There is a growing concern by physicians that antibiotics are over-prescribed, especially in cases in which they won’t be effective, like with viruses.

First used in the 1940s, antibiotics are one of the miracles of medicine. However, the over-prescribing of them has resulted, and continues to result, in the creation of resistant bacteria, or super bugs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized in a December article to “Get smart about when antibiotics are appropriate — to fight bacterial infections.” Taking them for viral infections, such as a cold, sore throat, and many sinus or ear infections will not cure the infection. Viruses, like cold and flu, simply need to run their course. They do not respond to antibiotics, yet doctors still prescribe them. Why? Cost.

Federal funding of programs has been impacted across the map. Currently, Medicare has funding to reimburse hospitals for the inexpensive, common drugs like azithromycin (Zithromax), amoxicillin, and penicillin. There may be better, more powerful antibiotics out there to treat patients, but they are cost-prohibitive, so doctors continue to over-prescribe the affordable ones and super bugs continue to flourish.

Drug-resistant bacteria used to be rare, but not anymore. In April, the first global report on antibiotic resistance was published by the World Health Organization, which found increasingly resistant infections in almost every corner of the globe. The CDC estimates that more than a million Americans are diagnosed with “an infection resistant to virtually all available treatments” annually, and just last fall named super bugs as the number one public health threat in the United States today.

Why Azithromycin?

Zithromax, in addition to being one of the affordable treatments hospitals turn to, is also an easier one. A good piece of its popularity is due to its shorter prescription period. Unlike the 10-day to two-week cycles of many antibiotics, Zithromax has a five- to seven-day cycle. But it does have a longer half-life in the body.

Over-prescribing and patient requests for the popular drug has led to many adverse injury reports pertaining to Zithromax. It has been reported that for individuals with existing heart issues, Zithromax is a particularly high risk medication and has been connected to heart attacks. Other claims detail rare occurrences of Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and liver failure. However, victims of these incidents say that there were insufficient warnings of these risks.