What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger:
The Overuse of Antibiotics and Antibacterial
Products
by Christina Jones
MRSA is an acronym for Methicillin
Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. But what does this
mean? When you break it down, you can see.
Starting from the second half of the name, Staphylococcus
aureus (or S. aureus) is the scientific name (Genus,
species) for a spherical shaped bacteria that is prevalent
everywhere, on everyone's body. There is an extremely good
article at the
Textbook of Bacteriology website that explains the
biological characteristics of the bacteria.
Methicillin is "a semi synthetic penicillin-related
antibiotic, also known as Staphcillin, that once was effective
against staphylococci (staph) resistant to penicillin because
they produce the enzyme penicillinase (quoted from
MedicineNet.com)." Resistant means "Having the
capacity to withstand: immune, impervious, insusceptible, proof,
resistive, unsusceptible (quoted from
Answers.com)."
MedicineNet.com goes on to explain Methicillin Resistance:
"Rarely used now, Methicillin has been largely superseded by
Vancomycin. Over the past 50 years, staph bacteria have become
resistant to various antibiotics, including the commonly used
penicillin-related antibiotics, including Methicillin. These
resistant bacteria are called Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA."
Ok, so what does all of this
technical terminology really mean? Antibiotic resistance
of any sort boils down to the old saying, "What doesn't kill
you makes you stronger." I had it explained to me by
my Aunt Sharon, who has been an RN nearly her whole life, when
my husband was sick. When you clean your house, and you
use antibacterial products, Lysol, for instance, there is
inevitably some bacteria left behind. For instance, if you
are wiping down your kitchen, it is impossible to keep every
single bacteria on your dishcloth, and off of your countertop.
When you are finished, and the kitchen looks clean, you have
left behind some bacteria, in the little swipe of water that is
left on the countertop, or the side of the cabinet that you
touched the dishcloth with as you were taking the cloth back to
the sink, or the bacteria that you just pushed to the back of
the counter, but did not remove. Of that bacteria,
some are bound to have survived the Lysol. Maybe you
missed a spot, or maybe the bacteria were just lightly touched
by the Lysol. This bacteria is now microscopically
laughing at you, saying "Ha ha! You missed me!" This
bacteria is now a little tougher, because it survived Lysol, and
maybe the next night, when you clean your kitchen again, the
same thing happens, except maybe you got him good with the
Lysol, and he still survived it. This bacteria can now be
considered Lysol-resistant.
Take that example and think about it. Think about
washing your hands and body, using antibacterial soap.
When you wash your hands after using the bathroom, you grab a
quick squirt of antibacterial soap, haphazardly rub it on your
hands, foam it up a little, rinse it off, and then you are
finished. Most of us who have been through and are
familiar with MRSA use a lot better technique than this now, but
the rest of the world pretty much does it just like that.
Can you imagine what happens to the bacteria on your hands now?
You are left with bacteria that is resistant to your
antibacterial soap. Oops. Then you go
outside, see your neighbor, and shake hands with him. Oops
again, now your neighbor has been introduced to your
antibacterial soap-resistant bacteria. My aunt told
me that she has never used Lysol, or antibacterial soap in her
house. We all cringe at the thought of that now, including
me, but there is something very important in there somewhere.
Back when our parents were children, somehow they survived
without antibacterial soaps. Our world is full of
antibacterial-everything now. Plastic toys are made with antibacterials, and even the grocery stores now have
antibacterial wipes when you walk in to get a shopping cart so
you can wipe down any bacteria on them. This sounds like a
great preventative idea, but can you see where the problems lie?
I don't know where we go from here, really. When you look
at this situation, it seems very bleak, it is a never-ending
circle, a catch-22.
So this brings us to the bacteria inside of our bodies.
We have all heard over and over, so much that we ourselves have
become resistant to the advice: Take all of your
antibiotics, until the bottle is gone, even if you are feeling
better. I know I am guilty of not taking all of my
antibiotics in the past. Are you? Probably. I
don't do it anymore though. Using the kitchen example
above, you can see what an incomplete course of antibiotics do
to the bacteria in your body. What doesn't kill them,
makes them stronger.
Another huge problem in creating antibiotic resistance is
with people going to the doctor with a virus, and insisting upon
a round of antibiotics. Antibiotics are not going
to kill a virus. They never have, and they never will.
A virus is a completely different organism than a bacterium.
Antibiotics kill bacteria, not virii. A virus can make you
very sick, but it must run its course, and then it will leave.
Occasionally a virus can cause a secondary bacterial infection,
such as an ear infection or a sinus infection, and it is at that
point, when your doctor has determined that you have a bacterial
infection, that antibiotics are required. I know that when
you are sick, or your children are sick, that you have the need
to do what you can do to help make yourself or your children
better. But please, listen to your doctor, and do not
insist that they give you antibiotics. Trust your doctors
advice, for the health and well-being of your whole community.
And doctors, please, do not let your patients bully you into
giving them an antibiotic when you know they do not have a
bacterial infection. This is wrong, and only you can stop
this from happening.
Downloads:
This is a video that shows actors role playing a visit to the
doctor, and talks about antibiotics and viri. They are in
Real Player format:
For more information on antibiotic resistance see:
Keep Antibiotics Working
Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA)
WhyFiles.com
TipsOfAllSorts.com
Antibiotics on Wikipedia
Dr. Greene
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