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Bacteria Strike Back! Tips To Prevent Resistance To Your Antibiotics...
Tina Bhavsar, Summer Student Intern 2000
and Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate 2002
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Bacteria are striking back against the antibiotics that once were effective in fighting infections. The result is that infectious diseases are becoming more common and more complex, according to the New England Journal of Medicine. They kill 13 million people each year (over 14,000 Americans each year), making them the world's leading killer.

For decades, our first line of defense against infectious diseases has been a group of medicines called antibiotics. Examples of common antibiotics are penicillin and erythromycin. Antibiotics kill the bacteria that cause infections. But today, antibiotics are not working as well as they did in the past because the bacteria have become "stronger" and can resist the antibiotic. This is called "antibiotic resistance."

When antibiotics are misused, overused, and underused, the bacteria causing the infection can become "stronger." The infection that is being treated may get worse and require a more powerful antibiotic in the future.

The more powerful antibiotics reserved for treating only the very serious infections in the past are now being needed to treat more common infections. Since people are now being prescribed these powerful antibiotics more often, there is a greater chance that their bodies will be resistant. If this problem keeps getting worse, there won't be anything left to treat the more serious infections. Today, simple infections like sore throats or ear infections that were once easily treatable may lead to death because of this resistance.

Recently, there has been a lot of news coverage about antibiotic use in animals. More than 40 percent of the antibiotics made in America are given to animals raised for food to help them stay healthy. These small amounts of antibiotics are passed on to consumers, and may cause antibiotic resistance to form. Even people who are avoiding meat may be unable to prevent eating products that have antibiotics in them. Fruits and vegetables are often sprayed with pesticides containing antibiotics to help control or prevent bacterial infections.4 Unfortunately, there are no requirements that food labels inform consumers if there are antibiotics in them. Food policies proposed by the Clinton administration this past March would regulate the use of antibiotics in farm animals. If implemented, Organic Food Production Act would not go into effect until 2002.

How do we help keep bacteria from striking back? Things that we unknowingly do in everyday life may also be responsible for antibiotics losing their effect. Here are some things you can do to help prevent resistance to antibiotics striking you-

  • Do not ask your doctor for antibiotics to treat the flu or a cold. These illnesses are caused by viruses. Antibiotics only kill bacteria. A study from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that approximately 50 million of the 150 million outpatient prescriptions for antibiotics dispensed each year are unnecessary. Don't pressure your doctor into giving you unnecessary medicine. Believe your doctor when he/she tells you to wait for a cold to get better without antibiotics.
  • When taking antibiotics, finish all of your medicine! Many people stop taking antibiotics before they have destroyed the infection. When this happens, the surviving bacteria develop resistance so that the medicine won't kill them anymore. Most people have to take their medicine for 7-10 days or more, even if they feel better on day 3. If you stop your medication early, you are allowing some of the infection to grow and become stronger, thus helping resistance form. All of this could happen, and you would be completely unaware of it. So, it is important to complete the entire course of treatment.
  • Do NOT treat yourself and take antibiotics that you had left over from a previous illness. You may have a different type of infection even though you have the same symptoms. For example, a sore throat could indicate strep throat or a sinus infection. The two infections are treated with two different antibiotics. By taking the wrong antibiotic, you won't get better, and you may trigger your body to make the resistant bacteria so that it will be harder to get rid of your infection.
  • For the same reason, if you have medicine leftover after you have completed your treatment, flush it down the toilet. The medicine may not be as strong as it once was, and then it wouldn't help you get better.
  • Only use plain soap and water to wash your hands. There is some concern that products such as hand lotions, soaps and body washes with antibacterial formulas have any benefit in fighting infections over regular soap and water. In addition, these products may be killing too many of your normal bacteria and causing resistant bacteria to form.

If antibiotics are not taken correctly, there is a chance that antibiotic resistance will form. When this occurs, doctors are forced to prescribe some of the more powerful antibiotics to treat common infections such as a sore throat. In the past, we've used these stronger antibiotics for only the more serious infections, such as pneumonia.

What drugs will be left to treat the more serious infection, if we are using the more powerful drugs for common infections? Eventually, there won't be anything left that will work to fight infections. Help keep all antibiotics fighting infections. It is important that you follow your doctor's directions when taking any antibiotics to prevent resistance from occurring, and your bacteria from striking back.

© 2000 Consumer Health Information Corporation. All rights reserved.