Antibiotic
resistance has a great impact on increased morbidity and mortality in patients
with infections due to resistant organisms. It is important for us as
healthcare professionals to increase the awareness of drug resistance for the
general public, and its great influence on our societies and quality of life in
the long run. Overuse and misuse of antibiotic administration is the primary
cause of antibiotic resistance.
Moreover, antibiotic misuse even in other fields such as agricultural
field will contribute significantly to antibiotic resistance in humans.
Therefore,
Antibiotic resistance can only be managed through proper use and administration
of antibiotics.
http://scienceinthetriangle.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/antibiotic-resistance-graph1.jpg
This
is a guideline, intended for patients, that provides guidance on the
appropriate use of antibiotics:
- Proper education of the patient for antibiotic use is
vital. Patients should be taught to not expect antibiotics for every ailment.
Physicians should perform thorough investigation of illness and determine the
best course of therapy.
- Ask your health practitioner or pharmacist for
specific information on how to use the antibiotics. Also, read and understand
the drug information provided by the pharmacist.
- Always finish the therapy by taking the entire course
of antibiotics, even when symptoms become better.
- Follow proper schedules for antibiotics.
- Determine if the antibiotic needs to be taken with
food or not. Food intake might affect the absorption of certain drugs and
improper food intake can lead to sub-therapeutic levels of certain antibiotics.
- Do not take any antibiotics if not prescribed to you
by a licensed health practitioner.
The over-prescribing of antibiotics is causing more resistant organisms for sure! Also, many of the food products that we consume on a daily basis are treated with antibiotics. Though it is a low dose, they are antibiotics that we are ingesting daily (unless you are eating only organically grown food). Studies are showing that by exposing our bodies to these low-dose antibiotics so often, resistant organisms are being produced! Doctors should be sure of their prescription to patients, but even if every doctor made no mistakes in prescribing, our food is fighting for "the resistance".
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting. Until recently I had no idea that not finishing your antibiotics could cause you to build up immunity and I am awful about doing this. I also had no idea that food products are treated with antibiotics--why is this? And will becoming immune to an antibiotic cause the organism to effect the body any differently, such as coming back stronger (symptoms wise). This is definetly good information to know because they do not educated people about these risks, even to an elementary extent, and our health is greatly effected by it.
ReplyDeleteTo answer Whitney, farmers give animals antibiotics for weight gain. Animals can be administered with small daily doses to gain up to 3% more weight. This means more food for the consumer and more profit for the farmer. One antibiotic used is virginiamycin. Germs mutate around virginiamycin, leading to resistance. Drug resistance can spread though food. For your second question, a person becoming immune to an antibiotic means that if they were prescribed that antibiotic for an illness, it wouldn’t be effective anymore. I believe taking an antibiotic you developed resistance to is the same as not taking the antibiotic.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to learn more about antibiotic resistance because I have always been wary of taking antibiotics for every ailment. I knew that eventually the antibiotics would be ineffective if taken constantly, but I never knew that even our food has antibiotics in them. Now knowing this, I believe we as a society need to make some changes before situations get worse and "superbugs" come on the rise. Reports have said that the meat industry uses antibiotics in their cattle because it eliminates the normal flora in their intestines and helps them eventually gain weight. The problem occurs when a human ingests these animals when it may be undercooked causing the antimicrobial resistant organism to be in the ill human. The human would most likely have a difficult time getting well because of the resistant organism from the cattle being resistant to the antibiotics prescribed to them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post Reina! I know personally I can attest to not taking all of my antibiotics for a sinusitis. Ultimately, being stubborn wasn’t a great idea and led me back to the doctor. I learned from that mistake. Other factors contributing towards resistance include incorrect diagnosis, unnecessary prescriptions, improper use of antibiotics by patients, and the use of antibiotics as livestock food additives for growth promotion. Several studies have demonstrated that patterns of antibiotic usage greatly affect the number of resistant organisms which develop. Also, a follow-up on the patient by the doctor should be done more on the regular for communication measures on how the patient is recuperating.
ReplyDeleteI know that I was always told to finish my medications from the doctor and my family as a child, but this topic hits home when you realize, that at some point in my life I have not finished all of my antibiotics. The development of resistant bugs, is increasing not only because people do not finish their medications but because physicians often over-prescribe drugs. Great topic!
ReplyDelete