Change Your World Week Winter 2022 (Archived)

Antibiotics not only kill the bad bacteria in our body but they also can kill off the good bacteria, causing a rise in the cases of yeast infections, E. coli and MRSA infections. E. coli and MRSA are becoming harder to treat and are the cause of over 100,000 deaths according to the January 20^th 2022 article published by CNBC.  An article the World Health Organization published on July 31st 2020 stated that the world needs to urgently change the way it prescribes and uses antibiotics. If not we are heading for a post-antibiotic era where we will continue to see not only a rise in the cases of drug-resistant bacteria or “super bugs". We will see a spike in the disease length, severity, and complications.  Eventually, we will see a spike in deaths from infections that were once easy to be treated. When this happens the drug-resistant bacteria continue to multiply and spread, causing the antibiotic to not work effectively anymore. 

So what is the "bug" deal? When we are sick what do we want to do? We want to go to the doctor and have them give us medication to feel better. Most of the time we think the doctor will write us a prescription for an antibiotic so we can "kill" off whatever is making us sick. The problem with that is, the overuse of antibiotics has created the superbug that antibiotics do not work on. The antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to grow, and if we cannot kill that superbug, we can die from what was once a simple infection. 

. The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, commissioned by the UK Government, argued that AMR could kill 10 million people per year by 2050. 

 “There were an estimated 4.95 million deaths associated with bacterial AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance) in 2019, including 1.27 million deaths attributable to bacterial AMR” (The Lancet, 2022). and the numbers are going to continue to rise!

We all know washing our hands and staying away from others when they are sick can help us from getting an infection that would need an antibiotic but what else can do we do to help STOP the ever-growing problem of superbugs? According to newsinhealth.nih.gov/2014, we need to not just focus on the outside factors but focus on the natural responses of our bodies. Here are a few things you can do that go beyond washing your hands and staying home when you are sick.

• Maintain a healthy lifestyle—including proper diet, exercise, and good hygiene—to help prevent illness, thereby helping to prevent the overuse or misuse of medications. 
• If you’re sick, make sure your doctor has a clear understanding of your symptoms. Discuss whether an antibiotic or a different type of treatment is appropriate for your illness. Keeping a good line of communication open with your doctor is key.
• If antibiotics are needed, take the full course exactly as directed. Don’t save the medicine for a future illness, and don’t share it with others.  
• Encourage my family, friends, and colleagues to use antibiotics correctly.​

We can all do our part to help! Sometimes it's the small things that can make the biggest difference.

O'Neill J Tackling drug-resistant infections globally: final report and recommendations  Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, London2016

Ventola L. Antibiotic resistance threats in the United States, 2019. NCBI. 2019;44(4):277-283. doi:10.15620/cdc:82532

Antibiotic / Antimicrobial Resistance | CDC. CDC.gov. www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/solutions-initiative/index.html. Accessed February 27, 2022.

newsinhealth.nih.gov/2014

Outpatient antibiotic use falling across the U.S. (2021, July 9). Streetsinc.org. https://streetsinc.org/health-news/outpatient-antibiotic-use-falling-across-the-u-s/2021

Life Noggin. (2022, March 15). Will Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs Kill Us All? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/ByEjq7L5Ue4

Kieth Chiem Show. (2015, January 3). Attack of the Super Bugs [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-apdGwBPz4