Antibiotic Overuse

Nov 26, 2011

Antibiotic Resistance: The Buck Stops Here

A man has noted many times that when his cold is bad, and he sees his doctor, that the antibiotic the doctor prescribes helps his cold. So, when he shows up and asks for an antibiotic, the doctor gives him one. The doctor probably knows it won't help. Still, he doesn't have time to explain why, the antibiotic may have a placebo effect, he wants to show this patient that he cares, and he doesn't want to lose this patient.

This is how we create bacteria that can grow in the presence of antibiotics, bacteria that in the wrong set of circumstances can kill. The man with the cold has faith that the antibiotic will help, the doctor trusts that just one little prescription won't make a significant difference.

Faith has no place in the use of antibiotics (or any other medical procedure). Antibiotics have the power to kill rogue bacteria that are trying to kill us. Antibiotics also have the power to kill us--either through side-effects or through unintended damage to our microbiological ecosystem.

Our primary care medical system needs to use antibiotics much less often and with more attention to the correct matching of antibiotic type and dose to the clinical situation.