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Tue 22 Jun, 2004 05:46 pm
New strains of Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria were
found in eight countries; Vancomycin is considered the
antibiotic of last resort.
HAH!! Call that BAD news!! Untreatable tuberculosis is in epidemic proportions in Russia - and it has started to appear in the West. Galloping consumption is baaaaack!!
Speaking of consumption...
Our over-consumption of anti-biotics is going to kill us. I always suspected our ultimate doom will come by our own brainpower and need for the quick fix and instant gratification. Mankind needs a little humility instead of trying to conquer everything.
I've lost so much sleep over that mucuousssisssiss-hyper-electic-germasossiss, let me tell you.
A lot of people had doubts about the amount of antibiotics that have been prescribed over the last several decades... they predicted that the diseases would just get stronger.
They predicted right, didn't they?
You better watch out, Slappy!
Yeah - that man had a full head of hair before his 'condition'.
the reincarnation of suzy wrote:Speaking of consumption...
Our over-consumption of anti-biotics is going to kill us. I always suspected our ultimate doom will come by our own brainpower and need for the quick fix and instant gratification. Mankind needs a little humility instead of trying to conquer everything.
What about our willingness to live in a culture of fear? No pun intended with 'culture' there, heh heh.
I try not to take meds at all if I can stand it. It usually just means a tiny bit longer with the discomfort... nothing drastic.
Wow, Phoenix, that is new! They're still doing clinical trials on it. How recently approved is it?Sounds like an almost brutal regimen of treatment (half-hour ling injections) but surely preferable to staph! Ah, the wonders of medical science.
"Recently though, doctors have been seeing this kind of infection out in the community, in otherwise generally healthy individuals. It has been postulated that because of overuse of antibiotics, the garden variety staphylococcus aureus has mutated, and the more virulent strain has emerged."
Exactly.
I agree with LRR Hood though; many infections do go away without antibiotics if you just wait them out and take other measures unrelated to medication. Few people have died from untreated ear infections, for example, even in the old days. I'm not saying don't take meds for serious infections like staph; just don't run to the drug company every time you have a fever. My kids pediatrician was before his time in realizing that antibiotics were overused and would only prescribe then when very necessary, which I appreciated. My kids have been very healthy, as have I. If all doctors had been as conscientious, we wouldn't have to keep developing new drugs like cubucin.
"To reduce the development of drug-resistant bacteria and maintain the effectiveness of CUBICIN and other antibacterial drugs, CUBICIN should be used only to treat or prevent infections caused by bacteria".
You know what I'm thinking, Hood? Despite our willingness to suffer a bit and wait out illnesses to avoid taking chemicals, we are still just as much at risk because so many others have overused them!
Hmmph!
the reincarnation of suzy wrote:Wow, Phoenix, that is new! They're still doing clinical trials on it. How recently approved is it?Sounds like an almost brutal regimen of treatment (half-hour ling injections) but surely preferable to staph! Ah, the wonders of medical science.
"Recently though, doctors have been seeing this kind of infection out in the community, in otherwise generally healthy individuals. It has been postulated that because of overuse of antibiotics, the garden variety staphylococcus aureus has mutated, and the more virulent strain has emerged."
Exactly.
I agree with LRR Hood though; many infections do go away without antibiotics if you just wait them out and take other measures unrelated to medication. Few people have died from untreated ear infections, for example, even in the old days. I'm not saying don't take meds for serious infections like staph; just don't run to the drug company every time you have a fever. My kids pediatrician was before his time in realizing that antibiotics were overused and would only prescribe then when very necessary, which I appreciated. My kids have been very healthy, as have I. If all doctors had been as conscientious, we wouldn't have to keep developing new drugs like cubucin.
"To reduce the development of drug-resistant bacteria and maintain the effectiveness of CUBICIN and other antibacterial drugs, CUBICIN should be used only to treat or prevent infections caused by bacteria".
You know what I'm thinking, Hood? Despite our willingness to suffer a bit and wait out illnesses to avoid taking chemicals, we are still just as much at risk because so many others have overused them!
Hmmph!
They may not have died from ear infections, but how many went deaf?
I've read something on this, Miller, but Sozobe knows more. I think it is not clear that antibiotics are the answer with childhood ear infections, which, yes, I know, sounds counterintuitive. If I run across the serious data on the matter, I'll come back and post it.
As a general comment, much antibiotic misuse comes from people not finishing their prescribed course of treatment as well as from some overprescribing in the first place.
Edit to correct spelling, I knew prescribing looked wrong!
Phoenix
Is that related to the flesh eating bacteria stuff?
That's plenty nasty.
Probably not many, Miller. I haven't!
My grandparents didn't, nor their children.
It's one of those things, like childbirth. Some people die during it (still). Most don't. Same treatment, different outcomes, but death is rare.
Ear infections seem to be the same. They hurt like heck, but in general, are not threatening. I once treated one with a homeopathic remedy; chopped onion in a cloth held to the ear for an hour. It worked! Cost very little with no ill effects, too!
"much antibiotic misuse comes from people not finishing their prescribed course of treatment as well as from some overperscribing in the first place"
You're right, Osso. That is also another reason.
Phoenix, before your husband got that infection, had he taken many antibiotics in his life?
The main culprit may be the over-use of antibiotics in the production of meat animals. This is estimated to be 70% of ALL antibiotic use and runs up to millions of kilograms each year. The net result is the exposure of micro-organisms to substances that only encourage them to develop resistance.
The new drug won't last long.
It's a race - and the bugs move fast.
, rocephin, Cipro and clindamycin, until we finally got to a doctor who knew what he was doing.
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