Overtime, improvement and modernization of the medical field through research and performance has led to revolutionary improvement. One of the more predominant findings was the accidental discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), antibiotics are defined as drugs that fight infections caused by bacteria in both humans and animals by either killing the bacteria or making it difficult for the bacteria to grow and multiply. Unfortunately, antibiotics have become a victim of their own success which has ultimately resulted in an epidemic: antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria to become immune antibiotics. It results from the bacteria mutating …show more content…
This resistance is mainly caused by the exponential growth in antibiotic prescriptions from effectiveness along with their easy access and misuse over the last seventy years. In “MRSA and Antibiotics—An Opinion,” Ron Graves, a man struggling with a series of health complications, discusses his belief of how antibiotic resistance came to be as he shares the role antibiotics have had in his life through his history of illnesses, doctors, and treatments. Derived from the reality of his consultations, Graves combats popular belief by stating that he is not convinced that over-prescription is the main cause of antibiotic resistance. Instead, he believes that “under-prescribing is [the] real problem and has been for a long time” (para. 9). His argument is based from his personal experiences with antibiotic treatments, stating that the difficulty in getting doctors to prescribe large doses of antibiotics has made it hard for him to control his lung infections, leading to him legally importing his own to take at his leisure. He expands on this thought claiming that …show more content…
Graves should stop taking the antibiotics immediately, consult a specialist in COPD, explain his history of antibiotic usage, and ask for another opinion on his COPD. This way he can finally receive proper medication such as a bronchodilator or steroids since antibiotics serve no purpose in treating COPD. Doctors are trained professionals and aim to help individuals; if Graves believed that they were wrong in their choice of treatment, why did he never consult with any of the doctors about
- The main issue is whether the health care providers should start antibiotics for Mr. Dawson’s pneumonia. The team is divided on starting the treatment or don’t start because the treatment would just prolong Mr. Dawson’s suffering.
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 ...
Biological evolution is defined as any genetic change in a population that is inherited over several, successive generations. (R.Bailey, 2014) The changes accumulate and over time a new species is created. One of the basic mechanisms of evolution is Natural Selection. Natural Selection is random genetic variation occurring within an organisms DNA and the beneficial mutations being preserved because they aid survival. (C.Darwin, 1859) Two notable scientists associated with the theory of evolution include Charles Darwin and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.
A common healthcare acquired infection that is seen both inside and outside of the hospital is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). MRSA can have detrimental effects on the patient and is usually acquired within the hospital setting. The PICOT statement has many important aspects to include such as: population, intervention, comparison, outcome, and time, which is used to produce an evidence-based question. According to Schmidt & Brown (2012), the PICOT statement is used in evidence-based practice is to make decisions about patient care based on evidence with clinical expertise appraisal and current research while also considering patient preferences and values. The PICOT statement: In patients between the ages of 30 and 70 admitted
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 role of nurses in the prevention of MRSA in the hospitals cannot be overemphasized. The prevalence of MRSA in hospitals calls for awareness and sensitization of all party involved in patient caregiving in the hospital. According to Wilkinson and Treas (2011), nurses take on many roles in the hospital: a caregiver, advocate, communicator, leader, manager counsellor, change agent and an educator. (Wilkinson &Treas. (2011) p.13.) The target of healthy people 2020 is to reduce MRSA and all other hospital acquired infection by 75% in the year 2020. (Healthy people 2020) This cannot be achieved without the maximum support of nurses because nurses have regular one on one contact with patients on daily basis.This paper will take a closer look at the role of a nurse as an educator in the prevention of MRSA in the hospital. One of the nurse’s roles in the prevention of MRSA in hospitals is patient/visitor/staff education.
On the other hand, cells that have resistance from the start or acquire it later may survive. At the same time, when antibiotics attack disease-causing bacteria, they also attack benign bacteria. This process eliminates drug-susceptible bacteria and favors bacteria that are resistant. Two things happen, populations of non-resistant and harmless bacteria are diminished, and because of the reduction of competition from these harmless and/or susceptible bacteria, resistant forms of disease-causing bacteria proliferate. As the resistant forms of the bacteria proliferate, there is more opportunity for genetic or chromosomal mutation (spontaneous DNA mutation (1)) or transformation, that comes about either through a form of microbial sex (1) or through the transference of plasmids, small circles of DNA (1), which allow bacteria to interchange genes with ease.
The most effective way to combat pathogenic bacteria which invade the body is the use of antibiotics. Overexposure to antibiotics can easily lead to resistant strains of bacteria. Resistance is dangerous because bacteria can easily spread from person to person. Simple methods for preventing excessive bacterial spread are often overlooked. Not all preventative measures are even adequate. Doctors and patients often use antibiotics unnecessarily or incorrectly, leading to greater resistance. Antibiotics are used heavily in livestock and this excessive antibiotic use can create resistant bacteria and transfer them to humans. In order to reduce resistant bacteria,
Generally in life, an overabundance of anything is thought of as a blessing.For instance, most people would say that there is no point where someone has too much money, or too much time; however, having and using too many antibiotics can be a problem.With the advent of antibiotics in 1929 Fleming warned that, "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."[1]Following with Fleming's words antibiotics need to be prescribed in a judicious fashion, not of one with a careless action, "one third of the 150 million outpatient prescriptions are unnecessary."[2]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 physician but also the patient.
According to Quammen this antibiotic warfare has many understandably concerned. With what some believe to be a growing pandemic on our hands many feel we need to push more actively towards growing public awareness and finding new ways to slow down the adaption processes of harmful diseases. Unfortunately, not much progress has been made to find a reasonable solution to antibiotic-resistant diseases. Many even believe that there is no one simple solution to slowing the evolution and adaption of our tiny foes. This belief is due to the fact that the very antibiotics we create have been shown to strengthen the disease that it was meant to kill.
“An interesting byproduct of the newer solutions to medical dilemmas is the slowly growing resistance of antibiotics in bacteria (“Externalities”, 2016)”. The person who is affected by the negative externality concerning the use of antibiotics by others will see it as lowered utility: either subjective displeasure or potentially explicit costs, such as higher medical expenses in the future to treat infections that could have otherwise been treated easily at a lower cost (Ditah, 2011). In order to mitigate antibiotic resistance, healthcare workers should stop prescribing antibiotics unless it’s truly necessary. Additionally, the government should make more of an effort to tackle antibiotic resistance. People should also be educated about how overuse is
Engelkirk & Burton (1979) state that bacteria can reproduce asexually by simple division of cells and some bacteria reproduce sexually by conjunction. A bacterium is a waste producer of products and secretions. This allows pathogens to invade their hosts to cause disease some of these harmful diseases are Scarlet fever, an acute illness, characterized by a reddish skin rash, which is caused by systematic infection with the bacterium streptococcus. St. Anthony’s Fire is another bacterial disease. “St. Anthony’s Fire which is an acute superficial form of celluitus involving the dermal lymphatic, usually caused by infection with streptococci and chiefly characterized by a peripherally spreading hot, bright red, oedematous.
There are many medical professionals who believe that the rise of antibiotic resistance is a result of the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. Dr. Jim Wilde, a paediatric emergency medicine physician at the Medical College of Georgia believes that the medical profession is losing the war against resistance...