Colds and flu are better left untreated

Medical treatment of colds can be dangerous.

That surprising statement is based on new studies from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Currently, what one Anderson-area doctor called “the crud” is making its way across the Upstate, sending overwhelming numbers of sick people to doctors’ offices. But most of them shouldn’t be there.

Only 1 in 4,000 patients with cold symptoms will actually have a serious sickness that can be helped by the medicines at a doctor’s disposal, says the Prescribers’ Newsletter, a physician reference. During the first week or two of a cold, symptoms in adults should be addressed with over-the-counter medications or nothing at all.

But for those who demand and receive a prescription for antibiotics, the odds are one in four the patient will come down with diarrhea from the medications, according to CDC reports. The odds are one in 50 the sufferer will soon sport a rash from the antibiotic — and one in 1,000 that she or he will end up in an emergency room from an antibiotic reaction. In fact, one in five emergency room visits for drug reactions are due to antibiotics. And that danger is for nothing. The antibiotics won’t do any good — and might do even more harm.

Antibiotics kill bacteria — that’s what they’re designed to do — and can kill good bacteria that might help fight off a cold. Colds are viral — caused by viruses. Viruses don’t have cell walls for antibiotics to attack, which is how antibiotics kill bacteria, according to the CDC.

“Coming in at three weeks is about right,” said Dr. Mark Walsh with AnMed Health Clemson Family Medicine. “Before that, there’s nothing much we can do for a cold.”

And what’s even worse, overuse of antibiotics is creating super bacteria that are now stronger than regularly used drugs. Eventually that might lead to bacteria that can’t be killed.

Alexander Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1927, according to the CDC. After the first use of antibiotics in the 1940s, they transformed medical care and dramatically reduced illness and death from infectious diseases. But now the CDC says antibiotic resistance is one of the world’s most pressing public health problems.

“Over the last decade, almost every type of bacteria has become stronger and less responsive to antibiotic treatment when it is really needed,” according to the CDC report. “These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can quickly spread to family members, schoolmates and co-workers — threatening the community with a new strain of infectious disease that is more difficult to cure and more expensive to treat.”

Still, after two weeks of persisting “cold” symptoms, the patient might have a bacterial infection. That’s when antibiotics are good medicine.

What about all the rumored ways of telling the difference between viral and bacterial infections? What about the color of that yucky mucus that’s coughed up?

“It doesn’t matter what color it is,” Walsh said.

The CDC agrees.

What about a red throat? Sore throats are viral — no antibiotics are needed. Only true strep throat is bacterial, according to the Prescribers’ Newsletter.

What about a bad cough or bronchitis? Less than 10 in 100 cases are bacterial. Only those continuing after 10 days, or that continue to worsen, might need to be treated.

What about an ear infection? In contrast to common treatment over the years, most cases improve without treatment, according to the newsletter.

Both colds and influenza are viral, caused by different viruses. There are more than 200 viruses that cause colds alone. But there are medications that can shorten the length of a bout of the flu if they’re taken within 48 hours of symptoms beginning. So it is important to consider if the person feeling ill might have influenza, according to the newsletter.

“In general, the flu is worse than the common cold, and symptoms such as fever, body aches, extreme tiredness, and dry cough are more common and intense,” according to the CDC. “People with colds are more likely to have a runny or stuffy nose.”

The best way to deal with influenza is to prevent it, said Sandra Counts, doctor of pharmacy at AnMed Health in Anderson.

“Flu shots are recommended for everybody 6 months (old) and up,” said Counts, who helps teach family-practice residents at the Anderson medical center. “Each year the vaccine has three ingredients. This year all three have changed. What protected you last year won’t work this year.”

Influenza is appearing now in Hawaii and Florida.

“It’s headed our way,” Counts said.

She said flu shots are being given at area pharmacies, at physicians’ offices and at county health centers. AnMed has a program to bring flu shots to area businesses.

But still, no antibiotics should be used.

“The downsides are real,” according to the Prescribers’ Newsletter.

Herbal and over-the-counter remedies for viral colds abound — but very few are effective, Counts said. The best remedy is again preventive.

“Wash your hands,” Counts said.