Overuse and misuse of antimicrobials increases the risk of AMR. The antimicrobial medicines you may be most familiar with are antibiotics.
Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections. If bacteria become resistant to antibiotics it makes infections harder to treat.
It's vital that we keep antibiotics working well, as it could make treatments such as cancer treatments, transplants, and even simple operations riskier. It's for this reason AMR is one of the main concerns for public health.
The good news is that we all have power to help reduce this risk through simple actions. Working together we can work help protect ourselves, our loved ones and the most vulnerable by keeping antibiotics working so they're there when we need effective treatment.
By taking the following actions to stop infections occurring in the first place we can reduce the need for antibiotic treatment:
- wash your hands often with warm water and soap for 20 seconds, especially before eating and after going to the toilet or changing nappies
- use tissues to trap germs when you cough or sneeze
- put used tissues in the bin as soon as possible
- cough into your elbow instead of your hands if you have no tissues available
- regularly clean surfaces that you touch
- take up the offer of vaccines when offered by your health care professional - vaccines help to protect you from getting the infection and reduce the risk of you needing an antimicrobial treatment
These are actions we can take as individuals. If you work for an organisation as a health or social care professional, check out the pledges to see what you and your organisation can do to help.
If you do become unwell:
- consult with your pharmacist, GP or NHS 111
- do not always expect to be given antibiotics - if you use them when they are not needed, they may not work for you in the future
- if you are given antibiotics, follow your health care professional's advice
- do not stop taking antibiotics early just because you are feeling better - never save them for later
- do not take other people's antibiotics or share yours with other people (even if your symptoms are similar)
- do not dispose of unused antibiotics in the bin as they may get into the environment and cause pollution - always take any unused antibiotics back to the pharmacy for safe disposal