Anti-inflammatory drugs ≠ Antibacterial drugs
Published Time:
2016-06-14
Source: People's Daily
It is often said that "if you have a heatiness, taking some anti-inflammatory medicine will be fine." However, for a long time, many people have not understood the difference between anti-inflammatory drugs and antibacterial drugs. Many people equate the two, mistakenly using antibacterial drugs as anti-inflammatory drugs and anti-inflammatory drugs as antibacterial drugs. As a result, not only does the condition not improve, but the diagnosis and treatment are delayed. In this regard, Wei Zhenman, deputy director of the Department of Pharmacy at the PLA 302 Hospital, pointed out that, strictly speaking, anti-inflammatory drugs cannot be simply equated with antibacterial drugs, and reasonable medication should be given according to the specific situation.
Wei Zhenman introduced that anti-inflammatory drugs are a "colloquial term," that is, antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory drugs in medicine. They are a class of drugs with antipyretic and analgesic effects, and most also have anti-inflammatory and anti-rheumatic effects. Commonly used ones include aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen. Except for acetaminophen, most of the others have anti-inflammatory effects. They directly target inflammation and are symptomatic treatment; antibacterial drugs have an inhibitory or killing effect on bacteria, including antibiotics and artificially synthesized antibacterial drugs. The anti-inflammatory drugs that ordinary people refer to mostly refer to antibacterial drugs. But in fact, the two are different drugs. Commonly used antibacterial drugs do not directly target inflammation, but target various bacteria that cause inflammation, inhibiting or killing pathogens.
There are many types of antibacterial drugs, with more than 200 commonly used in clinical practice. Commonly known ones include penicillins, cephalosporins, tetracyclines, chloramphenicols, quinolones, and sulfonamides. It is the use of antibacterial drugs that has controlled many previously fatal diseases, but perhaps because people are too familiar with "antibacterial drugs" and many drugs can be bought at pharmacies, there is sometimes misuse, leading to bacterial resistance, allergic reactions, superinfections, and even toxic reactions. Therefore, Wei Zhenman suggests that patients must use drugs reasonably under the guidance of a doctor.
Wei Zhenman emphasized that common colds and upper respiratory tract infections are mostly viral diseases and should not be treated with antibacterial drugs. However, fevers from colds should be differentiated and treated differently, that is, if it is a bacterial infection, antibacterial drugs are needed; if it is a viral infection, only symptomatic treatment or antiviral drugs may be needed. If the results of the pathogen test are still unclear, combined medication can be considered under the guidance of a doctor. This is especially important when the cause of the fever is unknown, to avoid atypical clinical symptoms and pathogens that are difficult to detect, delaying correct diagnosis and treatment.
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