H1N1 Treatment: Antibiotics or Not?

We all know how Malaysian doctors treat flu desease, before the doctor give his prescription you can safely guess; antibiotics. Do you know that antibiotics are medications that fight infections caused by bacteria.

But that is what our doctor tend to prescribe. With the media hype on H1N1 reaching it's peak, our doctors getting more and more confuse. On one hand they want to use Tamiflu to treat the patients, but on the other hand, they know it is ridiculous to treat a flu patient with a vaccine. Common sense tell them that vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains a small amount of an agent that resembles a microorganism. The agent stimulates the body's immune system to recognize the agent as foreign, destroy it, and "remember" it, so that the immune system can more easily recognize and destroy any of these microorganisms that it later encounters.

So a lot of our good doctors went back to what they used to practise; use antibiotics to treat flu desease. A doctor gave my patient a very strong dose of antibiotic in the hope to cure her of H1N1. After treatment my patient suffered from slow piosoning with the following syndromes, nausea, dizziness, weak feet, lost of apettite. Read the following article about whether to use antibiotics or not for flu treatment, then you know how sorry is our doctors. Can you trust them for flu treatment?

Flu Treatment: Antibiotics or Not?

Looking for an effective flu treatment and wondering if antibiotics will work? Antibiotics are medications that fight infections caused by bacteria.Chances are that antibiotics will not help your flu symptoms. That's because flu, colds, and most sore throats and bronchitis are caused by viruses. In addition, taking antibiotics when you have a virus may do more harm than good. Taking antibiotics when they are not needed increases your risk of getting an infection later that resists antibiotic treatment.Why won't antibiotics cure my cold or flu?Antibiotics only cure certain infections due to bacteria -- and if taken carelessly, you may get more serious health problems than you bargained for.With any illness, it is critical to address the underlying cause of the illness, whether it's bacterial or viral. Antibiotics will not kill cold or flu viruses, most coughs and acute bronchitis (chest colds), sore throats not caused by strep, or runny noses.Should I avoid antibiotics altogether?Not at all. Antibiotics can save people's lives, and if you need them, you should get them as quickly as you can. Since only your doctor can prescribe antibiotics, this means that you should talk to your doctor if your think you might need antibiotics (as opposed to taking your friend's leftover antibiotics from last winter's illness).However, it is the grave over-reliance and inappropriate use of antibiotics that have contributed to the global antibiotic resistance crisis that we face.A recent study by the CDC showed that many adults believe that if they are sick enough to see a doctor for a cold, they should get an antibiotic treatment. The study also showed that patients are not aware of the consequences of taking the drugs if they are not needed. But when antibiotics are misused, bacteria can become resistant.What are antivirals?Antivirals are flu drugs that are taken at the onset of flu. These flu drugs help decrease the severity and duration of flu symptoms.Which antivirals does the CDC recommend for 2007-2008 flu season?The CDC recommends Tamiflu and Relenza. They are most effective when given within 48 hours of the onset of illness. These flu drugs can decrease the duration of the flu by 1 to 2 days if used within this early time period. These antivirals are usually given for a period of about 5-7 days. It's unclear whether these drugs can prevent complications of the flu.Tamiflu is approved for prevention and treatment in people 1 year old and older. Relenza is approved for treatment of people 7 years old and older and for prevention in people 5 years old and older.Are there side effects with antiviral drugs?Side effects of antiviral drugs may include nervousness, poor concentration, nausea, and vomiting. Relenza is not recommended for people with a history of breathing problems, such as asthma, because it may cause a worsening of breathing problems. Discuss side effects with your doctor.
What does antibiotic resistance mean?According to the CDC, antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria changes in some way to reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of the antibiotic.When bacteria are exposed to antibiotics repeatedly, such as when you take the medication needlessly or too frequently, the germs in your body change. These changes can make the germs stronger than before so they completely resist the antibiotic -- and win. Your illness will linger with no signs of improvement. Or your illness may suddenly take a turn for the worse, requiring you to seek emergency medical care. You may have to be admitted to the hospital and get several different antibiotics administered in your veins. Sadly, those around you may get the resistant bacteria and come down with a similar illness that is very difficult to treat.But aren't antibiotics quick cures for illnesses?Unfortunately, demand for a "quick fix" for what ails us has fueled this resistance crisis. Yet more than two-thirds of the 150 millionantibiotic prescriptions written each year for patients outside of hospitals are unnecessary, according to a CDC study.How can I protect my family and myself from antibiotic resistance?There is a way to protect yourself and others from resistant bacteria, and that is to respect antibiotics and take them only when necessary for a bacterial infection.

Here are some useful tips:

1. When you see your doctor, don't demand antibiotics. Understand that antibiotics are used for bacterial infections, not symptoms of a cold or flu virus.

2. If your doctor prescribes antibiotics, use them as prescribed. Take all of the antibiotics as directed and don't save some for future use.

3. Don't share your antibiotics with others.

4. on't take other's antibiotics.Preventing the flu in the first place may help you avoid getting sick altogether. Get a flu shot annually. Also, make sure you wash your hands frequently and thoroughly to prevent spreading germs.

If the doctors are confuse about the anti-viral drugs and antibiotics, you believe they can solve your flu problem? If you still wonder why the death toll of H1N1 still keep going up, without realising that the doctor are the one actually kill the patients instead of H1N1, I can understand because you are from the Bolehland.

A bit of good news for those who don't trust vaccination, you can get vaccination by just be with BABE. Read the good news:

Swine influenza (also called H1N1 flu, swine flu, hog flu, and pig flu) is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus (SIV) is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs.^[2] As of 2009, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes ofinfluenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3.

Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood.

WHO claimed that obesecity belong to the high risk group of H1N1. But I wonder is pig obese too? Why pig is not in the high risk group? You don't believe read the following:

As swine influenza is rarely fatal to pigs, little treatment beyond rest and supportive care is required. Instead veterinary efforts are focused on preventing the spread of the virus throughout the farm, or to other farms. Vaccination and animal management techniques are most important in these efforts. Antibiotics are also used to treat this disease, which although they have no effect against the influenza virus, do help prevent bacterial pneumonia and other secondary infections in influenza-weakened herd.