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A friendly, medical, PSA
In a different thread, "antibiotic resistant infections" were mentioned.
For those of you not in the medical field, thought I'd give a condensed version of how they came to be... (and continue to)
You have an infection, the Dr prescribes you antibiotic "X" to combat it after doing a culture and sensitivity test. Depending on the causative bacteria, some of them (the most susceptible ones) will start being killed with the first couple of doses. The less susceptible one will still be alive, but weaker.
As you continue taking the antibiotics (exposing the bacteria to them) the affects move up the chain to the stronger and stronger bacteria.
At some point, enough of the bacteria will have been killed so that you start feeling better. but not ALL of them are dead.
SOME people decide, "Well, I feel better, so there's no need to finish my antibiotics."
This leaves the bacteria that's least susceptible alive.
Some of this bacteria escapes your body through bandages, or however. Now a slightly stronger strain of the bacteria exists.
Now someone else gets an infection with that slightly stronger strain. "Wash rinse and repeat" someone not taking all the needed antibiotics enough times and eventually there will be a strain of that bacteria that is resistant to antibiotic "X"
In a nutshell, that's the short version of how the antibiotic resistant infections came into being, with more and more appearing.
The take away? Even if you're feeling better before you finish your prescribed antibiotics, take all of them anyway.
For those of you not in the medical field, thought I'd give a condensed version of how they came to be... (and continue to)
You have an infection, the Dr prescribes you antibiotic "X" to combat it after doing a culture and sensitivity test. Depending on the causative bacteria, some of them (the most susceptible ones) will start being killed with the first couple of doses. The less susceptible one will still be alive, but weaker.
As you continue taking the antibiotics (exposing the bacteria to them) the affects move up the chain to the stronger and stronger bacteria.
At some point, enough of the bacteria will have been killed so that you start feeling better. but not ALL of them are dead.
SOME people decide, "Well, I feel better, so there's no need to finish my antibiotics."
This leaves the bacteria that's least susceptible alive.
Some of this bacteria escapes your body through bandages, or however. Now a slightly stronger strain of the bacteria exists.
Now someone else gets an infection with that slightly stronger strain. "Wash rinse and repeat" someone not taking all the needed antibiotics enough times and eventually there will be a strain of that bacteria that is resistant to antibiotic "X"
In a nutshell, that's the short version of how the antibiotic resistant infections came into being, with more and more appearing.
The take away? Even if you're feeling better before you finish your prescribed antibiotics, take all of them anyway.
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates, Rule #37: There is no “overkill”. There is only “open fire” and “I need to reload”.
Replies
"If you get it and didn't work for it, someone else worked for it and didn't get it..."
I also think that patience/Drs. Overprescribed them too.
- Don Burt
It was easier to prescribe antibiotics then to tell the patient/ customer “Life sucks, get a helmet”. So we had a lot of people prescribed unneeded antibiotics.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
Peace is firing my guns or 60 feet below the surface of the water.