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.
In the documentary, Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria, reporter David Hoffman investigates this new untreatable infection along two individuals and a bacterial virus within a hospital. The first individual Hoffman investigates is Addie Rerecich of Arizona, she was treated for a staph infection with antibiotics, but other complications arise. Addie had a lung transplant, she was given several different antibiotics, but her body became pan-bacteria, non-resistance to the bacteria. Addie’s life was on the edge, she had to be on life support, and finally she received new lungs. The transplant helped Addie but it would take years before could go back to normal before the infection. The second individual is David Ricci; he had his leg amputated in India after a train accident. The antibiotic treatment he received became toxic to his body increasing problems. While in India, he underwent surgery almost every day because of infections he was developing. Back in Seattle, doctors found the NDM-1 resistance gene in his body; NDM-1 gene is resistance to almost all antib...
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Maanvi Singh. "Despite Many Warnings, Antibiotics Are Still Overprescribed." NPR (2013). .
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Public health officials estimate that up to 50% of all antibiotics use in the U.S is either unnecessary or in appropriate.
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 ...
Yang, J. (2009, August 21). Experts concerned about dangers of antibacterial products. The Globe and
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
Stewart, Philip S, (2001) states that antibiotics are elements that are used to kill, or hinder the multiplication and growth of organisms. Especially, these antibiotics are meant to control fungi and bacteria. In this case, the antibiotics that are used in killing bacteria are referred to as bactericidal, and the ones that are used to prevent the multiplication process are bacteriostatic. The primary microbes for antibiotics are bacteria and fungi. These microorganisms are crucial to facilitate the secretion of substances that kill harmful bacteria which confer competition for the limited available nutrients (Southern, P. J., &Berg, 1981).
We live in an environment full of microorganisms. These organisms may be pathogenic causing serious infections to humans and other living organisms, some just commensals while others are helpful in the food industry. The harmful effect of these organisms is a function of the condition that surrounds them at a particular time. For example, a favorable temperature, and the acidity or alkalinity of the medium in which they find themselves are some of the key factors that helps them multiply well enough to cause infection.
Bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics is a major problem not only for the United States, but worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) the cause is related to “widespread overuse, as well as inappropriate use, of antibiotics that is fueling antibiotic resistance”. According to World Health Organization (2013) resistance is a global concern for several reasons; it impedes the control of infectious diseases, increases healthcare costs, and the death rate for patients with resistant bacterial infections is twice of those with non-resistant bacterial infections.
. 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...
Antibiotics are used worldwide and although their uses have helped many people, it doesn't come without risk. The use of antibiotics treats people and animals alike to cure infection and are easily excusable through physicians. However in recent years, since antibiotics are used so universally, antibiotic- resistant strains have become a growing problem. This suggest that the bacteria is adapting to the antibiotics and through natural selection, the antibiotic- resistant bacteria have grown in numbers. The scientific community worries about future treatment of diseases if the bacteria continues to adapt. For example tuberculosis which hasn't been a problem in some time, has started to reoccur as a much harder to treat strain. Antibiotics are the go to method of treating infection but we need to be careful when we are using them.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) said, “Each year in the United States, at least two million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least twenty-three thousand people die each year as a direct result of these infections.” (Threat Report 2013) Antibiotics were created to kill bacteria; since they were created, the bacteria have started to become resistant to the antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is the ability of a microorganism to withstand the effects of an antibiotic. Because of this resistance, I believe that the use of antibiotics have been proven to be more harmful to human health than helpful.
It has been suggested that bacterial resistance develops with unnecessary over-prescription, and early termination of antibiotic treatment. O noted that unsupervised self-medication of antibiotics was a key factor in the advancement of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. A recent study revealed alarming use of antibiotics within the developing world. Non-prescription antibiotics have been primarily used to treat cough and influenza, where patients cease medication themselves prior to completion of the course because they fel...
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...
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,
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)
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.