• 18
  Mar
  2012

• Post-Antibiotic Era: Myth or Warning?

  
  Filed Under: Blogging
  Author: YourGuy
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Traveling anywhere away from home automatically includes getting international health insurance because it’s impossible to predict when a natural disaster will occur; when you will be infected with a bacteria ; or when you get into an accident and need medical treatment. The international medical insurance is one way to ensure that you get the quality in medical services that you are accustomed to.
However, the latest buzz from the World Health Organization (WHO) about a post antibiotic era has many talking. Could it be possible that antibiotics will no longer be effective some time in the future? With the kind of advance technology we seeing developing in computers and engineering, it’s hard to imagine that we won’t have protection from the mythical super bug.
Although WHO does have a point in saying that some people may start becoming immune to strong antibiotics because of too much reliance on medication. For instance if a person takes drugs because “he feels he is going to get sick” or he thinks antibiotics is the answer to a fever, then eventually his body will be immune to antibiotics and it won’t be as effective anymore.
This is why many doctors refrain from prescribing antibiotics right away. Also, they switch brands and dosages if the person just finished a round of antibiotics. This is done to prevent a case of increased immunity to the drug.
By being more careful about how we take drugs, we can hold off a resistance to the drug. If we don’t, our bodies will not respond and the so-called super bug will just be the simple cold or sore throat. WHO does say that this is already something very common around the world. And they say that it is a very serious situation because medicine will no longer be effective.
With the misuse of antibiotics, WHO predicts that even with excellent bedside care, only 50% of people infected with a disease or condition will survive.  Antibiotics should be taken with extreme care and the body should be given a chance to heal on its own. According to a London doctor, Dr. David Lloyd, “A lot of our patients, because of the pressures they are under in their everyday lives, feel that they need everything they can to get better as quickly as possible.” We need to start practicing self control when reaching for strong medicine and not letting the pressure of one’s life create a bigger problem than losing a job or a lower paycheck from days absent.  Minor infections should be allowed to heal normally, and that will halt the mythical super bug from killing us.