Comments for Stomach Bug Crystallizes an Antibiotic Threat »
Posted By Eagle_Eye 8 months ago in Health & FitnessEarlier this year, Harold and Freda Mitchell of Como, Miss., both came down with a serious stomach bug. At first, doctors did not know what was wrong, but the gastrointestinal symptoms became so severe that Mrs. Mitchell, 66, was hospitalized for two weeks. Her husband, a manufacturing supervisor, missed 20 days of work.
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Eagle_Eye8 months ago
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FTA: "What is so frightening about C. difficile is that it is often spurred by antibiotics. The drugs wipe out the targeted illness, like a urinary tract or upper respiratory infection, but they also kill off large portions of the healthy bacteria that normally live in the digestive tract. If a person comes into contact with C. difficile, or already has it, the disruption to the beneficial bacteria creates an opportunity for the harmful bacteria to flourish.
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The public health community has been sounding the alarm for years about the overuse of antibiotics and the emergence of “superbugs” — bacteria that have developed immunity to a wide number of antibiotics. But the C. difficile problem shows that the threat is not generalized or hypothetical, but immediate and personal."
C. difficile is not a new illness, but it appears to be spreading at an alarming rate. The rate of C. difficile infection among hospital patients doubled from 2001 to 2005, according to an April 2008 report from the C.D.C. The rise in C. difficile cases around the world is linked with the growing use of all antibiotics, particularly a class of drugs called fluoroquinolones, which came into widespread use around 2001. The use of acid-suppressing drugs, including proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec, also may be a risk factor, although studies have been contradictory.
In addition to becoming more common, C. difficile is also becoming more deadly. Several years ago, the mortality rate from a C. difficile infection was around 1 to 2 percent. But today, various studies estimate that the death rate is 6 percent. The reason is that a hypervirulent strain has emerged that emits higher levels of toxins than earlier strains.
Many patients are far more familiar with another superbug, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which can cause a severe and potentially deadly skin infection. MRSA started off primarily as a hospital-based infection but has become increasingly common in the community."
This is something every one needs to be aware of since you can pick it up in public toilets, supermarket carts, etc.
My neighbor across the street is in the hospital with it since Thursday of last week. She is not doing well... -
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not2needy8 months ago
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Hi EE, My Friend! How's the house coming along?? I bet you're making excellent progress now!
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Now about this article!! All i can say is WOW, damned if we do, damned if we don't! Antibiotics are a necessary evil at times, but the misuse of them is what has caused the germ mutations and resistance to them. It's scary as hell, and being able to catch it so easily would almost cause me to become a hermit, obsessed with clorox! lol..-
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Eagle_Eye8 months ago
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Hi n2n, my Prop BFF (((n2n)))
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The nest is coming along really great!!
"WOW, damned if we do, damned if we don't:, a really big AMEN to that one, It seems that nature always finds a way of evolving around obstacles like "antibiotics" humans discover and then over use and abuse. Some thing like this may be man kinds down fall.....
LOL, I am a "hermit" that goes around with those "clorox" bleach wipes (I do add real bleach to the container) and hand sanitizer in my vehicle. I've been to Shands 2x this week and have one more visit yet......it really freaks me out being such a ":Bacteria Phobic", but after the whole MRSA experience I don't ever want to have to deal with this nasty stuff again. Better be safe than sorry -
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earthlingerer8 months ago
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In europe when you are prescribed antibiotics, you're also instructed to get a pill containing bacteria to take also, just to prevent such opportune infections.
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I couldn't tell you why they don't do this in the US, except maybe to keep you going to the doctor and buying more pills. -
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orndorffter8 months ago
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Good article EE. I am always using bleach and the wipes. also Lysol. I even use it on my phone they say I use it to mush but I know how easy it to catch something, maybe I go a little overboard but I do me door handels tolet seat and countertop, well gosh I keep on going no wonder they look at me like I'm nuts or something.
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Eagle_Eye8 months ago
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LOL orndor!!! I don't care what other people think of me, I know what it is like to have a nasty bacteria and don't care to ever experience it again, the old adage, "Better safe than sorry" applies to our health and taking care of ourselves.
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