You’re lucky today reader I have another James rant. I’ve been kicking this idea around for a while but recent event’s brought it to the surface and it’s time to vent. Today’s rant is brought to you by the incompetence of the medical industry in general and one in particular. I have a friend that was feeling sick and decided to go to the new walk in clinic that opened down the street. At first I was fairly impressed, the wait to get in was very short, the total time in their was short, the staff was nice. When she got out I asked what it was she had. It turns out that the doctor didn’t bother to diagnosis her at all. A guess of it might be strep throat was made and a prescription for antibiotics was made. This is what kicked off my anger, the lazy attitude from medical “professionals” and the over eagerness to simply throw antibiotics at any problem. Now lets get down to ranting.
History
“The term antibiotic was first used in 1942 by Selman Waksman and his collaborators in journal articles to describe any substance produced by a microorganism that is antagonistic to the growth of other microorganisms in high dilution.[3] This definition excluded substances that kill bacteria, but are not produced by microorganisms (such as gastric juices and hydrogen peroxide).”
Antibiotics have been available since the 1940’s but have recently become way overused. A CDC study from 2010 found that for a population of about 309 million 258 million courses of antibiotics were prescribed. I can assume not every person in America got a prescription, I know I didn’t, so that means some are getting more than one course per year.
Effects
Antibiotics, also known as antibacterials, are types of medications that destroy or slow down the growth of bacteria. The Greek word anti means “against”, and the Greek word bios means “life” (bacteria are life forms).
Antibiotics kill bacteria without discretion. With the human body being composed of a mix of human cells and bacteria cells, with the bacteria outnumbering the human ones 10-1, that doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. Our bodies have evolved to co-exist with the bacteria over thousands of years with antibiotics only appearing recently. We are still learning about the effects of killing off that bacteria. New studies onto the effects of killing off the gut bacteria in particular are showing links to allergies, asthma and weight gain. Another issue coming out is the Antibiotic resistant bacteria such as MRSA which either aren’t effected by antibiotics or need ever stronger ones. I can tell you first hand that MRSA sucks. During a camping trip I got a bug bite that I scratched at. The MRSA that was under my finger nails infected that bite and turned into a MRSA boil. It took weeks to heal and I felt like shit the entire time. Also I had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics for it, which I stopped taking and healed up anyway. So there’s another reason not to scratch bug bites.
Body Knows Best
The human body does a great job of healing itself, if you just let it. I don’t completely write them, antibiotics, off and have some stored. I do tend to think of them as an absolute last resort not a first choice. In fact I’m now leaning even more towards the sentiment of trying to avoid them at all cost. Unless I have gangrene I really don’t want them. I don’t think taking the equivalent of a bomb to treat the sniffles makes any damn sense. I’m going to avoid them and try to get back some healthy gut flora. I spoke with YouTube star Patriot Nurse about this and she said “You can out-sprint Nature, but it always wins the marathon”. While you may heal whatever you have for right now you are destroying your long term health. Instant gratification over working hard and having a good future. Sounds like a lot of people I know.
Do you take antibiotics? Do you store them? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!
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I agree with you. I don’t take any antibiotics unless I’m near death. I haven’t been to a doctors fold cold/flu/sinus infection .. or what have you in like 5 years. I let my bodies immune system handle it as nature intended. I also dont take pain killers anytime I get a headache. Only if it is severe. We overuse medicine and it loses it’s effectiveness. I want it to work when I REALLY need it too.
As a nurse, I agree with you about antibiotics and when they should be used….not for colds and flu…..they are virus not bacteria. I do have some stockpiled, but would never use them unless there was no other way. With 30 years of nursing, I still am not sure when to give antibiotics, without lab tests and consulting with a doctor. Some work better on one infection than on others. People can have fatal reactions if they are allergic to the drug. These medicines should be last resort. It is better to stay health, eat right, and use good hygiene. As you stated, a bug bite made you sick. The bacteria that causes MRSA is found on everyone’s skin.
Your first line of defense is to stay clean, stay away from people who are sick, take care of every scratch or cut with plenty of water and soap and then some sort of Neosporin and a clean dressing.
Get several good first aid or medical books, second hand is ok. Study them! Buy a Physician’s Desk Reference, its a big book with all the medicines listed and they have colored photos of the pills and tablets. Always compare your meds to that in the photos. The fish antibiotics should look just like the human ones…..they should be the same.
Love the rants! Maybe doctors do overprescribe, and if you do not have your other prescription info handy sometimes a medicine is given that reacts with your other meds. Less is better I say.
Couldn’t agree more. Today doctors simply treat symptoms and rarely look for the root cause. My father was a pharmacist and avoided medicine whenever possible.
Last year I had a persistent sinus infection that just would not go away. I finally broke down and went to the doctor specifically to get a round of antibiotics to knock it out. As the doc and I chatted about my symptoms he asked if I was on any other medications for anything. I told him no, that I don’t really like to take medicines that much so I avoid them whenever I can.
He said I needed to stay away from doctors, then.
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