Think before taking antibiotics

The use of prophylactic antibiotics, after an initial urinary tract infection do not prevent a relapse. In fact, it increases the risk of infection caused by antibiotic-resistant bugs.As opposed to the idea that a continued antibiotic treatment (even after the clearing of the infection) can prevent recurrence, it can also lead to more serious infections. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia analysed data on 611 children up to the age of 6 years, who were diagnosed with their first UTI. Out of the 128 kids who were prescribed an antibiotic after the infection cleared, 83 experienced a relapse. It also emerged that in these 83, approximately 60 percent of the infections were caused by an antibiotic-resistant pathogen.It was also found that the exposure to prophylactic antibiotics significantly increased the likelihood of resistant infections, by 7.5 percent. Therefore, the risks of taking preventive antibiotics have to be weighed against the risk of emergence of drug-resistant bacteria.