Monthly Archives: April 2011

Most bugs don’t need drugs

I am borrowing this slogan from an advertising campaign in which we are trying to educate the public that most infections are caused by viruses and not bacteria. The distinction is important, since antibiotics only work against bacterial infections. Most infections however, are caused by bugs known as “viruses” and these are the diseases that we need to fight off ourselves. We can use medicines for support, but not to “cure” infections caused by viruses.

Examples of diseases caused by viruses are chicken pox, the flu, and most common colds. I am not advocating an anti-antibiotics position, but we have found over the years that bacteria can build-up resistance to certain antibiotics, so it helps us to reduce this risk if we try to only prescribe it when indicated (for a great read on this, please visit Caring for Kids).

Continue reading