Pharmacists advise Nigerians to handle antibiotics with care

Some pharmacists have advised Nigerians to handle antibiotics with care by completing their prescribed dosage and avoid ingesting antibiotics without appropriate testing and prescription.

According to them, this will help to guard against antibiotics resistance and associated health conditions that may arise from indiscriminate consumption of antibiotics.

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They spoke on Friday at an event organsied by the ST. RACHEAL’S Pharmaceutical Nigeria Ltd. to mark the 2019 World Antibiotics Awareness Week (WAAW) in Lagos.

Commenting, Prof. Oyinlola Oduyebo of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos (UNILAG), said: “There is urgent need for people to handle antibiotics with care.

“Also, do not take leftover antibiotics; ensure you finish your antibiotics prescription instead of remaining and using it another time.

“Many people have the habit of using what remains of the antibiotics they had used earlier; it is dangerous.’’

According to her, when antibiotics are prescribed, its aim is to tackle a particular organism, hence, one needs to run a laboratory test to determine which organism is causing the ailment before taking any antibiotic.

“So, when antibiotics meant to be taken for five days are taken for three days, it is dangerous; also, if one feels better after three days, that means the diagnosis for making prescriptions for that particular drug was not so accurate.

“It also means that the antibiotics was not needed in the first instance.

“The proper thing to do in treating infection is to target the organism causing that infection and this is first by subjecting the patient to clinical diagnosis through a laboratory test to find out what is causing it.’’

She said that other reasons why drugs should be handled with care include to avoid drug resistance and adverse body reactions.

“Indiscriminate consumption of antibiotics without accurate diagnosis, strict adherence to prescriptions can cause drug resistance and even damage vital organs in the body.

“You may take the antibiotics that may not be suitable for the condition, your body type, drugs combination or dosage and this can cause adverse reactions.

“Such adverse conditions may include organs failure and even death,’’ Oduyebo said.

Also, Mr. Akinjide Adeosun, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ST. RACHEAL’S Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Ltd., urged Nigerians to preserve the longevity of the array of antibiotics.

“The fundamental human right can be breached if we do not preserve the potency of the antibiotics we have today.

“The 1946 WHO’s Constitution defines the right to health as the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health.

“Consequently, there is need to increase global awareness of antibiotic resistance and to raise awareness about the fatality of preventable and treatable respiratory tract infections,’’ he stated.