New Advice Urges Doctors To Hold Off On Prescribing Antibiotics

   By SheSpeaksTeam  Jan 20, 2016

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It’s that time of year where coughs and colds seem never ending, but you may want to hold off on turning to antibiotics for a quick fix. We all know the only cure for the common cold is time and rest, but when adults come down with complications from a cold like sinus infection and bronchitis it’s not uncommon to reach for the antibiotics. But now health experts have come out with a new set of guidelines advising doctors not to put pen to prescription pad when it comes to doling out antibiotics for these illnesses.

Tech Times reports about the guidelines presented by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Physicians (ACP) that clearly states antibiotics are not needed to treat upper respiratory tract infections (ARTI’s). The guidelines come after a study from the Annals of Internal Medicine found that as much as half of all prescription antibiotics given out by doctors are unnecessary. This leads to the overuse of antibiotics as well as $3 billion in unneeded costs.

It’s not surprising that most of us want a quick fix when feeling miserable from respiratory infections. Work, deadlines, and all the responsibilities that come with adulthood often make it impossible to hunker down with a cup of hot soup and a warm blanket for days on end. But instead of pulling out the prescription pad, the new guidelines ask that doctors do a better job at explaining to their patients how long symptoms can last (up to 2 weeks with the common cold) until they dissipate and schedule a follow-up if the patient is still feeling sick.

What do you think of the new guidelines advising doctors to hold off on prescribing antibiotics to adults for respiratory infections?

Do you turn to antibiotics at the first sign of a sinus infection?