The use of antibiotics or antimicrobial has allowed our worlds nations to flourish for decades. Antibiotics have cured many serious bacterial infections and saved millions of lives due to epidemics and plagues. While antibiotics have helped our nations to flourish, the misuse and overuse of antibiotics or antimicrobials has increased the rate of developing antibiotic resistant bacteria. It is a constant fight between newer, stronger antibiotics and rapidly, evolving resistant bacteria; with no new classifications of antibiotics discovered since the 1970’s, antibiotic resistant bacteria are given the opportunity to dominate. Antibiotics are over prescribed to millions of people each year, studies say more than half of those prescriptions were to treat illness that antibiotics have no effect on. (Aminov,Rustam) Doctors need to stop writing unjustifiable prescriptions for antibiotics and patients need to stop demanding antibiotics from doctors when they are not necessary. The serious nature and likely consequences of misused antibiotics needs to be understood among the public. Knowing what antibiotics are, how they work in the body, and when you need to take them will reduce their widespread overuse. In addition, knowing why and how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics and what tragedy will arise if abusing antibiotics continue. Most importantly, what action and prevention methods be can done to reverse this rise of power in infection causing bacteria.
“Antibiotics are a broad class of chemicals that are capable of either inhibiting growth or killing bacteria.” (“FAS - Antibiotic Resistance Case Study”) Antibiotics have no effect on viral infections like the common cold of flu. (Antibiotics:MedlinePlus) There are many classes of...
... middle of paper ...
...rdest prevention method is to prevent the spread of bacteria and ultimately superbugs between public. If everyone could cover there sneeze, or cough, and then wash their hands; the spread of infections would decrease drastically.
Antibiotics have allowed our humans to thrive on this world. “Since the 1940s, these drugs have greatly reduced illness and death from infectious diseases. Antibiotic use has been beneficial and, when prescribed and taken correctly, their value in patient care is enormous.” Antibiotics need to be used conservatively to maintain their value and to keep resistant bacteria evolving at a slow place. Bacteria will naturally always be evolving to antibiotics however, careful use and distribution of these antibiotics combined with various prevention methods will maintain a slower rate of evolution; to allow our worlds nations to continue thriving.
Tuberculosis or TB is an airborn infection caused by inhaled droplets that contain mycobacterium tuberculosis. When infected, the body will initiate a cell-mediated hypersensitivity response which leads to formation of lesion or cavity and positive reaction to tuberculin skin test (Kaufman, 2011). People who have been infected with mycobacteria will have a positive skin test, but only ones who have active TB will show signs and symtoms. Basic signs and symptoms include low grade fever, cough with hemoptysis, and tachypnea. They may also show pleuristic chest pain, dyspnea, progressive weight loss, fatigue and malaise (Porth, 2011).
According to USA Today, U.S. doctors are prescribing enough antibiotics to give to 4 out of 5 Americans every year, an alarming pace that suggests they are being excruciatingly overused. In fact, Dr. Aunna Pourang from MD states, “to give you an idea of how high the pressure is to prescribe antibiotics, I didn’t get a job once because during the interview I told the lead physician that I only prescribe antibiotic prescriptions when they are warranted.” The development and widespread obsession of antibiotics, or drugs that kill bacteria and thereby reduce infection, has helped billions of people live longer, healthier lives. Unfortunately, the more we rely on and abuse antibiotics, the more bacteria develop resistance to them, which makes treating infections that much more challenging and leads to the growth of drug-resistant strains of bacteria. Research from the Center of Disease Control found that two million people in the United States become infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria, while 23,000 people die from such infections each year. Americans often aren’t informed on the power of the human body and rush to assumptions when perfection isn’t present. In a nutshell, the obsession of antibiotics is quite deadly and needs to be addressed before it’s too
Acid is produced naturally in your stomach to help you digest food and to kill bacteria. This acid irritates the stomach lining so our body produces a natural mucus barrier which protects it. Sometimes this barrier may be damaged thus allowing the acid to damage the stomach causing inflammation, ulcers and other conditions. Other times, there may be a problem with the muscular band at the top of the stomach that keeps the stomach tightly closed and this allows the acid to escape and irritate the oesophagus. This is called 'acid reflux' and can cause heartburn and/or oesophagitis. Proton pump inhibitors such as omeprazole stop cells in the lining of the stomach from producing too much acid. This can help prevent ulcers from forming or assist the healing process. By decreasing the amount of acid, they can also help to reduce acid reflux related symptoms such as heartburn.
Throughout history disease has run rampant taking many lives with every passing day. Finding a cure or even just a tool in the battle has been the main focus of scientist throughout time. This focus is what brought us the discovery of antibiotics. Over the years antibiotics have been misused by patients, over prescribed by physicians and have led to resistant strains of bacteria.
. Many doctors and patients are unaware that antibiotics are designed to treat bacterial infections, not viral infections (Antibiotic resistance, N.D.). Many bacteria within our bodies are not harmful at all, and some of them actually provide health benefits. The bacteria that are harmful are disease-causing bacteria, which generate sicknesses such as strep throat, the common cold, and ear infections (Get, 2013). Viruses are smaller than bacteria and require hosts, such as plants or animals, in order to proliferate (What, N.D.). Doctors play a vital role in administering antibiotics, for patients rely on their knowledge and expertise in order to receive proper medication for ailments throughout their lives. According to www.acponline.org, 190 million doses of antibiotics are administered every day. Among patients that do not reside in hospitals, doctors prescribe more than 133 million antibiotic programs every year. Of those 133 million programs, it is estimated that over 50 percent of them are unnecessarily prescribed because the doctor is prescribing them for viral infections such as common colds or simple coughs (Antibiotic resistance, N.D.). However, doctors are not the only ones to blame in regard to misuse of antibiotics because their patients are just as guilty when it comes to ignorance in respect to antibiotic usage. Many preventable factors have emerged because of irresponsibility of patients, including self-medication practices and the temptations of cheap, counterfeit drugs, all of which have aggravated drug resistance in the last 20 years (What, N.D.). Also, many patients are unaware of the dangers that can result from leaving medication behind because they don’t use it. It is extremely ill-advised to leave behind eve...
The common cold is one of the most prevalent illnesses worldwide. It is caused by a virus that inflames the membranes in the lining of the nose and throat, colds can be the result of more than 200 different viruses [10].The antibiotics don't work against any infections caused by viruses [11]. They are a powerful medicines that fight bacterial infections [12]. Antibiotics were first used to treat serious infections in the 1940s. Since then, antibiotics have saved millions of lives and transformed modern medicine. During the last 70 years, however, bacteria have shown the ability to become resistant to every antibiotic that has been developed [13].Taking unnecessary antibiotic can be dangerous to the health and can increase the risk of antibiotic resistance [14]. World Health Organization (WHO) define the Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as the resistance of a microorganism to an antimicrobial agent to which it was originally sensitive. [3] Antibiotics were prescribed in 68% of acute respiratory tract visits and of those, 80% were unnecessary according to disease control center (CDC) guidelines. $1.1 billion is spent annually on unnecessary adult upper respiratory infection antibiotic prescriptions. When antibiotics fail to work, the consequences are longer-lasting illnesses, more doctor visits or extended hospital stays, and the need for more expensive and toxic medications. Some resistant infections can even cause death [2].The judicious prescription of antibiotics has become a central focus of professional and public health measures to combat the spread of resistant organisms. [15]
Resistance arises from mutations that are not under the control of humans, but the evolution of bacteria has been sped along by the overexposure of antibiotics to both people and animals. The number of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in an area is closely related to the frequency that antibiotics that are prescribed (Todar, 2012). Patients often unnecessarily demand antibiotics to treat common colds or simple illnesses that are not caused by bacteria. Instead, these infections are caused by viruses which, unlike bacteria, are unaffected by antibiotics. Incorrect diagnosis can also lead patients to using unnecessary antibiotics, which can sometimes be even more dangerous than otherwise left untreated. Besides the fact that antibiotics kill off beneficial bacteria in the intestines, misuse of antibiotics provides an opportunity ...
Over the years humans have tried every possibility to overcome the health problems, spread of epidemics and infections, disease control and have worked towards a healthy society free of disease and health problems. They have succeeded to a great extent. The book “Good germs, bad germs” describes that though the life expectancy is now far more as it was in previous eras. Epidemic problems and infectious diseases are now getting lesser and lesser and humans are being treated successfully. The hygienic conditions have also been improved so as to ensure least growth of microbes, germs, parasites and bacteria. Antibiotics have been invented to address diseases and infections caused by bacteria and viruses. With all these substantial efforts the biologists, physicians and scientists have triggered another epidemic which is even more severe. They have killed those microbes and bacterial species which were human friendly and as a result of either their disruption or mutation, pathogenic bacteria have even become more active and resistant to treatments. This has led to increased ineffectiveness of antibiotic drugs, low immunity and various infections and inflammatory diseases. The chlorinated water for drinking and food processing along with excessive hygienic conditions indicates our fight against these bacteria and germs. Further, these antibiotics are even given to the livestock which becomes our food and as result many of their resistant germs end up in our digestive tract and other organs. Thus, the war against microbes through excessive cleanliness and use of antibiotics has resulted in antibiotic resistance among humans, which has become one of the prominent problems of medical science
In the last decade, the number of prescriptions for antibiotics has increases. Even though, antibiotics are helpful, an excess amount of antibiotics can be dangerous. Quite often antibiotics are wrongly prescribed to cure viruses when they are meant to target bacteria. Antibiotics are a type of medicine that is prone to kill microorganisms, or bacteria. By examining the PBS documentary Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria and the article “U.S. government taps GlaxoSmithKline for New Antibiotics” by Ben Hirschler as well as a few other articles can help depict the problem that is of doctors prescribing antibiotics wrongly or excessively, which can led to becoming harmful to the body.
Bibliography:.. References 1) Lewis, Ricki, “The Rise of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections”. Food and Drug Administration Publications. http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/795_antibio.html September, 1995. 2) Levy, S., Bittner, M., and Salyers, A. Ask the Experts about “Ask the Experts”.
Thesis: With the advent of antibiotics in 1929 Fleming said, "The time may come when penicillin can be bought by anyone in the shops.Then there is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug make them resistant."With the overuse of antibiotics today we have seen this very idea come to be.Over usage is caused most prevalently by a lack of education on the part of the patient.Thus stated, the way to overcome such a circumstance is to educate, not only the patient but also the physician.
The discovery of antibiotics is attributed to Alexander Fleming who discovered the first antibiotic to be commercially used (Penicillin) in approximately 1928. An antibiotic, also known as an antimicrobial, is a medication that is taken in order to either destroy or slow the growth rate of bacteria. Antibiotics are integral to the success of many medical practises, such as; surgical procedures, organ transplants, the treatment of cancer and the treatment of the critically ill. (Ramanan Laxminarayan, 2013)
The most effective way to combat pathogenic bacteria which invade the body is the use of antibiotics. Overexposure to antibiotics can easily lead to resistant strains of bacteria. Resistance is dangerous because bacteria can easily spread from person to person. Simple methods for preventing excessive bacterial spread are often overlooked. Not all preventative measures are even adequate. Doctors and patients often use antibiotics unnecessarily or incorrectly, leading to greater resistance. Antibiotics are used heavily in livestock and this excessive antibiotic use can create resistant bacteria and transfer them to humans. In order to reduce resistant bacteria,
As we research deeper into the subject of antibiotic resistance we find there are a lot of interesting facts. First many bacterial infections and infectious diseases including HIV, gonorrhea, tuberculosis and many more are starting to become increasing difficult to treat using traditional antibiotics. About 90,000 patients die each year from their infections which has increased from 13, 300 deaths in 1992. People infected with resistant organisms have an increased likelihood of needing to go to the hospital and those who do will need to stay longer and might even require a more in-depth treatment. Antibiotic resistance is currently happening all over the world which causes new resistance mechanisms to form and spread everywhere. A high percentage of infections caught from hospitals are highly resistant infections are highly resistant infections. (1,