NHS patients ‘should stop nagging GPs for antibiotics’ as overuse is blamed for 5,000 superbug deaths a year
Public Health England have advised Brits to try staying in bed when feeling under the weather with coughs, colds and sore throats
PEOPLE should stop badgering GPs for antibiotics as over-use is causing 5,000 superbug deaths a year, officials say.
Those feeling under the weather should stay in bed, Public Health England advises.
The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, is backing a new campaign to discourage adults with coughs, colds and sore throats rushing to ask for antibiotics.
It will be launched today, accompanied by a TV ad featuring a gloomy gang of singing pills.
Experts say swift action is needed to stave off a “post-antibiotic apocalypse”.
Dame Sally has warned drug-resistant bugs pose a “catastrophic threat”. Experts say sick Brits should opt for paracetamol, rest, plenty of fluids and regular handwashing unless they suspect a serious illness.
Only then should they see a GP. Officials also say needless use of antibiotics triples the risk of adults getting a deadly superbug.
Kids are also 12 times more likely to get a drug- resistant infection in future.
Around 16,000 cases of vomiting bug e.coli – four in 10 infections – were resistant to the most common antibiotics last year.
Health Minister Steve Brine said: “We are asking people to help so we can make sure antibiotics keep working.”