“Since flu cases are viral diseases, it is useless to use antibiotics”

Stating that personal hygiene should be paid attention to in order to prevent the flu, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muhammed Ekmekyapar said, “Since flu cases are viral diseases, there is no benefit in using antibiotics. Antibiotics are a group of drugs that are effective on bacteria.”

As in the whole country, seasonal temperatures gradually decreased in Elazığ. With the cooling of the weather, citizens with flu started to flock to hospitals. In this context, Fethi Sekin City Hospital Emergency Medicine Specialist Assoc. Dr. Muhammed Ekmekyapar gave information about the flu.

Stating that flu is one of the most common seasonal diseases, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Muhammed Ekmekyapar said, “Influenza is a viral disease caused by viruses that continues with fever cough, joint and body aches, and widespread weakness. We need to pay attention to our personal hygiene to prevent the flu. In this context, we should avoid crowded environments as much as possible. We should wash our hands frequently with plenty of soapy water. If we work in a hospital and are healthcare personnel, we should clean our hands with disinfectant as much as possible. As a treatment, we need to wait for our illness to pass by taking plenty of rest and fluids. However, the flu is more dangerous in our elderly patients. It is a little more severe in patients with asthma, COPD and diabetes. We sometimes need supportive treatment in these patients,” he said.

Stating that there are serious applications to emergency services especially in the autumn season, Assoc. Prof. Ekmekyapar said, “These applications of course affect emergency health services. We need to treat flu cases with simple painkillers. We can discharge them by prescribing them, but our older patients are more important in this context. If these patients have complaints such as persistent cough, fever and weakness, we recommend them to apply to health centers. We recommend that they drink plenty of fluids, rest and pay attention to their nutrition.”

Ekmekyapar said, “Since flu cases are viral diseases, there is no benefit in using antibiotics. Antibiotics are a group of drugs that act on bacteria. In viral diseases, antibiotics that affect bacterial diseases have no effect. Therefore, as physicians, we do not prescribe antibiotics for flu cases. When antibiotics are prescribed for flu cases or when our patients use them when they do not need them, they use them unnecessarily. Bacteria develop resistance against them. Later, when they use antibiotics, we have to change antibiotics this time because bacteria develop resistance.”