Superbugs Essay

Antibiotic resistance is a major problem that continues to expand as it threatens the lives of individuals throughout the world. Antibiotic medications are used to treat infections or diseases caused by bacteria. Antibiotics can save lives; however, the overuse or misuse of antibiotic drugs causes antibiotics to lose their effectiveness over time. Society needs to take action to slow the growing problem of antibiotic resistance by correctly taking antibiotics and by eliminating the excessive use of antibiotics. All bacteria have the potential to develop a resistance to antibiotics.

In doing this the bacterium is limiting the amount of access points into it. By doing this the antibiotics will struggle to get into the bacterium, making it more resistant. Misuse or overuse of antibiotics plays a key role as to why bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics. With antibiotics easily available these days people will s... ... middle of paper ... ...less bacterium will become resistant as the right antibiotics are prescribed. The government must control and monitor what is happening with regards to dispensation of antibiotics to make sure the doctors are doing their jobs properly.

Taking antibiotics when not needed may make users feel worse. Many side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, thrush, allergic reactions to the drugs, and even life-threatening bowel inflammations can occur when using antibiotics (NPS Medicinewise, 2012, para. 2-4). When treating a severe infection or illness, these side effects are trivial compared to the cost-benefit ratio the antibiotics provide; however, when people misuse antibiotics by taking them for viral infections, they are putting themselves at risk for increased discomfort and potentially life-threatening side effects. Antibiotics also kill the healthy bacteria in your body.

Bacteria are classified in two different ways. There are the gram positive bacteria that are relatively ea... ... middle of paper ... ...esearch needs to be done in investigating the effectiveness of these natural antibiotics so that we may find more efficient ways to treat bacterial infections that will not have the possibility to produce drug resistant strains. With man made antibiotics, the risk is too great of producing these drug resistant strands because the power relies with the patient who is not well versed on the possible outcomes of their carelessness (Petrovska and Cekovska, 2010). If we seek out more natural ways to rid ourselves of these bacteria, then we will prevent the problem of antibiotic resistant bacteria all together. Our ancestors first noticed garlic’s healing power and after we tested and proved that they were correct in its effectiveness, we must now learn how to hone the medicine to increase its efficiency so that we may help future generations combat this growing epidemic.

Antibiotic remained effective against most bacterial infection, however these bacterial cells develop resistance and continue to divide resulting in a resistant population and some are no longer effective against infectious disease that was killed few years ago (Levy, 2000). The impact of antibiotic resistance could lead to more infectious diseases that are hard to treat and could result in a global threat making it difficult as mutation and evolutionary pressure cause increase in antibiotic resistance (Strelkauskas et al, 2010). Antibiotics are extremely important medicine but unfortunately bacteria become resistant make it problematic as antibiotic resistance had posed problem around the world people continued to travel and modern technology and sociology exacerbated the development of resistant strains, these strains are transferred from infected people causing a repeat in cycle as they moved from one place to the next (WHO, 2001). Increased globalisation is responsible for resistance, in large overpopulated cities... ... middle of paper ... ...a also modified penicillin binding proteins. Some resistant bacteria could be dangerous for example; MRSA and the vancomycin resistant staphylococcus auerus that are virulent in human pathogens (Strelkauskas, 2010) by reducing the permeability of their membranes as a way of keeping out antibiotic by turning off production of porin and other proteins (Weston, 2008), for example; the multi-drug resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis.

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.

Every year, antibiotic-resistant bacteria are threatening more and more people. As much of a problem as it is, many people are not educated on the term drug resistance. Since it is such a growing concern, it becomes confusing as to why drug resistance is occurring and what can be done to prevent it. Because drug resistance is such a health problem, determining what it is, how these bacteria can acquire the antimicrobial agents, and the possible solutions to the resistance are the types of actions that need to be taken in order to have a better understanding of how truly powerful these drug resistant bacteria are. Drug resistance is the capability for a microbe, such as bacteria, to continue to grow even in the presence of an antimicrobial, which was meant to halt the growth or kill the microbe.

Many side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, thrush, allergies and even life-threatening bowel inflammation can occur when using antibiotics (NPS, 2012, para. 2-4). If people misuse antibiotics and take them for viral infections, they are not doing anything to help their condition, but they may be putting themselves at risk for increased discomfort and potentially life-threatening side effects. Antibiotics also cause the healthy bacteria in your body to diminish. Dr. Martin Blaser states, “evidence… suggests antibiotics may permanently change the beneficial bacteria that we’re carrying” (Conley, 2011, para.

As we used more and more of the antibiotics, we incidentally caused drug-resistant germs to progress. So, even if you’ve never misused antibiotics, you could still become infected by bacterium most drugs won’t kill. For each drug, there are germs genetically programmed to survive- some w/ outer walls tough for antibiotic to cross, others with ways to dump the drugs back out before they can work, and yet others can inactivate the antibiotic. Even worse, by passing tiny packets of genetic material to other bacteria, these survivor germs sometimes also pass the formula for resistance to the other bacteria. The best way you can protect yourself and your family against drug-resistant bacteria is by using antibiotics correctly.

Antibiotic resistance occurs when microorganisms become immune to specific drugs that are prescribed by doctors to kill other microorganisms. Usually, bacteria can be eradicated because they are single celled organisms but when drugs become defiant, they do not function properly. When antibiotics are taken, they enter the bloodstream and interfere with all microbes in the body while also altering body functions (Bren FDA, 2003). Sometimes antibiotics may not necessarily target its “wanted” target but instead, they attack both harmful and benign bacteria. When the bacteria that are sus... ... middle of paper ... ...inistration.