Be Antibiotics Aware Partner Toolkit: Social Media

• Antibiotics can save lives, but they aren't always the answer.
  • Everyone can help improve antibiotic use. Improving the way we take antibiotics helps keep us healthy now, helps combat antimicrobial resistance, and ensures that these life-saving antibiotics will be available for future generations.
  • Any time antibiotics are used, they can cause side effects and can contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance.
• Take antibiotics ONLY when you need them, talk to a healthcare professional about the best treatment for your illness.
• Antibiotics only treat certain infections caused by bacteria, such as strep throat, whooping cough, and urinary tract infection.
• Antibiotics do NOT treat viruses that cause respiratory infections such as flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
• An antibiotic will not make you feel better if you have an infection caused by a virus. Antibiotics are only needed for treating certain infections caused by bacteria.
• Antivirals may be a treatment option for some respiratory infections caused by viruses, like flu or COVID-19.
• Talk to a healthcare professional if you develop severe diarrhea during or after taking an antibiotic. This could be a symptom of Clostridioides difficile (or C. diff) infection, a condition that requires immediate treatment.
• Getting recommended vaccines is one of the best ways to keep yourself and others healthy. This helps reduce antibiotic use and fights antimicrobial resistance.

• All healthcare professionals can Be Antibiotics Aware and engage in antibiotic stewardship activities to ensure that patients receive the best treatment for their infection.
• You can do harm by prescribing antibiotics when not needed.
• When prescribing an antibiotic, optimize selection and use the shortest effective duration of therapy.
• Ten percent of U.S. patients report having a penicillin allergy, but less than 1% of the population is truly allergic. Evaluate whether your patient is truly allergic to penicillin when considering antibiotic therapy.

Outpatient settings

• Remind your patients that antibiotics are only needed to treat certain infections caused by bacteria, and that antibiotics do not treat viruses that cause respiratory infections such as flu, COVID-19, and RSV.
• Recommend ways to help patients feel better when antibiotics are not prescribed, and when to seek care if they don't feel better.
• Discuss common and more serious side effects that can occur while your patient is taking an antibiotic.
• Educate your patients and their families about recognizing early signs and symptoms of worsening infection and sepsis, and seeking immediate care if sepsis signs and symptoms are present.

Inpatient and long-term care settings

• Educate patients and their caregivers about their antibiotic treatment and the signs and symptoms of antibiotic-associated adverse events.
• Optimize the use of diagnostic tests. This is critical for improving treatment of conditions like sepsis and stopping the spread of infections.
• Reassess antibiotic therapy to stop or tailor treatment based on the patient/resident's clinical condition and diagnostic test results.
• Use of the shortest effective duration of antibiotic therapy is a key antibiotic stewardship strategy. Optimizing duration of therapy, especially in care transitions, is an important target for improvement.
• Patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria should not be treated with antibiotics in most cases.
• CDC has resources to support the implementation of antibiotic stewardship activities.

Dental settings

• Only prescribe antibiotics for oral bacterial infections. Do not prescribe antibiotics for oral viral infections, fungal infections, or ulcerations related to trauma or aphthae that are clean and debrided.
• Avoid prescribing antibiotics based on patient demand, convenience, or pressure from other dental or medical professionals.

• Antibiotics can save lives, but any time antibiotics are used, they can cause side effects and contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance.
• Antimicrobial resistance (AR) happens when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them. That means the germs are not killed and continue to grow. Infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant germs can be difficult, or impossible, to treat.
• Antimicrobial resistance can affect anyone, anywhere, and at any stage of life.
• Appropriate use of antibiotic and antifungal drugs to treat infections is important because any time they are used, they can cause side effects and can contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance.
• Preventing infections from happening in the first place and improving appropriate antibiotic and antifungal use are critical to combating antimicrobial resistance.
• In the U.S., more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result.
  • When Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) is added to the annual U.S. death toll for all AR threats, the number jumps from 35,000 to 48,000 deaths. (See CDC's antimicrobial resistance website).
• Antimicrobial resistance does not mean the body is resistant to antibiotics or antifungals; it means bacteria and fungi that live in and on our bodies develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them.
• When bacteria become resistant, antibiotics cannot fight them, and the bacteria multiply.
• Antimicrobial-resistant germs can quickly spread across settings, including communities, the food supply, healthcare facilities, the environment (e.g., soil, water), and around the world. Antimicrobial resistance is a One Health problem, which recognizes the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment (soil, water).

• Don't ask for antibiotics to treat viruses, like those that cause flu, COVID-19, or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Instead, ask a healthcare professional how to feel better. https://bit.ly/4f8eube
• Being antibiotics aware helps patients, caregivers, families, and healthcare professionals improve antibiotic prescribing and use. https://bit.ly/489yHuO
• Have a virus such as flu? You can feel better without antibiotics. Ask a healthcare professional about the best way to feel better while your body fights off the virus. https://bit.ly/489yHuO
• Parents/caregivers: Have a sick child? Antibiotics aren't always the answer. Use the right tool to help your child feel better. https://bit.ly/3Va4ffC
• Antibiotics are critical tools for treating life-threatening infections, like those that can lead to sepsis. Any time antibiotics are used, they can cause side effects and contribute to the development of antimicrobial resistance. Protect yourself from infections & preserve the power of antibiotics. https://bit.ly/4f7lyF2
• We're proud to be a @CDCgov Be Antibiotics Aware partner for U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week! Here’s how you can participate. https://bit.ly/3Ya1ryR

• Healthcare Professionals: Remind your patients that antibiotics are only needed to treat certain infections caused by bacteria, not viruses like those that cause COVID-19. https://bit.ly/3NsXRep
• Healthcare Professionals: Be Antibiotics Aware by talking to your patients about why they don't need antibiotics for a virus. https://bit.ly/3NsXRep
• Healthcare Professionals: Protect your patients. Remember to prescribe the right antibiotic, at the right dose, for the right duration, and at the right time. https://bit.ly/3xJLOFv
• Healthcare Professionals: Talk to your patients about when antibiotics are and are not needed, and discuss possible side effects such as C. diff, allergic reactions, and antimicrobial-resistant infections. CDC has patient education resources to help. https://bit.ly/3NsXRep

• #Antibiotics aren't needed for and won't help treat #flu, #COVID19, & #RSV. Ask an #HCP about the best treatment for your infection. #BeAntibioticsAware #USAAW24 https://bit.ly/4f8eube
• Being #antibiotics aware = knowing that antibiotics aren't needed to treat many #sinus infections and some ear #infections. #BeAntibioticsAware #USAAW24 https://bit.ly/489yHuO
• During U.S. #AntibioticAwareness Week, #BeAntibioticsAware and learn when #antibiotics are and are not needed. #USAAW24 https://bit.ly/4f8eube
• When #antibiotics are not needed, they will not help you feel better, and the side effects could still cause harm. #BeAntibioticsAware #USAAW24 https://bit.ly/4f8eube
• Taking #antibiotics only when needed is one thing you can do to help combat #AntimicrobialResistance. #USAAW24 #BeAntibioticsAware https://bit.ly/4f7lyF2
• Anytime #antibiotics are used, they can cause side effects and lead to #AntimicrobialResistance. #BeAntibioticsAware! #USAAW24 https://bit.ly/4f7lyF2
• We're proud to be a @CDCgov #BeAntibioticsAware partner for U.S. #Antibiotic Awareness Week! Here’s how you can participate: https://bit.ly/3Ya1ryR #USAAW24