You have abused these medications once you have gotten sick; no one will help those who have been sick again

Dr. Viktoras Masevičius, professor of organic chemistry at the Vilnius University Institute of Chemistry, told Delfi in the “Prescription for Health” program why it is important to return expired drugs to the pharmacies that will take care of their destruction, instead of throwing them away.

“In Lithuania, about 20 tons of unusable medicines could be returned to pharmacies each year. It is difficult to say how much is discarded, since a large proportion of people stay at home for years. That’s a big problem, “said the professor.

– If we look at it through the prism of the environment, this aspect will not even be central. Of course, when we get rid of drugs and antibiotics, they can lead to the development of colonies of antibiotic-resistant bacteria when they end up in landfills. People infected with such bacteria will no longer be treated with antibiotics to which they have already developed resistance. “

Resistance can occur with just two tablets

According to the interlocutor, the scientific capacity of the human being is much lower than the capacity of bacteria to develop resistance to antibiotics. After all, this evil develops quite quickly and this happens not only due to irresponsible dumping, but also due to irresponsible use of drugs.

Let’s say a man stays on antibiotics from a previous treatment, after a while he got sick again, took antibiotics, took the other two pills and the result is quite sad. Those bacteria did not die with the two tablets, and the ones that survived gained resistance. And in practice, a new class of antibiotics is already needed if the patient falls ill again, – said the unpleasant truth prof. V. Masevičius.

– Doctors these days are quite aware of antibiotics. A blood test is done to determine if the infection is viral or bacterial in origin, and only then are antibiotics given. Still, there is another problem, the same veterinary antibiotics. Its regulation is not as strict as it should be. “

A new, fast-spreading problem is diseases that are becoming resistant to antibiotics. One such problem is tuberculosis, which is extremely painful for Lithuania. According to the professor, there are already a number of tuberculosis cases that are treated only with experimental drugs.

And the patient in this case needs strict isolation to prevent the spread of drug-resistant bacteria.

“Basically, the person who had to be cured is waiting for his death,” added the interlocutor.

Let’s go back to the 19th century

Prof. V. Masevičius does not even doubt that in Lithuania such an infection, which cannot be cured with currently available antibiotics, can become infected.

“It has been investigated that the problem of resistant tuberculosis is spreading widely, the same is happening in Lithuania. In America, this problem is explored further, and as a result, it seems scarier there. We just don’t have a lot of research, “said the professor.

Only experimental drugs are used in these patients. This means that antibiotics have just been invented and are not approved.

In addition, antibiotics strongly destroy the intestinal microflora. The simplest injury that occurs from the inappropriate use of antibiotics is constipation.

“A much worse option if you get sick and that dose of antibiotics is not enough to completely eradicate the bacterial colony. A person feels better only when the amount of bacteria decreases, although they have not yet been eradicated, but they stop taking antibiotics and this is a very big problem ”, said prof. V. Masevičius.

What will happen if more and more people become resistant to antibiotics? According to the interlocutor, in this case we will not be able to use them as a tool.

“The best example is the current coronavirus. We still do not have a working tool against him and we can see what type of well we are in, ”said the interlocutor.

What scenario awaits the world if we continue to use these drugs irresponsibly? Strict teacher: let’s go back to the 19th century.

“It just came to our knowledge then. Elemental cuts in the palm of the hand, injuries and scratches can result in sepsis and death,” said the interlocutor.

To prevent this, antibiotics should only be used as prescribed by your doctor and any unused medication should be taken to pharmacies.