Patients should rest instead of asking their doctor for antibiotics, say health experts

Patients have been told not to ask their doctor for antibiotics and to go home and have a rest instead.

As part of a new campaign aimed at tackling growing resistance to the drugs, health experts have told people they don’t need them for every infection.

Instead, for infections that the immune system can manage, patients have been advised to rest, use paracetamol and drink plenty of fluids.

An estimated 5,000 people die every year in England due to the fact antibiotics no longer work for some infections, according to Public Health England (PHE), which has launched the Keep Antibiotics Working campaign. Experts have suggested that by 2050 antibiotic resistance will kill more people globally than cancer and diabetes combined.

England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, has warned of a “post-antibiotic apocalypse”, where antibiotics no longer work for serious infections.

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The government wants to see a further drop in antibiotic prescribing by GPs with the aim of combatting the threat from resistance.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria changes in such a way that the medication used to treat them – in this case antibiotics – becomes ineffective.

The new campaign tells people to always trust their doctor, nurse or pharmacist on when to take antibiotics.

It says that if they are prescribed, they should be taken as directed and never saved for later or shared with others.

Antibiotics do not work on many common conditions, such as colds, flu, earache, sore throats and some chest infections.

However, people should see their GP if they have prolonged symptoms and develop other issues such as a sickness, a very high temperature or shortness of breath.

Dame Sally said: “Without effective antibiotics, minor infections could become deadly and many medical advances could be at risk – surgery, chemotherapy and Caesareans could become simply too dangerous.

“But reducing inappropriate use of antibiotics can help us stay ahead of superbugs.