Germs, Super Germs and Antibiotic Resistance

in #health7 years ago

If you have gone to the doctor for a stomach virus or cold in the last few years, you might realize like I have that it can be very hard to get antibiotics. As a whole many of the doctors are recommending them far less often. This is because on a large scale the doctors are trying to avoid, or at least slow down the process of germ evolution to resist certain strands of antibiotics. The main problem is these new antibiotic resistant germs, dubbed Super Germs, are growing resistant to antibiotics, far faster than we can actually create new antibiotics to fight them. If this continues, we could have mass outbreaks in the future that might kill many, that essentially could have been saved if we were more selective with who we distribute antibiotics to.

In perhaps the most contradictory statement I have ever made, I am going to say that getting sick, is completely healthy. What I really mean by this is having a cold, getting sick and coming into contact with a variety of germs is a natural and in many ways beneficial thing. We may get mildly sick for the moment and feel like crap, but our body learns to adapt and fight our sicknesses in the future. Without any exposure to germs and having your body lack any sort of resistance, puts you at risk for potentially much more severe reactions when you come into contact with other sickness.

If we take the age of example of Polio, which destroyed nerve cells in the spinal cord, while also making muscles weak, causing paralysis, was not a disease that many lower class people were exposed to. In fact the vast majority of people who had gotten Polio in places like the United States, were from upper class families. For the most part, Children from lower class families and areas were exposed to so much bacteria that they built immunities to the Polio virus when there were outbreaks. Those who spent time inside, away and avoiding germs were much better targets for the disease.

This is the large problem we are seeing today, not only from people who are using antibiotics for every little sickness, but also from parents who are choosing to do so for their children. Parents are not letting their kids get down and dirty and expose themselves to the bacteria that will help them grow immunities in the future. Hand sanitizer is common place in almost all public areas these days and people are using it every chance they get. The problem that arises is if these children don’t create a basic immune system for later in life, they are going to get more severe sicknesses from the get go and potentially be at risk for more severe ones later on.

Asthma rates among children are at all time highs and the amount of time children are playing outside, in areas that expose their immune systems, are at all time lows. This is only going to get worse if we don’t do something. So next time you have a cold or a mild sickness, you might feel like crap, but it might be better to avoid taking antibiotics unless it is absolutely necessary. The same goes for your children if you are a parent. We all want to live in a healthy world with no major disease outbreaks, so let’s use the resources we have sparingly in order to give those creating new cures time.

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Great points that summarize why I avoid prescriptions almost entirely.

I don't like taking antibiotics. I don't like how often doctors recommends them. I have a theory that Pharmaceutical industry has the cure to many diseases but they won't release it because they make more money by treating than curing.
I am sure others share my theory as well. Anyway thanks for posting.

I'm an avid researcher in biotechnology/bioinformatics. I would have to respectfully disagree stating that the etiology - cause of the disease in many cases are only just been realized through the assistance of new (2014) biotech profiling techniques, which have shown the biochemical structure of various DNA replication mechanisms, namely CRISPR-Cas9. Through the assistance and evolution of computing power, many molecules or potential drugs can be virtually administered and studied.
It is a long haul to get any drug on the market, but I suspect in the next decade, the amount of treatment potentials would exponentially increase

Something interesting to discuss, basically antibiotics are given for diseases with certain conditions with the aim of inhibiting the spread of germs and accelerate healing. But the understanding and awareness of drug consumption to run out according to prescribed prescription is rarely applied, many side effects occur, such as germs will be resistant to the drug with the dose and then later if the disease returns should be given a higher dose. There is now an attempt to avoid the use of antibiotics for those who have never consume them

I am certainly very worried about how we are abusing our staple antibiotics and causing resistance to build.

In the long run I am very optimistic that advances in microbiology and nanotechnology will allow for many new anti-microbial discoveries. Just look at dirt.

Source: biologist

I've had both of my knees replaced. When I did the first one, the recommendation was to take antibiotics before going to the dentist for the rest of your life. By the time I had the second one done, they were recommending them for only the first two years after the replacement. Now, they're back to recommending them for life again. I've been to the dentist numerous times since the second knee surgery and haven't taken antibiotics, and it hasn't been an issue. Same thing with my mother. She has mitral valve prolapse, and for decades was told to take antibiotics before going to the dentist. In the past few years, though, they've told her recommendations have changed, and she could stop taking them.

Interesting thing about polio. I never knew it was a class-based thing. My grandfather's mother (so, my great-grandmother) died of polio two days before her 41st birthday, while 8 months pregnant with what would have been her 9th child in 1935. One of her other eight children had polio, and she nursed him through it, but then got it herself. I asked my great-uncle (her youngest child, who was only three when she died) once if any effort was made to save her baby, who was far enough along to survive on her own. He said his dad, being already overwhelmed with eight kids and having just lost their primary caretaker, told the doctors to wait before removing the baby. So, she was stillborn because they waited, but that's how they knew it was a girl. Different times, man.

Thanks for sharing these personal sad stories Steph. It grounds us when we hear things like that.

I guess it is a sad story. I never thought about it too much as that, as it's a story I grew up hearing. It was told many times. I finally got to visit my grandfather's mother's grave in 2005, when I was living in New Hampshire (she's buried in Massachusetts). She's in the same plot as her parents, and although the baby isn't mentioned on a stone, I assume she's in there with her.

My great-uncle told me none of the family, not even her husband (my great-grandfather) could go to the graveside services, as they were all quarantined for possible exposure to polio. They had the funeral at the house, and her husband and kids had to all watch from the upstairs landing, then couldn't go with them when they took her away.

I've got several photos of her. She was gorgeous.

good information ....

I think antiobitcs are very bad for our health, i try to not use them even when the doctor tells me to take them, i tried that and it works !! our body is so powerfull and can heal itself, 7 years Antibiotics free and i'm proud !!

They literally hand out antibiotics like candy these days.
It's only a matter of time before we experience a new "black plague"

All we say that antibiotics there are not good for us or for our children... But we have forgotten the natural antibiotics... There are many herbs in the nature and if you know the correct combination you can make the strongest medicines.