ANTIBIOTIC OVERUSE CAUSES
INFECTIONS TO RUN WILD
“It is estimated that 50% of antibiotic prescriptions may be unnecessary.”
From the April 2013 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. There are any number of experts that say that this statistic is actually much higher.
“For crying out loud people. Stop demanding antibiotics! There are SO few everyday infections that require treatment. Colds, bronchitis, ear infections, sore throats (including strep) will resolve without any treatment. And these infections typically make a person feel ill for several days. The “I’m not better in 3 days therefore I need an antibiotic” is simply ridiculous. As a parent, be very afraid of having your child on perpetual antibiotics. This is much more likely to harm them than help. I’ll get off my soapbox now.” ER physician in Topeka, Kansas
“Yes, future epidemics are inevitable… There’s no doubt that the most dangerous emerging disease is drug resistance. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people die from drug resistant malaria, HIV or TB infections as well as from drug resistant infections in intensive care units over the world.” Cherry-picked quotes from a December 2014 interview with Dr. Jeremy Farrar of the Wellcome Trust found in Spiegel Online International by Katrin Elger and Veronika Hackenbroch (Epidemics Expert Jeremy Farrar: ‘The Most Dangerous Emerging Disease Is Drug Resistance‘)
A few days ago, MSN’s Business Insider, in an article by Erin Brodwin, conveyed a scary truth via the title of her article on ANTIBIOTICS — We May Have Reached The ‘Apocalyptic Scenario’ With Antibiotics. It’s not like this is news. I remember a similar article from Time Magazine shortly before I was married in 1996. And wasn’t it just last year that the director of the CDC warned us yet again about this impending calamity (HERE)? It’s another one of those areas where the gap between medical research and medical practice looks more like the GRAND CANYON.
The article speaks not only to our own national Antibiotic overuse, but to the fact that the rest of the world has followed suit (they are several decades behind the curve), prescribing Antibiotics for anything and everything, real or imagined. Unfortunately, we are importing their resistance to America. It is my belief that for the average citizen, these warnings will fall on deaf ears — until friends and loved ones start dying — something that you will definitely see in your lifetime (most likely within the next decade).
If you want to understand more about this issue, click on the links and start reading. By the way, the doctor from the quote at the top mentioned several health issues that people are commonly given Antibiotics for (EAR INFECTIONS, ALLERGIES, SINUS INFECTIONS, COUGHS, UPPER RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS / COLDS / BRONCHITIS, FLU, etc). Heed her advice and DO NOT take Antibiotics for these common health problems! Educate yourself with our posts on GUT HEALTH and change your lifestyle as though your life depends on it. Because in all honesty, it does!
