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by Joel Yambert, MS, Pharm.D. Candidate, Class of 2020
University of Arizona College of Pharmacy
February 05, 2020
It’s another intense flu season and it may seem like everyone around you is getting sick. That sick person may even be you! People rush to the doctor to see what medications they can be given to make them feel better and “back to normal” quickly. The truth is, whatever is causing your sickness may not need antibiotics at all.
A recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), states that around one-third of antibiotic prescriptions given to people to take are unnecessary. Illnesses where antibiotics aren’t needed, but taken anyway, may be putting you and others in an even tougher, sicklier situation in the future. This is due to bacteria (or “bugs”) gaining resistance to antibiotics, creating so-called Superbugs.
It’s a commonly believed myth that your body gets used to certain antibiotics and forms its own resistance to them. The fact is, bacteria, like humans, can change and can obtain their own methods of resisting antibiotics. Another way is, bacteria are able to gain deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from other bacteria through gene transfer to gain resistance.
Bacteria are very dangerous in this way. One of these superbugs, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is a type of bacteria whose resistance has grown more common in recent years. It accounts for more deaths of Americans every year than homicide, emphysema, HIV/AIDS, and Parkinson’s disease combined.
There are many procedures and policies suggested to fight against overprescribing of antibiotics that are discussed among healthcare groups:
Some doctors say the need of antibiotics’ prescriptions for breathing infections, the most likely cause of a clinic visit, is thought to be less than 20%. Many factors can cause overprescribing, from a push for increased profits to the lack of time to properly assess patients in healthcare settings.
Hopefully, further action is taken to prevent the increasing rate of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This concept of a “superbug” is on a global scale, showing a worldwide overuse of these drugs. Unfortunately, there’s also a lack of progress for newer antibiotics from the drug companies, due to the increased cost of drug creation.
The CDC has a goal to lower inappropriate outpatient antibiotic use by 50% by the end of 2020. There are ways you can personally fight superbugs as well:
You should continue to trust your healthcare workers (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc.) to evaluate your sickness and provide the care and medications you need. A doctor can usually run tests that can identify what bacteria may be causing your sickness.
Steps are being taken through academic programs and other health groups to teach about proper antibiotic use. Trust that your doctor will prescribe the right antibiotics (or not prescribe them at all!) to make the best outcome for your present and future health.
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