One of the many growing concerns in the world today is antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance happens when the bacteria that an antibiotic is made to treat learns how to fight the treatment, and develops a strain of DNA that resists the antibiotic. The resistance is then spread from generation to generation and from one bacteria to another bacteria. The article “Antibiotic Resistance Is Worrisome, but Not Hopeless” states that the misuse and overuse of antibiotics by humans is one of the reasons for the development of resistance but not the only reason. All in all, antibiotics are important to our country's public health. Education is one way that our country could aid the misuse and overuse of antibiotics that leads to resistance. The …show more content…
In several cases, Nobel Peace Prizes were given to the scientists who contributed to public health through antibiotics. The importance and significance of antibiotics in our lives are emphasized through those beginning statements made by the author. Because of the list of achievements that antibiotics have brought to people throughout history, I, as a reader, was left impressed by the topic. Starting the article in such a positive manner gives the reader a good attitude and an open mind when reading the rest of the article which is more controversial. The tone that Carroll used throughout the article left me as a reader impressed when I finished reading. Learning that before antibiotics, the top cause of death in the United States was germs made me realize the importance of antibiotics to our country when they are used properly. Although I understand that antibiotic resistance is real, I have never had a first-hand experience with an antibiotic not being able to fight a bacterial infection. In my mind, Carroll purposefully gave several examples of the importance of antibiotics to our country to emphasize that the rest of the article was not against …show more content…
Carroll. Even with widespread controversy over antibiotic resistance, Carroll remained neutral with his writing, pointing out facts that fit both sides of the argument. One of the most important issues addressed in the article was the lack of education when it comes to the proper use of antibiotics. The health of the public would benefit greatly from education about viruses and bacterial infections. Carroll’s article is a good resource for the basis of the topic’s education. The article informs readers about the importance of antibiotics and the development of antibiotic resistance as well as future prevention and research for antibiotic
In the summer of 1995, the periodical Wilson Quarterly published "Enemies of Promise," an essay by J. Michael Bishop, a Nobel Prize-winning professor of microbiology from the University of California, San Francisco. The essay addressed the renewed criticism the scientific community has received in recent years by an ignorant and unduly critical public. The overall effect this single work has had on the world may be nominal, but the points Professor Bishop raises are significant, and provide ammunition against the ignorants who maintain this "intellectual war," centuries after it was sparked.
In the last decade, the number of prescriptions for antibiotics has increases. Even though, antibiotics are helpful, an excess amount of antibiotics can be dangerous. Quite often antibiotics are wrongly prescribed to cure viruses when they are meant to target bacteria. Antibiotics are a type of medicine that is prone to kill microorganisms, or bacteria. By examining the PBS documentary Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria and the article “U.S. government taps GlaxoSmithKline for New Antibiotics” by Ben Hirschler as well as a few other articles can help depict the problem that is of doctors prescribing antibiotics wrongly or excessively, which can led to becoming harmful to the body.
Resistance arises from mutations that are not under the control of humans, but the evolution of bacteria has been sped along by the overexposure of antibiotics to both people and animals. The number of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in an area is closely related to the frequency that antibiotics that are prescribed (Todar, 2012). Patients often unnecessarily demand antibiotics to treat common colds or simple illnesses that are not caused by bacteria. Instead, these infections are caused by viruses which, unlike bacteria, are unaffected by antibiotics. Incorrect diagnosis can also lead patients to using unnecessary antibiotics, which can sometimes be even more dangerous than otherwise left untreated. Besides the fact that antibiotics kill off beneficial bacteria in the intestines, misuse of antibiotics provides an opportunity ...
As you can see Joseph Lister made great strides in the area of surgery and antiseptic. Without his research and experiments hospitals would still be places where most people went to die. Thanks to Lister and many others hospitals are now the clean and safe places that we go to heal. We no longer need to fear dying from simple procedures or looking up to see a doctor dressed in bloody clothes preparing to perform surgeries. Is it any wonder that Joseph Lister gained the title of the Father of Modern Medicine?
According to USA Today, U.S. doctors are prescribing enough antibiotics to give to 4 out of 5 Americans every year, an alarming pace that suggests they are being excruciatingly overused. In fact, Dr. Aunna Pourang from MD states, “to give you an idea of how high the pressure is to prescribe antibiotics, I didn’t get a job once because during the interview I told the lead physician that I only prescribe antibiotic prescriptions when they are warranted.” The development and widespread obsession of antibiotics, or drugs that kill bacteria and thereby reduce infection, has helped billions of people live longer, healthier lives. Unfortunately, the more we rely on and abuse antibiotics, the more bacteria develop resistance to them, which makes treating infections that much more challenging and leads to the growth of drug-resistant strains of bacteria. Research from the Center of Disease Control found that two million people in the United States become infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria, while 23,000 people die from such infections each year. Americans often aren’t informed on the power of the human body and rush to assumptions when perfection isn’t present. In a nutshell, the obsession of antibiotics is quite deadly and needs to be addressed before it’s too
Antibiotic resistance is one of the most important issues facing health care today, with wide reaching future implications if abuse continues. In the United States alone, antibiotic resistance is responsible for over two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths per year. Providers need to be judicious in the disbursement of these life saving pharmacological agents, while being informative of why antibiotics are not always the answer (Talkington, Cairns, Dolen, & Mothershed, 2014). In the case listed below, several issues need to be addressed including perception, knowledge deficit, and the caregiver’s role. This paper will focus on whether a prescription for antibiotics is appropriate and other courses of action that may be taken instead.
The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.
Emanuel’s article relies heavily on facts and statistics to support his statements, but he is able to touch on one of the most common beliefs humans share, minimizing death. Emanuel touches on the instinctual emotions humans may encounter to the thought of death by stating “…more than 23,000 people die as a result.” (Emanuel) With such a large number of deaths, the author may effectively grasp the attention of the reader through emotional appeal through empathy and anger. Death at any scale tugs at the human emotions in many ways, but a large number will always escalate feelings. Emanuel also refers to an example “The E. coli found infecting a Pennsylvania woman that is resistant to colistin — the antibiotic of last resort — signals that a superbug is inevitable,” which may present fear in some readers that a superbug may affect them, too. Fear of developing these untreatable bugs may persuade the reader to pay closer attention to the solutions the author presents. Once again, the author’s main appeal is that of logos and ethos, but the subtle uses of pathos are prevalent and help achieve
Antibiotics are often used more and more often indiscriminately, as patients believe that they are capable of prescribing antibiotics to themselves without actual medical need. In the journal article entitled “The Responses of Medical General Practitioners to Unreasonable Patient Demand for Antibiotics - A Study of Medical Ethics Using Immersive Virtual Reality”, Xueni Pan (2016), a member of the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of London and leader of this study, found that patients were more often requesting antibiotics for even minor conditions, and doctors were feeling more obliged to prescribe these antibiotics to avoid losing their patients. The practice of overprescribing antibiotics makes us healthier only in the short term, as this strategy heavily invests in the present well-being over the future, which could possibly create problems. In the article “The Spread of Superbugs,” Nicholas D. Kristof (2010) writes about the effects of the infection of Thomas M. Dukes, who was infected with E. Coli that was nearly untreatable. This article points out the individual effects that superbugs can carry, and how finding ways to fight superbugs is an issue that needs to be addressed in the near future. Education could easily help the populace in identifying the existence of superbugs
4) Zajicek, Gershom. “The Antibiotic Paradox: How Miracle Drugs Are Destroying the Miracle”. Plenum Press, N.Y. 1992.
It has been suggested that bacterial resistance develops with unnecessary over-prescription, and early termination of antibiotic treatment. O noted that unsupervised self-medication of antibiotics was a key factor in the advancement of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. A recent study revealed alarming use of antibiotics within the developing world. Non-prescription antibiotics have been primarily used to treat cough and influenza, where patients cease medication themselves prior to completion of the course because they fel...
Thesis: With the advent of antibiotics in 1929 Fleming said, "The time may come when penicillin can be bought by anyone in the shops.Then there is the danger that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug make them resistant."With the overuse of antibiotics today we have seen this very idea come to be.Over usage is caused most prevalently by a lack of education on the part of the patient.Thus stated, the way to overcome such a circumstance is to educate, not only the patient but also the physician.
Freeman, David H. "The Triumph of New-Age Medicine." The Atlantic. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .
At his Nobel Peace Prize speech in 1945, Alexander Fleming warned against the misuse of antibiotics and the fact that by doing this, one allows the bacteria to ‘become educated’ and therefore become resistant to the antibiotic. It is believed that the first cases of antibiotic resistance were shortly after this speech. (Fleming, 1945)
The most important public health issue we are facing currently is antibiotic resistance. This area of science interests me tremendously as antibiotic resistance affects absolutely everyone. The main reason most of us are alive is because at one point or another there was medication which treated an infection or sickness in us. However, as bacteria are evolving more rapidly than our current technological advances, it is becoming increasingly more common to die from infections. For this reason I believe a new medication should be developed that can replace antibiotics. Along with the resistance to medication, many people incorrectly stop taking their antibiotics share the medication with friends or family members.