Doctors urge restraint on antibiotics as monsoon illness cases surge

As monsoon-related illnesses proliferate across the country, physicians are sounding an alarm over widespread self-medication with antibiotics, cautioning that fever is a symptom rather than a diagnosis requiring immediate antibiotic treatment.

Doctors emphasize that elevated body temperature can stem from multiple causes including viral infections, dengue fever, malaria, typhoid and other conditions that do not respond to antibiotics. The practice of consuming multiple medications simply because fever has developed poses significant public health risks, medical experts warn.

"Patients frequently present after self-administering multiple medicines, including antibiotics, solely due to fever. Fever by itself is not grounds for antibiotic use. The essential first step is identifying the underlying cause," said Dr. Sujeet K. Choudhary, Chief Medical Officer of Internal Medicine at Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research.

According to medical practitioners, appropriate treatment requires clinical assessment, evaluation of illness duration, associated symptoms and diagnostic investigations where necessary. This targeted approach prevents unnecessary antibiotic exposure while ensuring patients receive suitable care based on their condition.

The indiscriminate use of antibiotics contributes to antimicrobial resistance, a growing threat to public health that compromises the effectiveness of these critical drugs in treating genuine bacterial infections.