Each year 200 million doses of antibiotics are administered across the United States. In certain cases they are potent disease-fighting tools, but in other cases, such as colds or flu, they may be worse than useless. Some feel that the public may not totally understand the proper use of antibiotics. A recent study at the University of Virginia found that students who went to the health center because of cold symptoms expected to receive antibiotics even though the prescription would not have helped them. This common misconception has physicians urging health professionals to get the correct information out to patients.
Antibiotics are effective for bacterial infections.
But most of the students came in with cold and flu symptoms, which antibiotics will not cure. With the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria, the misconceptions about the proper use of antibiotics are more crucial than ever, said Macauley. As children grow up, the misconception grows along with them, the study suggests. Students visiting the campus health center at University of Virginia filled out questionnaires and over half of them with complaints of cold symptoms expected antibiotics. Another problematic finding from the study was that students also were taking antibiotics left over from previous illnesses.