SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - Antibiotic overuse is blamed on the development of “superbugs” and illnesses that are harder to treat.
Avera Physician Chad Thury says it can be hard sometimes to convince patients that antibiotics are not always the best choice. Thury says it's important that the infection to be treated is bacteriological
He says antibiotics serve no purpose to most viral infections marked by coughs, sore throats and congestion.
Thury suggests that patients don't ask for or expect an antibiotic for every case of upper respiritory infection. If your provider prescribes an antibiotoc, ask if it's really needed. If you get a prescription for an antibiotic, take the full course of medication as directed.
Research shows more than 50 percent of antibiotics that are prescribed are not needed.