Doctors, nurses and pharmacists are joining forces in New Brunswick to tell people that an antibiotic will not help in fighting the common cold or influenza.
“Patients have an expectation of needing an antibiotic for their illness and this in part is created by the fact they may have had an antibiotic for a previous infection,” says Dr. Michael Armitage of the New Brunswick Anti-Infective Stewardship Committee.
But the drug is now being prescribed with much more thought given. Medical professionals say the more an antibiotic is handed out, the less effective in can be in treating or preventing an infection.
“Which in the future could create problems where if a patient really needs them to survive illness, they won't be effective,” says Dr. Armitage.
The campaign is aiming to avoid any confrontation involving a patient who may be counting on an antibiotic if they go to a doctor, a clinic or the ER.
“If that individual tells them they're not getting an antibiotic that day then there can be frustration there at the consumer end,” says Paul Blanchard of the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association
More than 25 million antibiotic prescriptions are written in Canada every year.
“Thirty to 50 per cent of the antibiotics that are prescribed now are overprescribed and prescribed inappropriately,” says Blanchard.
The campaign says antibiotics are sometimes needed, but so is education.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.
