Here’s a fun fact: Seven out of ten Americans receive antibiotics when they seek treatment for a common cold!
Lets look at a case where antibiotics are misused:
-Patient X comes in with cold/flu like symptoms. The patient then pressures the doctor into prescribing an antibiotic to get a quick fix to his/her illness.
What’s wrong with this?
Answer: Antibiotics won’t cure a cold because colds are caused by viruses, not bacteria.
How many times have you stopped taking medicine prescribed by your doctor in the middle of treatment? Antibiotics are misused because many patients do not take them according to their doctor’s instructions. They may stop taking their antibiotics too soon, before their illness is completely cured. This allows bacteria to become resistant by not killing them completely.
So the moral of the story is: next time you are prescribed an antibiotic, either finish it or don’t take it at all.
For more information visit:
http://www.vhct.org/case899/correct_use_of_antibiotics.htm
That’s really interesting information….I forget sometimes that you should finish all your medication even if you start to feel better.
I tend to do that sometimes as I start to get better or I forget to take them…and now thanks to this info I know better than to quit the medications in the middle!
This is true. If I’m taking an antibiotic and my sickness goes away, I usually stop taking the medicine. Thanks for the information!
wow, for the longest time i thought colds were caused by bacteria…or something bacteria related! thanks for informing me
You know, I am ashamed to admit it, but I am guilty of antibiotic misuse. When I was a teen (young and dumb-as I often call it), I would get sinus infections several times a year. My allergist would prescribe a Z-pack. It was only 10 days of medication, but I would get burnt out half-way through the pack. Now, the drug has little to no effect on me. I can’t use it to clear up a sinus infection anymore.
Something that is a good analogy for how the above situation changes the way the medicine works in the body is from a movie, Deliver Us From Eva. Here is a the script from that scene:
EVA: And your water’s only 105 degrees.
OSCAR: Can’t you just let that slide?
EVA: Well the requirement is 110 because science tells us at that temperature, all dangerous organisms will die. That means in your water, some will live. And not just any germs, Oscar, oh, NO, the badass ones, the ones that can swim in 105 degree temperature water, and live to party on some child’s french fries.
thats pretty interesting stuff…i saw a special on tv about that and totally agree, i think most people are guilty of not finishing their scripts
You’re right..a big problem here is the fact that many people don’t fully understand the purpose and effects of antibiotics. Most people think it’s exactly what you said: a “quick fix” medication.
This page is great..it thoroughly argues the issue.
The best way to get rid of this problem is through education, and the way to educate the masses is by getting the great Chris Paul to do a PSA on tv!
i never thought of misuse of medicine till i read this. now i know even little things like not finishing your medicine can lead to severe concequences.
we now live in a world that expects the doctor to give you something when u pay them a visit…regardless of the fact of if we need them or not…hey doc…i came into your office so that you could make me better…so now you better write me a prescription…i dont care that its viral and antibiotics are not going to do anything!
antibiotics are given out like candy at halloween! no wonder we have so many “super bugs” that our antibiotics cant seem to kill!
its a sad but true fact today! “/
i see MRSA, VRE, etc at work everyday…and every case i see is one too many!
Really informative article, it cleared up a couple of misconceptions I had. After reading through it I realized I’m guilty of a lot the things you mentioned. I’ll try to finish my antibiotics from now on =). Thanks.
Informative, indeed. I will try to either avoid or finish my antibiotics from this point on.
It is very interesting to read all this. Since I am in the field of alternative medicine, to me, this makes me laugh and cry.
It is a laughing matter, because, this is such an old issue (drug resistance), that I even wrote a paper on it in high school! Tech. and science have evolved soooo much, yet, they still have NOT found solution!!!?????
It makes me cry because there are treatments and cures out there, but the gov’t and FDA have to ensure that it does not get exposed due to the whole conspiracy of drug companies and FDA’s bottom $!
I have read clinical studies of medicinal quality essential oils being used to “treat” cancer, and other “bad stuff” that people believe have no “cure”/”treatment”.
My family is a living proof of this… my children have never been to a doctor, they have not been given vaccines, and they are one of the healthiest children in their classrooms. They come down with bugs, but that’s all taken care of by essential oils…
So people, try to do your own research for possible solutions… don’t sit around for others to do your homework… and don’t blame doctors… they are TAUGHT their jobs… blame yourself… you have the power of CHOICE.
In Africa, where AIDS and other diseases are rampant, one of the problems humanitarians, aid workers and docters face is the cost of providing treatments and vaccines. The problem is that its too expensive, and when someone trys to get it for cheap, its usually a less potent version and in turn makes the disease resistant, a dangerous thing, because if the resistant disease spreads, they have to get a new cure.
This is quite interesting. I hate taking medicine, so I’d be one of the ones to not finish the course. Now I know not to do that. :]
[...] seems not everyone is as accepting of a viral diagnosis as I was. According to the blog Antibiotic Misuse and Resistance, “Seven out of ten Americans receive antibiotics when they seek treatment for a common [...]