More isn’t always better, especially for antibiotic prescriptions

NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – Antibiotic prescriptions are being dispensed at an alarming rate, and the problem can be seen right here in Northeast Mississippi.

The reason for this is people are skipping over the testing process and jumping straight to antibiotics to fight symptoms that may not even be that bad.

That could spell bad news for if you have an illness in the future.

It’s a simple three-step process when you’re sick. You go to the doctor, you’re given a prescription and you go to the pharmacy.

In recent years, however, some professionals say getting your antibiotics has been a little too easy.

“There’s definitely been a problem with overprescribing,” said Terry Cain, Nurse Practitioner at Cain Clinic in Eupora.

A recent article from JAMA Internal Medicine states at least 30% of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary.

Medical professionals in Webster County say it’s because patients think antibiotics are the answer for everything.

“A lot of patients wake up in the morning with sinus drainage, a little scratchy throat, maybe even a low-grade fever and think they need to come in an get antibiotics that very first day,” said Misti Garnett, Nurse Practitioner at Webster Urgent Care in Mathiston.

Taking antibiotics without first determining if the illness is bacterial can have the exact opposite effect.

“You’re actually feeding that bacteria, helping it build more resistance, and then when they do get sick and you try to write them for antibiotics they don’t work on them,” Cain explained. “That’s when you get into real trouble because then you need even stronger and more powerful antibiotics to get rid of whatever’s going on with them.”

That can make your trip to the doctor more expensive than it has to be.

Another problem with antibiotics is people are not taking all of the pills in their prescription.

Clinics are asking everyone to take the proper precautions and trust your medical providers.

“Don’t save medicine,” Cain expressed. “Don’t take it a couple of days and then six months later from now when you’re sick ‘Oh! I’ll go take some of the old medicine I had.'”

“Let’s try a good antihistamine. If you’ve got a stuffy nose, use a good decongestant, maybe a steroid nasal spray,” Garnett said, listing other alternatives. “You want to treat the symptoms rather than jump straight to antibiotics.”

This problem is being addressed, and the CDC has supposedly set a goal to cut these prescriptions by 50 percent by the year 2020.