A Consultant Endocrinologist, Dr Grace Senbanjo, has urged Nigerians to desist from self-medication and the indiscriminate use of antibiotics to curb the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Senbanjo, also a Consultant Physician at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Lagos.
She expressed concern over the high and alarming rate of antibiotics abuse, self-medication, and the use of unprescribed antibiotics in Nigeria, describing it as a major threat to the nation’s healthcare system.
“The use of antibiotics without a prescription from qualified medical experts is one of the major causes of antimicrobial resistance across the country, leading to severe infections, complications, longer hospital stays, and increased mortality,” she said.
Senbanjo explained that AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial agents. She added that drug resistance renders antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents ineffective, making infections difficult or impossible to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death.
“There is an increasing problem of antimicrobial resistance, whereby antibiotics are no longer effective for the treatment of infectious diseases for which they were specifically designed.
“This is why a doctor may admit a patient and administer a particular antibiotic that ordinarily should cure the patient’s ailment, but it will not work.
“Antibiotics, known as antibacterials, are drugs that destroy or slow down the growth of bacteria. They are meant to treat specific types of bacteria and cannot be interchanged to treat any infection other than the one they were designed for.
“But today, they are indiscriminately used to treat diverse ailments, which has led to resistance and made antibiotics ineffective against targeted infections,” Senbanjo said.
She stressed the importance of proper examination and diagnosis by qualified medical practitioners before prescribing antibiotics.
“Before prescribing antibiotics, both the patient and the drug should undergo a culture test in a laboratory to identify the causative organism and determine the exact antibiotic that can combat it,” she said.
The endocrinologist decried the common practice of using antibiotics to treat viral infections such as colds, flu, coughs, and sore throats without a medical prescription or laboratory confirmation. She also warned against incomplete antibiotic treatment.
“A lot of people stop taking antibiotics after three days because they feel better. This is drug abuse and very wrong. It can make the antibiotic ineffective in the person’s body, such that when taken again for the same ailment, it will not work.
“The normal prescription duration for antibiotics is usually seven days, regardless of how the patient feels,” she said.
Senbanjo urged the Federal Government and regulatory authorities to intensify efforts toward effective regulation and enforcement of policies on the use and sale of drugs in the country.
She also called for increased public awareness campaigns through television, radio, and social media to educate citizens on the proper use of antibiotics and other drugs.
(NAN)
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