at least 23,000 of them die every year from these microbes. (There is no published research or statistics regarding Turkey on this subject).
Other important consequences of the development of antibiotic-resistant microbes:
-Heavier and more serious diseases ,
-More frequent visits to the doctor,
-Longer recovery period,
-Need to be hospitalized more often and for longer periods of time,
2) The dose and duration of use of the antibiotic used must be sufficient to completely kill and destroy the target bacteria. Otherwise, the bacteria becomes resistant.
3) It may cause nausea, vomiting, weakness, fatigue, dizziness and stomach upset.
4) It may cause redness, itching and watering in the eyes. It may cause visual disturbances.
5) It may cause itching and tingling in the throat, swelling on the face, tongue, lips and larynx. In this way, it can even cause severe shortness of breath.
6) Antibiotics kill not only harmful bacteria but also necessary and beneficial bacteria for the body. This can lead to oral thrush, long-term diarrhea, abdominal pain, intestinal pain, fungal infections and diaper rash.
7) It can even cause very dangerous allergies called anaphylactic shock. This type of allergy can cause death.
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8) It can cause skin rashes, itching and peeling.
9) Antibiotics can reduce the body's resistance to bacteria by weakening the immune system.
10) Antibiotics can reduce the body's resistance to bacteria, such as the liver and kidneys. It can damage organs and cause permanent damage to them.
11) By suppressing the bone marrow, it can reduce or stop the production of blood cells and protective cells against microbes made there.
12) It can prevent the development of bones, teeth or cartilage. and may impair their growth.
13) It may damage the eyes and ears, causing vision and hearing impairments and impairments, and even deafness.
What should children do? Should antibiotics be given in such cases?
Every fever Antibiotics are not required in stasis. Studies have shown that at least 80% of throat infections and at least 50% of ear infections are caused by viruses and are not affected by antibiotic treatment. Therefore, only a doctor who is an expert on the subject can decide whether antibiotics are required.
What should be done to protect children from diseases during the school period?
*By getting vaccinated against the diseases that are vaccinated on time and in sufficient numbers. To make children immune to these microbes in advance.
*To ensure that they are resistant to diseases by ensuring that they have a balanced and adequate diet.
*Eating plenty of foods such as home-made yoghurt, kefir, home-made pickles and home-made vinegar, which protect our body and make it resistant to harmful microbes because they contain probiotics (beneficial microbes),
*Before eating, Preventing the transmission of germs from hands to the mouth by gaining washing habits,
*Paying close attention to food, water and hand hygiene (cleanliness). Ensuring that they stay away from suspicious, openly sold or stale food and drinks.
*Disinfecting hands with germicidal liquids.
*Sick children; Not sending them to school until the disease is no longer contagious.
*Keeping our children away from people who cough, sneeze, have a runny nose, have a sore throat, have a fever, or look sick. Ensuring that sick people wear masks when they are in public.
*Teaching children to make it a habit to cover their mouths and noses with their arms (or hands) when coughing and sneezing.
*By reducing body resistance, beneficial microbes are also removed. To prevent unnecessary use of antibiotics. Not using antibiotics unless prescribed by the doctor. (According to research, 33% to 50% of antibiotics used in humans are used unnecessarily or inappropriately.)
For how many days should children be given antibiotics?
Treatment duration is not fixed and varies depending on the disease and the person. The amount of bacteria entering the body depends on the location of the disease. The organ involved, the severity of the disease and its prevalence in the body, and the patient's nutrition and resistance status during that disease are important in determining the duration of treatment. That is why the agreed treatment period for each patient is not the same, even for diseases caused by the same bacteria. Generally, the shortest treatment period varies between 5 - 7 days, but in some severe pneumonias it may even take 2 - 4 weeks.
If the microbial disease recurs soon, is antibiotic treatment required again?
After a person recovers from a bacterial disease, he again becomes ill with a fever. In other words, if an infection occurs and the causative agent of the disease is again a bacterium, it is necessary to use antibiotics again. In such a case, it would be wrong to use the same antibiotic if at least 1 month has not passed since the last antibiotic treatment.
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