Antibiotics are considered the keystone of modern medicine, but their excessive use continues to generate unwanted side effects. Here are some to consider when on prolonged use:
- Antibiotics Increase Fatal Diarrhea Cases in Children
Because the majority of common colds are viral, using antibiotics to treat them does nothing to stop the infection and can create unwanted side effects. Some studies have actually shown that half of antibiotics prescribed for children are for upper respiratory infections associated with the common cold.
However, new studies have shown that children given antibiotics for routine upper respiratory infections are more susceptible to aggressive antibiotic-resistant strains of the bacteria commonly known as Clostridium difficile (C. diff).
One study found that 71 per cent of children who suffered C. diff infections had been given courses of antibiotics for respiratory, ear, and nose illnesses 12 weeks before infection.
It is true that when antibiotics are prescribed incorrectly, children are needlessly put at risk for progressing health problems including C. difficile infection and dangerous antibiotic-resistant infections.
C.diff, is a bacteria found in the gut, and can cause severe diarrhea. It is the cause of 250,000 infections in hospitalized patients and 14,000 deaths every year among children and adults.
2. Antibiotics Can Upset Sensitive Gut Flora
Your intestines contain around 100 trillion bacteria of various strains. While some can be deadly, there’s a natural balance in the gut that can be thrown out of whack by antibiotics. These helpful bacteria known as gut flora help to support immunity and proper digestion.
Aggressive antibiotics, while helpful if you have a serious infection, can wipe out many good gut bacteria while leaving those immune to antibiotics to flourish. That’s the case with C. diff diarrheal infections.
- Antibiotics Help Teach Good Bacteria to Go Bad
Bacteria have evolved defenses against antibiotics through the process of horizontal gene transfer.
Essentially, bacteria don’t need to reproduce to pass along their genetic protection from antibiotics. They can simply pass along these genes to fellow bacteria like students passing notes in a classroom.
- Antibiotics Are Increasing Cases of Untreatable Gonorrhea
This untreatable gonorrhea not only causes pain but also has been linked to pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, tubal infertility, and neonatal eye infections, among other conditions.
A specific strain, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, has developed resistance to the antibiotics typically used to treat these infections. Currently, cephalosporin antibiotics are the only class that meets the standards to fight resistant gonorrhea.
- Antibiotics Are Helping Drive Up Drug and Hospital Costs
The further antibiotic resistance spreads, the more often common antibiotics—including many available as generics—must be retired. This means that ridding patients of infection requires longer, more expensive forms of therapy.
