I’m sure many people have been given an antibiotic to treat their signs and symptoms, but how often are we taking antibiotics when we shouldn’t be? In my opinion, we are taking way too many antibiotics. When I went to urgent care for a second time I already knew what they were going to prescribe me. Amoxicillin. I didn’t know whether I had a bacterial or viral infection and I am sure the physicians there just wanted to prescribe me something and get me out of there. I could be wrong, but many urgent cares get countless walk-ins a day and are trying to rapidly treat their patients. I’m sure they wanted to help me get better, but I don’t think they took the time necessary to actually determine what I had been infected with. The overuse of antibiotics has become an increasingly prevalent problem. If you take antibiotics for a virus, for one this won’t help you get better and secondly, your body will start to recognize the antibiotic and grow immune to it. This will eventually stop antibiotics from working completely. Even someone who doesn’t take their prescription when they are supposed to is leading their body to become resistant to antibiotics. I am at fault for not taking my pills properly, but knowing this information has been a wake up call. I don’t want to wake up one day and not be able to fight of a bacterial infection that could be treated.
Superbugs are a huge issue in the health field today. I never heard of the term superbug before, but I’m sure it would raise suspicions and a sense of fear. Many people probably don’t like the idea of a superbug roaming around. A superbug is a bacterial strain that has become completely resistant to antibiotics. It is very difficult for health professionals to treat a bacterial infection if no antibiotics are capable of helping. A CNN health article I came across is titled “Every 15 minutes, someone in the US dies of drug-resistant superbugs.” If this doesn’t create a sense of fear I don’t know what will. This is roughly 35,000 deaths per year from superbugs that may have been preventable. Germs are outsmarting humans. There has been genetic research proving that germs have become very good at teaching one another how to get around antibiotics. Superbugs can affect everyone, not just immunocompromised and elderly people although they have an even higher risk. One disease I have learned about in class is Clostridioides difficile which is primarily caused by the improper use of antibiotics. This disease has become one of the deadliest antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Some may believe they just have a stomach bug causing diarrhea, but in reality it is much worse. Taking antibiotics puts you at higher risk for contracting this infection, killing off both good and bad bacteria while trying to fight it off. Not to say you shouldn’t take antibiotics when you are sick, you should just be practicing good habits while using them. This means taking them at the right time and quantity each day, not stopping them when you start to feel better, etc. Also make sure you are taking them when necessary. Question your doctor the next time they want to prescribe you an antibiotic to make sure it is absolutely necessary.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria cause over 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is very alarming to me. These numbers have just been increasing every year, even doubling from the original report in 2013. There has been some progress in attempting to out smart the bacteria, but a lot more needs to be done quickly. These bacteria are changing so rapidly that they become superbugs before anyone can find the correct treatment. For example, there is methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and CRE found in healthcare facilities causing over 85% of total deaths in the CDC report. Just two antibiotic-resistant organisms are causing 85% of deaths… there is something very wrong. There are still organisms on the rise to become completely resistant, such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae. I would like to be able to treat a patient that has gonorrhoeae or any other bacterial infection in the future, but the chances of healthcare professionals being able to help these patients is becoming low. These two articles alone have opened my eyes to the extreme issue of the use of antibiotics. I will continue to use antibiotics when needed, however I will become more aware while at the doctor’s office and make sure this is the correct course of treatment. I am in no way trying to persuade anyone from not seeking treatment when you feel sick. This is just a wake up call to those that don’t properly use antibiotics, including myself as I struggle to take my prescriptions per the doctors orders.
Madison Weller's Microbiology Blog 