Antibiotics for ARVI

Many people think that there is no sense in prescribing antibiotics for ARVI, since these are antibacterial drugs, and they do not work for viruses. So why are they still appointed? Let's figure it out.

ARVI is a common infectious disease that is transmitted by airborne droplets, or by contact through unwashed hands, objects, things. The name of an acute respiratory viral infection speaks for itself: the infection is caused by pneumotrophic viruses that mostly damage the respiratory system.

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Treatment of acute respiratory viral infections with antibiotics

If the catarrhal disease is caused by a viral infection, it is more logical to take antiviral drugs at the first symptoms, carry out detoxification and symptomatic treatment according to the indications. Antibiotic therapy is usually attached about a week after the detection of a cold, if the treatment of a viral lesion is considered ineffective, the patient's condition worsens or remains unchanged.

In addition, often there are situations when against the background of a decrease in immunity, provoked by an acute respiratory infection, an additional bacterial pathology develops. This is where the use of antibiotics becomes possible and even necessary. Antibiotics are preparations of complex and multifaceted action, their administration is carried out with observance of certain precautions: exact observance of dosage and time of reception, with determination of sensitivity of bacterial flora, with simultaneous application of some antifungal and immunomodulating preparations. Therefore, the best decision when choosing an antibiotic is a preliminary consultation with a physician-therapist or infectious disease specialist, who will advise you the most effective drug in your case.

Do antibiotics help in ARVI?

If within a few days after the onset of ARVI development you notice the appearance of painful lymph nodes and sore throat, gland swelling, ear swelling, a prolonged, persistent purulent runny nose, wheezing in the lungs, large temperatures (more than three days), the use of antibiotics in such cases is sufficiently justified.

In order for antibiotics to have the expected effect, first of all they must be properly selected: the spectrum of action, localization, dosage and duration of administration is determined.

To achieve positive dynamics, to cure the disease and not to harm the body, it is necessary to adhere strictly to the general rules for taking antibiotics:

• the prescription of an antibiotic should be due to the presence or possibility of getting a bacterial infection;
• when the antibiotic is taken, its necessary constant concentration in the blood should be determined: if the doctor prescribed an antibiotic 5 times a day, then it should be taken 5 times, and you should not reduce the dosage yourself and change the regimen of treatment, thereby you unbalance your and bacterial microflora ;
• do not stop taking antibiotics immediately after the first signs of relief, the course of admission must be brought to an end: not completed until the end of the course only weakens the strength of bacteria, and for complete recovery, they need to completely die. Without destroying them completely, you run the risk of getting sick again soon, or getting a chronic form of the disease;
• during the reception of antibiotics, it is necessary to take measures to prevent dysbiosis, since these drugs can be destructive not only to the pathogenic microflora, but also to the healthy intestinal: antifungal agents, as well as preparations that support the beneficial microflora in the body, are recommended against antibiotics;
• for the prevention of toxic effects of antibiotics, it is necessary to take a sufficient amount of liquid, including fermented milk products;
• Eat plenty of vitamins, drink juices, whenever possible, visit the sun and fresh air.

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When are prescribed antibiotics for ARVI?

There are cases of prescribing antibiotics in acute viral pathologies, and they are far from single. Of course, taking antibacterial drugs without need is not necessary, nevertheless, there are quite a lot of reasonable reasons for their appointment:

• the presence of chronic, often exacerbated inflammation of the middle ear;
• small children with signs of unfavorable development: lack of body weight, lack of calcium and vitamin D, weakening of immunity, anomalies of the functioning of the body;
• presence of symptoms of chronic weakness of the body's defense system (frequent inflammatory processes, colds, unmotivated temperature increases, purulent processes, fungal infections, persistent digestive system disorders, malignant neoplasms, AIDS, congenital anomalies of immunity, autoimmune pathology).

Also, the use of antibiotics is effective and understandable for certain complications:

• joining purulent infection (sinusitis, lesions of lymph nodes, abscesses, phlegmon, bacterial lesion of the throat and respiratory system);
• simultaneous development of bacterial angina (purulent, with the presence of streptococcal or anaerobic infection);
• formation of background ear inflammation;
• joining the inflammatory process in the lungs of any etiology.

Often, antibiotics are prescribed to the weakened patient as a preventive measure in the fight against complications.

What antibiotics to drink in ARVI?

Antibiotics, which are usually prescribed for ARVI, are representatives of the following groups:

• Penicillin series - oxacillin, ampicillin sodium salt, ampiox - antibacterial drugs with a wide bacteriostatic and bactericidal action, are rapidly absorbed, effectively act on pneumococcal, meningococcal, streptococcal infections;
• cephalosporin series - cephaloridine, cephalexin, cefazolin, cefatrexil - low-toxic antibiotics, act on gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, inhibit even penicillin-resistant strains;
• tetracycline series - tetracycline hydrochloride, morphocycline, doxycycline - inhibit the synthesis of proteins in a microbial cell, active antibacterial drugs;
• aminoglycosides - gentamicin, amikacin - popular antibiotics for severe infections;
• macrolide antibiotics - erythromycin, azithromycin - inhibit the multiplication of bacteria;
• other groups of antibiotics - lincomycin, rifampicin.

The choice of antibiotic is determined by the spectrum of its action, the degree of influence on the bacterial cell. Before taking medications, carefully read the instructions, or even better, consult a doctor.

Antibiotics for adults with ARVI

Antibiotics, as a rule, are not prescribed from the first days of the disease. Viral etiology of ARVI provides for the use of primarily antiviral drugs (rimantadine, zanamivir).

Antibiotic therapy in adults is used when the following signs are found:

• long (more than three days) high body temperature;
• symptoms of general intoxication of the body (headache, dizziness, nausea, cyanosis);
• wheezing, difficulty breathing, inability to cough up the contents of the bronchi, heaviness behind the sternum;
• increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR);
• increased number of leukocytes in the blood;
• the appearance of visible foci of microbial damage (phlegmon, abscess, furuncle, purulent sinusitis);
• absence of positive dynamics of the disease (despite treatment, pathological symptoms progress);
• old age and a weakened immune system of the body.

Prescribe antibiotics for ARVI in adults also with a mixed and complicated form of the disease.

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Antibiotics for children with ARVI

Many parents when the child has ARVI hurry to give him any antibiotic, sometimes without any reason. With antibiotic therapy, you should not rush, especially when it comes to children.

Here are some principles that prescribe antibiotics for ARVI in children:

• antibiotics are used only in the presence of a high probability or with the proven bacterial etiology of the pathological condition;
• when determining the antibiotic for treatment, the most likely pathogens of an infectious disease are considered, and the possibility of carrying out antibiotic therapy for another disease in the child lately is specified;
• the choice of a therapeutic effect on the child prescribes the administration of drugs with a low level of toxicity;
• many antibacterial drugs have their age-limiting limitations;
• dosing of antibiotics for children is usually done taking into account the total body weight of the child.

Uncomplicated forms of acute respiratory viral infection usually do not require the use of antibiotics. They are prescribed with concomitant inflammation of the maxillary sinuses of the nose, tonsillitis, otitis, signs of pneumonia.

Antibiotics for ARVI and influenza

The flu is, in fact, the same viral infection, characterized, in contrast to ARVI, by a sharper onset and the possibility of developing more serious complications.

We return to the question, do antibiotics for ARVI and influenza equally need?

The causative agent of the flu is also a virus, so the unmotivated prescription of antibiotic therapy for influenza is not welcome. First, this additional toxic effect on the liver and gastrointestinal tract, and secondly, the possible formation of resistance of the bacterial flora to the antibiotic.

Therapy with antibiotics should be added to the symptomatic and antiviral only in cases of prolonged incessant fever, with chronic diseases of the respiratory tract, kidneys, cardiovascular system, diabetes mellitus, a decrease in immune defense. Antibiotics can be prescribed to prevent the existing danger of developing a secondary bacterial infection.

You should start taking antibiotics only according to the doctor's prescription, you should not take them alone and unreasonably.

List of antibiotics for ARVI

One of the most effective antibacterial drugs for SARS are the following:

• cephalosporin series includes cefexin, chainin, apsetil - semi-synthetic drugs with a wide range of effects. Three generations of these drugs are known. Bacteriostatic action allows the use of these antibiotics for any infectious diseases of the respiratory system. Adults can take medication in a daily dose of 400 mg, divided into two doses. The course of treatment is 1-2 weeks;
• fluoroquinolone series is represented by moxifloxacin and levofloxacin, characterized by rapid absorption and good bactericidal action. Adults appoint 0.5 g per day. Not recommended for use in children's practice;
• macrolide series is represented by erythromycin, azithromycin, used for sinusitis, angina, otitis media, pneumonia. Admission of these drugs during pregnancy is acceptable. Take 5-6 times a day for 0.25 g;
• penicillin series consists of antibiotics-derivatives of penicillin: ampicillin, amoxicillin, oxacillin. Can be used in pediatrics, since they have a low degree of toxicity. The daily dose is from two to three grams, taken for 4 times.

The course of antibiotic therapy is 1-2 weeks, but not less than five and not more than 14 days.

If one antibiotic is ineffective, it should be replaced in the near future with another, with a stronger degree of activity towards bacteria.

When developing an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, you should visit a doctor to replace the drug with a remedy from another group.

The best antibiotic for ARVI

Unfortunately, one can not say for sure what should be the best antibiotic in ARVI. Selection of an antibiotic is carried out individually, taking into account the degree of infectious damage, the age and condition of the patient, the sensitivity of the bacterial flora and allergological anamnesis of the patient. If there was one best antibiotic, there would be no sense in all other antibacterial agents.

However, antibiotics are divided into ordinary (penicillin, tetracycline, levomycetin, erythromycin) and stronger (ceftriaxone, junidox, sumamed, rulid, etc.) according to the degree of exposure to the microbial cell.

In the treatment of infectious diseases of mixed etiology, one should choose not only strong antibacterial agents, but antibiotics that are active against the broadest spectrum of possible pathogens. Sometimes, to achieve the maximum latitude of exposure, it is possible to designate combinations of drugs with different antibacterial spectrum.

It's no secret that new generation drugs have a much higher degree of activity and have fewer side effects than antibiotics, for example, thirty years ago. Such drugs are clarithromycin (clabax, along with the effect on bacteria contributes to the improvement of immunity), as well as sumamed (azithromycin also has the property of a stable effect on bacterial strains).

Drugs can be taken either orally, as an injection or as a spray.

Many people with the slightest signs of any disease themselves prescribe antibiotics. This is incorrect, since unreasonable and unskilled use of antibiotics provokes rapid growth and mutations of bacterial cells, which significantly reduces the effect of antibacterial agents.

Antibiotics for ARVI should not be taken uncontrollably yet because these drugs are effective not only for specific bacteria, but also for the whole organism.