New Superbug confounds doctors, page 1

"This is a new bug," said Dr. John Bartlett, chairman of the committee on antibiotic resistance at the Infectious Diseases Society of America. "It's a different strain than in the hospital . . . more dangerous than other staph.

Bartlett, a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, treated three young Baltimore area women this year who got pneumonia from this community-acquired resistant staph. All had to be put on breathing machines, and one died, he said.

Link to Story

I'm seeing more and more of these resistant strains in the news. Are doctors overprescribing antibiotics? Nowadays though you have to figure it could be anything, Terrorism, population control.

Originally posted by RedBalloon

Originally posted by Kellter
I'm seeing more and more of these resistant strains in the news. Are doctors overprescribing antibiotics?

YES and whats worse is the morons that don't take the full course of perscribed antibiotics and stop when they feel better and people that share their half taken antibiotics with others. "Ahh it's been a week, I feel better, I won't take them all and save them for when little timmy gets sick." THAT'S what screws us, and bugs get stronger and more and more immune to antibiotics every time that happens. Tuberculosis is a b!tch to treat now thanks to the people that get lazy and don't want to take a full 6 month program of antibiotics and stop half way through. Moms demanding antibiotics for when their kids have the sniffles screws us, too. Let your immune system have a run once in a while.

I'm pretty sure it's a matter of overuse not underuse Red Balloon. I think we went over this in another post =) You seem to be rather passionate with certain issues. Which is good man. But it's clouding your thought. I find it highly improbable that the CAUSE of antibiotic resistance is due to
Timmy sharing his pills with Jimmy. No doubt that it's not helping.
However, im thinking something a little more mainstream:

"Keep Antibiotics Working: The Campaign to End Antibiotics Overuse, is a coalition of health, consumer, agricultural, environmental, humane and other advocacy groups with more than nine million members dedicated to eliminating a major cause of antibiotic resistance: the inappropriate use of antibiotics in food animals."

www.keepantibioticsworking.com...

"While medical use of antibiotics is probably the major contributor to the emergence of antibiotic resistance, agricultural uses also pose a problem.

Almost half of all antibiotics produced in the U.S. are used in livestock production."

www.cspinet.org...

"Close to half the antibiotics now used in the U.S. are used in agriculture, including many antibiotics designed to treat human illness. Antibiotics are used in agriculture to stimulate growth in livestock, and to reduce incidence of disease caused by crowded, factory-farm conditions.

The Union of Concerned Scientists, which advocates against overuse of antibiotics, says that livestock use accounts for 70 percent of total antibiotic use in America. The Animal Health Institute, a trade group representing drug companies, maintains that only 36 percent of antibiotics are used on animals.

The more antibiotics are used, the more rapidly resistance develops. When such resistance develops, bacterial growth is no longer stopped by the antibiotic, and thus the antibiotic is no longer capable of treating or curing the disease."

www.ems.org...

RedBalloon,
Do some research and find out what it's truly about before you make such dangerous and infuriating comments like that. Learn a little before you make such strikingly wrong and offensive generalizations.


[edit on 1-10-2004 by Lucid Lunacy]

Originally posted by Lucid Lunacy

I'm pretty sure it's a matter of overuse not underuse Red Balloon. I think we went over this in another post =) You seem to be rather passionate with certain issues. Which is good man. But it's clouding your thought. I find it highly improbable that the CAUSE of antibiotic resistance is due to
Timmy sharing his pills with Jimmy. No doubt that it's not helping.
However, im thinking something a little more mainstream:

RedBalloon,
Do some research and find out what it's truly about before you make such dangerous and infuriating comments like that. Learn a little before you make such strikingly wrong and offensive generalizations.


[edit on 1-10-2004 by Lucid Lunacy]

Did you miss the all caps "YES" that started my post off in response to the question "Are doctors overprescribing antibiotics?" I agree they are a problem, and I also agree with you that overuse is a larger problem. Overuse from perscribing doctors that also results in underuse from patients creates an even scarrier situation that confounds the issue.

I have done quite a bit of research. Our discussion on another thread was totally unrelated to this one, and please don't start trying to start stuff with me I have no problem with you at all other that your views on one topic and the way those views came across. It's a done issue. I won't make snide remarks about it or reference it in any other thread or place, and I'd appreciate the same. I'm not here to battle you, or follow you around on threads to harass you or reference your other posts, and I would expect the same courtesy in using this board. I'm trying to not sound snippy here - just asking for a little courtesy is all. If you have a personal problem with me, take it up with me and out of board discussions about whatever topics I post about in the future as I would never do that to you. If you disagree, fine! Thats what discussions are about, but comments like the above are not related to your disagreement with me here. My post above was not a generalization, nor was it dangerous by encouraging people to finish their perscribed medications and not self medicate. I did not single an ATS user out and insult them or their medical issues so my post was not offensive. It was also not wrong as noted below in several references.

Both are problems, but not taking a full course of medications is most definitely an issue, and one of the exact reasons why TB has become so resistant. I have done quite a bit of study on it, and do know what I'm talking about. Overuse is an issue for sure, I have not said otherwise, I just added another reason why antibiotics have become such a problem. By sharing medications, you have two people who have not taken a full course of medication, and have doubled the problem.

www.healthcenter.vt.edu...
If you take antibiotics when they are not necessary, or you do not take them exactly as prescribed, you may be encouraging the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria in your body. Antibiotic resistant bacteria may cause more serious infections that do not respond to the most commonly used, less expensive, antibiotics. Antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria require treatment with more expensive antibiotics that often have a greater risk of side effects.

www.pfizerforwomen.com...
It’s a fact: Not taking all of your antibiotic may jeopardize your health Many people think that it’s no big deal if they don’t finish every pill when their doctor prescribes an antibiotic. Sometimes when people start to feel better, they figure they don’t need to complete their therapy. If this sounds familiar, you have lots of company. As many as 82% of people taking traditional antibiotic therapy don’t take all of their medicine. 1 There are several good reasons why you need to take all your antibiotic pills. Your infection is caused by bacteria or “germs” that give you symptoms such as coughing, fever, or tiredness. If you only take part of your medication, not all of these bacteria are eliminated. In fact, some of them become even stronger, resulting in an even harder-to-treat infection. 2 This brings us to another reason why it’s important to take all of your antibiotic pills. If you develop a more serious infection, you may have to spend more time and money getting rid of it. You may even have to be hospitalized. 3 Here are some ways you can help yourself remember to take all your antibiotic medicine.

www.fda.gov... (also good info on overuse)
TB is an infection that has experienced spectacular ups and downs. Drugs were developed to treat it, complacency set in that it was beaten, and the disease resurged because patients stopped their medication too soon and infected others. Today, one in seven new TB cases is resistant to the two drugs most commonly used to treat it (isoniazid and rifampin), and 5 percent of these patients die.

www.cdc.gov...
How can you prevent antibiotic-resistant infections?

* Talk with your health care provider about antibiotic resistance.
* Ask whether an antibiotic is likely to be beneficial for your illness.
* Do not take an antibiotic for a viral infection like a cold or the flu.
* Do not save some of your antibiotic for the next time you get sick.
* Take an antibiotic exactly as the doctor tells you.
* Do not take an antibiotic that is prescribed for someone else.

users.rcn.com...
What can you do to delay the spread of antibiotic resistance?

*Don't ask your doctor for an antibiotic to treat a viral disease (e.g., a cold) for which antibiotics are useless.
*Stay the course. Use all doses prescribed even though you are feeling better. This will minimize the opportunity to select for resistance among the bacteria that remain late in the infection.
*Don't save unused antibiotics for later self-medication.

www.microbeworld.org...
And you help create bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Especially if you do not take your full prescription. A lot of people stop taking their antibiotics when they feel better, hoarding their remaining supply in case they become sick again. More than a third (37%) of patients polled admitted they stop taking their antibiotics before finishing all their pills, and 25% conceded that they save pills for future illnesses.

Taking only part of a prescription doesn’t kill the bacteria, but simply gives them a chance to meet the antibiotic and learn how to outsmart it next time around.

My statements were not so off target, and can be supported by numerous sources.

edit: added link

[edit on 1-10-2004 by RedBalloon]

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