 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||
|
|
||||
|
||||
Antibiotics/Antibacterial/Resistance (was: Re: Generic Metformin)From: Renee (anonymous@obgyn.net)Sun, 17 Mar 2002 09:47:50 -0800
I think some regulation is needed. In Mexico, there is no guarantee of quality control in the manufacturing process, making the drugs potentially dangerous through varying concentrations and potential ingredient variances. Also, being able to walk into a pharmacy and buy just about anything without a prescription is dangerous. While many prescription drugs would do fine as OTCs, others do need that regulation to protect the person and the general population. What I mean by the "general population" is targeted at anti-biotics. Being able to walk in and pick up any antibiotics can be harmful. First, it might not be the one that is effective on the bacteria present. Secondly, not using them for the appropriate duration and schedule (which varies by drug) might make the person feel better for a little while, until the stronger bugs survive while the weak die, and the strong ones become dominant. You then get sick again, and the same drug won't work. You have to get something stronger. And, you pass the strong one to other people, so we get broadening antibiotic resistance. Resistance is an area of great concern to me, as I see the worsening problem every day. I work with patients who have resistant organisms. They take stronger antibiotics, more at one time, and for a longer time. Then, the antibiotics sometimes have side effects in that volume. People have to stay in the hospital for weeks for it. And, I'm seeing resistance in new organisms lately. There have been a few cases in the world where a very common bacteria has been resistant to our top-rung antibiotic. The thought of that spreading and becomes common scares the bejeebies out of me. Taking antibiotics incorrectly only makes that worse. Something else that contributes to the problem is the proliferation of antibacterial products out there. Washing your hands with regular soap, with lots of friction, is all that is needed. You don't need antibacterial soap, cutting boards, sponges (get rid of the sponges all together), etc. The exception would be if there is someone in the household who is immunocompromised, as in AIDS or because of an organ transplant. For others, it just ends up killing the weak germs while the strong ones survive and get resistant. APIC, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (it's something like that--my apologies if it's not exact), has recommended against using antibacterial products with the above exceptions. There has been some research showing that we need bacterial exposure to be healthy, and to develop children's immune systems. Some of the research has been done in Japan, where extremely cleanliness is the common goal, to explain the rising rates of asthma and other problems. If we don't have germ exposure when young, we don't develop our T4 cells properly. Those are important in the immune system. That leads to asthma and other problems. (Of course, asthma has other causes as well.) You may have seen this in the children around you. We had two friends who had kids around the same time. One was very protective, and the kid always sat on a blanket on the carpet, and was very protected from germs. The other one let the kid play around in the dirt outside. The "dirty" kid was much more robust, and the protected kid was much more "sickly." This is just one example, which never proves anything since there are so many other factors at work, but was intended as an example of a trend you may have seen. I got off track with this, but it is a "hot button" issue for me. Renee
"Genny H." wrote:
> -- Renee Cordrey, MSPT, MPH, CWS---
|
|
Return to ![[ PCOS Discussion Forums ]](../../images/pcos_at_obgyn.gif)
Technical Problems: webmaster@obgyn.net
Last Updated: Mon May 19 17:04:08 2008
Women's Insurance Checklist from Auto Insurance Quote
home | medical professionals | women | industry | forums | international