Recently I read an article that a super bug has been found in a case that left the unfortunate woman dead. She literally came down with a bacteria and NONE of the antibiotics would work. Do you hear me in the back? A bacteria that was not able to be killed because none of the antibiotics would work. And I saw a post In Facebook, from a sweet friend that she just lost a loved one from a case of a resistant bug. Heart breaking & devastating.
Everyone has heard of antibiotic resistance, right? But, do you actually understand what that means? It literally means that bugs, (bacteria organisms) will no longer work with certain antibiotics… bacteria are quite literally resisting the antibiotic treatment. So for example in the case of staph, some of the strains of staph bacteria are resistant (won’t work) to methicillin= MRSA.
How does this happen?
#1 You are sick, and prescribed an antibiotic for a virus (which is not treated with antibiotics). Think the common cold aka an upper respiratory infection, flu, etc.
#2 you do not finish the antibiotic given to you for an actual bacterial infection. It said 10 days, but I felt better after 4.5 days so I just stopped the medicine.
#3 you use a friends leftover antibiotic not even knowing what, or how it treats something. Some of those urinary tract antibiotics, may not work on your middle ear infection, just sayin….
So all of the above examples are antibiotic misuse….
Do you know why antibiotics aren’t over the counter? Because they aren’t used responsibly in America. We are overusing them and providers are over prescribing them because of the pressure of surveys and patient satisfaction. The common statement is, “if I don’t give it to them, they’ll just go Somewhere else.”
So, how do we prevent this from getting much worse? How do we prevent being a victim of the super bug?
If you wake up tomorrow with a cold, which is commonly a runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, feeling tired. Try to Take some Over the counter meds first, invest in some good probiotics, drink some water, and go home to rest. Give it about 7-10 days before you rush in to your provider. 90% of the time your all better in 7-10 days. SURPRISE! that’s the same amount of time you have to take that antibiotic that you didn’t even need!!
Finish your antibiotics when they are given to you!
Listen to your provider, if they say you don’t need it, then you probably don’t. But don’t be silly, if you get worse. Go in and be reexamined.
Stop pressuring your providers, don’t put them in a bad spot by asking them for something you don’t need, go in and let the professional do their job! They truly just want to help you.