What stopping antibiotic course midway could do to your body

Very often people having abdominal abscess might stop medicines prematurely and come back with a drug-resistant abscess which is harder to treat, told an expert.

Antibiotics are life-saving medicines targeted to treat bacterial infections. They work by killing the bacteria or stopping them from spreading.

These are time sensitive pills and their untimely discontinuance is known to cause ill-effects on health. 

However, the correct dosage of these medications is still being disputed among medical scholars. 

Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat to public health, with a study reporting India as one of the topmost bearers of antibiotic resistant tuberculosis (TB). 

While some studies strongly recommend not to abruptly stop them when symptoms subside, other relatively newer studies claim short courses of the drugs do not contribute to antibiotic resistance.

The conflicted dosage

Antibiotics are germ specific medicines that are totally ineffective against viruses and other microbes causing illness. In fact, they aren’t even encouraged for mild bacterial infections which could fade away on their own.

The primary function of the medicine is to eliminate the bacteria causing disease. However, the risk lies in the body becoming too familiar with the medicine and developing an immunity against it.

For the longest time, experts have pushed the belief that short courses of antibiotics run the risk of re-infection if the bacteria is not completely destroyed or even a greater risk of the weakened bacteria learning resistance against the same medicine designed to kill it.

However, emerging studies are proving otherwise. They suggest that longer courses of antibiotics could mean an extended exposure to the bacteria-killing drug, buying more time for an immune response to develop against it.

“The prescribed period for an antibiotic should be neither very short nor long. It must be appropriate to kill the bacteria. Very often we see cases where people having abdominal abscess might stop medicines prematurely and come back to us with drug-resistant abscess which is harder to treat,” said Dr Yogiraj Ray, an associate professor (Infectious Diseases) at the Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IGPMER), in Kolkata.

Some recent clinical trials have challenged the belief that antibiotics can’t be stopped earlier, with an average of five days being sufficient for most self limiting bacterial infections. However, an extended course could be suitable for difficult or chronic infections.

So, the dosage of antibiotics still remains a confusing territory for medical scholars who are weighing the benefits of a shorter course.

Patients must not decide for themselves

As per experts, the misunderstood implication of the conflicted research is that a patient can decide when to stop an antibiotic.

Experts say a patient must not be the person deciding to abruptly stop an antimicrobial medication in case the symptoms improve or they feel better. In many cases, the infection might still be there with little to no obvious symptoms.

Before planning to stop an antibiotic, they must first consult the attending physician, making sure it is the right thing to do. 

“Antibiotics are not purely given relationally to the symptoms present or absent in a patient, it is given as per the standard diagnostic protocol recognised in the country. The duration of an antibiotic therapy is primarily a call of the clinician who is treating the patient,” Dr Ray said.

Deciding the duration of an antibiotic therapy is a concern for researchers and doctors, not essentially patients unless they experience any side effects of the medicine which must be promptly reported.

Antibiotic misuse is a growing problem in many Indian states, with a Karnataka based study reporting more than 80 per cent pharmacies are selling antibiotics without prescriptions. 

Antibiotic hygiene

Unlike over-the-counter drugs, antibiotics work the best when taken as prescribed. The following are some rules as laid down by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA):

• Take them as per prescribed time and prescribed dose.

• Avoid skipping doses.

• Not saving antibiotics for future infections.

• Not consuming antibiotics prescribed for other people

• Informing the doctor about previous drug interactions or allergies if any.

• Reporting any unusual symptoms or side effects to the attending physician.