Antibiotic Guardian Campaign
Have you pledged yet?
Antibiotic resistance remains one of the biggest threats facing us today.
Antibiotics treat infections by killing bacteria, but now the bacteria are fighting back. Our medicines are becoming less effective which means more deaths and more complications for people receiving treatment in hospitals. We have to tackle this problem before it gets worse.
How this happened
There are many reasons why antibiotics lose their effectiveness, but here are 2 key reasons:
- We take medicines that we don’t need. Antibiotics don’t help most colds or coughs get better, but we still request antibiotics for them.
- We make things worse when we don’t take antibiotics exactly as prescribed, for instance, missing doses. Never save antibiotics for future use or give them to someone else.
Take these simple actions:
- Don’t ask for antibiotics, treat your cold and flu symptoms with pharmacist advice and over-the-counter medicines.
- Take antibiotics exactly as prescribed – never save them for later and never share them with others.
- Spread the word, tell your friends and family about antibiotic resistance. Pledge to become an Antibiotic Guardian here!
Antibiotics are some of our most precious medicines, used to treat both humans and animals.
The Antibiotic Guardian campaign (#AntibioticGuardian) was launched to kick-start collective action from healthcare professionals, students, and educators in the human and animal health sector, as well as members of the public to all work together to slow the spread of antibiotic resistance.
You are invited to pledge to become an Antibiotic Guardian. If you decide to pledge, you choose to perform a simple action which protects antibiotics against the threat of antibiotic resistance. If bacteria become resistant to our antibiotics, many routine treatments will again become increasingly dangerous. Setting broken bones, basic operations, and even chemotherapy all rely on access to antibiotics that work.
Do you think you know your stuff about antibiotics? Put your knowledge to the test and take our Antibiotic Guardian Quiz!
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats facing us today, but we have a chance to fight back. Find out more at Antibiotic Guardian – Keep Antibiotics Working
