Paediatrician cautions public on wrong use of antibiotics

Dr Dennis Shettima, a Paediatrician with the National Hospital Abuja, on Monday cautioned Nigerians against indiscriminate use of antibiotics in children.

Shettima gave the advice in Abuja.

According to him, antibiotics are drugs used in treating microorganisms and infections, which could be bacterial, fungal, parasitic or viral in nature, used for therapeutic purposes.

“Antibiotics should not be abused, it should be used properly, in as much as we don’t have legislation in place to regulate the use of antibiotics, it’s not appropriate for any child that has fever or cough to take it.

“Apart from the fact that it is harmful to the body of the child, it encourages drug resistance; it can also give you some complications.

“I advise parents to resist use of antibiotics unless it is medically indicated, this is because there are other causes of fever, there are other causes of cough but not necessary due to the infections in the lungs,” he said.

Speaking on Adverse Drug Resistance (ADR) on wrong usage of antibiotics, Shettima explained that a lot of children in the country have experienced resistance due to irrational use of the drugs.

He noted that the symptoms include failure to respond to treatment, diarrhea, vomiting, prolonged stay in the hospital, rashes, complications of water in the lungs, possible mortality, among others.

Shettima said this was due to the constant usage of antibiotics for ailments that were not meant to be treated with such, stating that this was not meant to be.

The medical practitioner noted that in developed countries, buying antibiotics over the counter without the prescription of a doctor was no allowed, adding that the reverse was the case with Nigeria.

Shettima advised parents to strictly adhere to proper medical prescription for antibiotics and all other drugs before usage.

He also called for strict adherence to the duration of drug intake to reduce chances of ineffectiveness.