When the body condition was starting to feel bad, many people who take reasonable precautions to take antibiotics to prevent flu. In fact, most of the antibiotics prescribed to prevent the flu or a virus ineffective.
In study results published in the journal Annals of Family Medicine stated, antibiotics have little effect in preventing the flu.
The study was conducted by analyzing the medical records of more than 814,283 patients suffering from flu, laryngitis, bronchitis, as well as other viruses (ISPA).
Although antibiotics are designed to treat bacterial infections and are not effective for respiratory infections, but 65 percent of patients said that a prescription of antibiotics to prevent infection with the virus develop into a more serious illness, such as pneumonia.
In fact, the fear of the increased severity of the disease was not proven. In fact a lot of patients who complain of side effects of antibiotic consumption.
According to the study, apparently of patients receiving antibiotics for prevention, only 1 out of 12,255 patients who successfully prevented her pneumonia.
"The more antibiotic taken, the faster bacteria around us were so resistant. This means that in the future if we are sick, it is likely that the disease will not be cured by antibiotics," said Sharon Meropol, assistant professor of epidemiology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine are conducting this research.
Even so, we do not need enemies antibiotics. In a disease caused by a bacterial infection, antibiotics will speed up the healing process.
"If your doctor recommends antibiotics as a preventive flu, you should ask why and whether it is necessary," said Robert Klein, head of the infectious diseases division of St. Luke's and Roosevelt Hospitals.
If the reason for taking strong antibiotics, make sure you follow the correct medication instructions to maximize the effectiveness of the drug. Your health depends on it.