Friday, March 22, 2024

Why Is It So Hard To Get Antibiotics

How Does Antibiotic Resistance Occur

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According to the CDC, each year, at least 2.8 million people in the U.S. become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 35,000 people die as a direct result of these infections.

In general terms, antibiotic resistance can occur when bacteria learn to fight off the antibiotic.

  • Antibiotics work by interfering with the bacterial cell wall and prevent bacteria from making copies of themselves. However, many of these drugs have been widely used for a long period of time, overused, or used inappropriately.
  • Antibiotics are designed to kill specific bacteria. But over time bacteria learn to adapt to the medicine, making the drug less effective.
  • Bacteria fights back against a drug in many ways:
  • by producing enzymes that can inactivate the antibiotic
  • In the worse-case scenario of antibiotic resistance, there may be no antibiotics that are effective for your serious antibiotic-resistant infection, hospitalization may be needed, and the infection can be life-threatening.
  • What Do Antibiotics Treat

    Two major types of germs can make people sick: bacteria and viruses. They can cause diseases with similar symptoms, but they multiply and spread illness differently:

    • Bacteria are living organisms existing as single cells. Bacteria are everywhere and most don’t cause any harm, and in some cases are beneficial. But some bacteria are harmful and cause illness by invading the body, multiplying, and interfering with normal body processes.Antibiotics work against bacteria because they kill these living organisms by stopping their growth and reproduction.
    • Viruses, on the other hand, are not alive. Viruses grow and reproduce only after they’ve invaded other living cells. The body’s immune system can fight off some viruses before they cause illness, but others must simply run their course. Antibiotics do not work against viruses.

    How Much Of Survival Antibiotics Should You Stockpile

    Antibiotics are often taken twice a day during a ten days period. Zithromax is one notable exception for this. Also, in most cases, to treat an infection needs two pills. There are various of kinds of antibiotics for that type of infection they treat. Having 100 pills of one kind of antibiotic is still insufficient. You will likely need more than 100 other types of antibiotic.

    The amount of variety of antibiotics depends on the kind of infection experienced by your family in the past. For example, if your child has had many wound infection, the kind of antibiotic differs according to its potency in killing the bacteria.

    According to studies, bacteria have the ability to easily create a kind of protein that may help counteract the antibiotics.

    Instead, some surviving ones will be able to identify the antibiotic and create their own version to make them immune to this kind of antibiotic. So the next time, this set of new bacteria encounters this same antibiotic. They are already immune and the antibiotic becomes ineffective.

    The next time you use the same antibiotic to treat the same infection, it may heal slowly. It may need higher potency of the antibiotics. The cycle goes on. If another infection happens, you also upgrade your antibiotics. This is the reason why doctors need to prescribe you the right kind of antibiotic for the kind of infection you have, including your history of medications.

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    There’s Finally An Ample Supply Of Paxlovid So Why Aren’t More People Taking The Covid Antiviral Pill

    Dr. Anthony Fauci says Pfizer’s antiviral COVID pill “is being underutilized.”

    Dan Avery

    Writer

    Dan is a writer on CNET’s How-To team. His byline has appeared in Newsweek, NBC News, The New York Times, Architectural Digest, The Daily Mail and elsewhere. He is a crossword junkie and is interested in the intersection of tech and marginalized communities.

    The White House is increasing the availability of Paxlovid, an antiviral medication authorized by the US Federal Drug Administration to treat COVID-19. The Biden administration said Tuesday it had purchased 20 million courses of the Pfizer-produced drug, more than any other country in the world.

    The FDA in December gave Paxlovid the green light for those 12 and older who tested positive for COVID-19 and were at a higher risk for serious symptoms. That group includes older patients and those with cardiovascular disease, obesity and autoimmune diseases like HIV and diabetes.

    But while research has shown Paxlovid can reduce the risk of hospitalization by nearly 90%, its uptake has been surprisingly slow.

    Initially, the stock of the drug was limited but, according to a statement from the White House, the administration has worked with Pfizer and there’s currently an “ample supply.”

    Still, many pharmacies say they haven’t gotten the drug and some physicians are still confused about who should get a prescription.

    Why Is It So Hard To Get Rid Of Candida

    Antibiotic Stewardship Program: Why You Need One and When

    To understand why getting rid of candida can be so much harder than knocking out a bacterial infection, you need to know how candida yeast overgrowth manifests in your body.

    About 80% of the time, candida yeast infections occur when medicines, primarily antibiotics but including birth control pills and other drugs kill the friendly bacteria in the intestinal tract. Approximately 10% of the time candida overgrowth is caused by long term exposure to candida and its spores from your family or spouse. It can be transmitted orally through food sharing, kissing, or similar activities, and candida spores can be breathed in.

    About 10% of candida overgrowth cases happen when babies pick it up from their mothers when they are born. At birth babies have no immune system and little to no friendly bacteria, so exposure to candida from their mother always results in overgrowth. The good news is that you will find the process of fighting candida much easier when adding our supplements to your regimen.

    The bad news is that candida overgrowth has grown to epidemic proportions after several generations of antibiotic use leading to a large increase in the amount of mothers with candida infecting their children at birth. This combined with the ever increasing amount of vaccines being given infants, may be fueling the epidemic of autism that our children are suffering. Read more about this at health-reports.com/autism/html.

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    Which Illnesses Need Antibiotics

    In-room misters and over-the-counter remedies against pain, fever, cough and congestion can help relieve symptoms and allow your child to get a good nights sleep.

    Are antibiotics ever the right solution to common childhood ailments? Of course. Its still important to see your doctor when your child is sick for longer than a few days, especially if symptoms are serious or worsening. Here is what your doctor considers when it comes to prescribing antibiotics:

    Why Do We Need New Antibiotics

    The discovery of the first antibiotic, penicillin, over 90 years ago, has revolutionised modern medicine. Since then, antibiotics have become one of the most common classes of drugs used to prevent and treat infections, and make possible complex surgeries that have become routine, from caesarean sections to hip replacement surgeries and organ transplants.

    But antibiotics are not as effective as they used to be. Over time certain bacteria, so-called superbugs, have adapted and learned to resist the effects of the drugs designed to kill them. Our collective overuse of antibiotics in humans, animals and plants has accelerated this process.

    Today, drug-resistant infections are a serious threat to peoples health. Hundreds of thousands of lives are lost every year because of infections that can no longer be treated with existing drugs. Discovering new antibiotics, able to kill drug-resistant bacteria, is essential to saving modern medicine.

    But thats only part of the solution, as over time bacteria will learn to resist the new drugs too. To stay ahead of the game in this constant race against superbugs, we also need innovations in developing vaccines and diagnostics, and better prevention control and surveillance.

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    Why Is The Antibiotic Market Broken

    The current economic model for developing new antibiotics is failing. Companies invest huge amounts of money to bring a new drug to market but cannot recover their costs or make a profit.

    “This is the only field within pharmaceutical science where you come out with a drug and you dont want it to be used too much,” explained Anand Anandkumar, CEO of Bugworks, a biopharma start-up dedicated to discovering new antibiotics.

    New antibiotics are seen as drugs of last resort against dangerous bacteria. So, to limit the development of antibiotic resistance, they need to be used sparingly and not sold in large volumes. Plus, compared to more expensive treatments, antibiotics tend to be quite low in price.

    The combination of low sales and low prices limits the amount of money companies can make. Without financial incentives, many large pharmaceutical companies have started to pull out of the field. In the 1980s there were 18 multinational companies committed to antibiotic research today there are only a handful.

    Antibiotic R& D is now primarily driven by small biotechnology companies. In recent years, they have made some exciting scientific breakthroughs.

    Many have been funded through initiatives such as CARB-X a partnership between governments and philanthropic organisations like Wellcome through what is called push funding.

    The question of how to make antibiotic research and development sustainable remains.

    Where Can I Get Paxlovid

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    Walgreens and other pharmacy chains are offering COVID testing and antivirals through the White House’s Test to Treat initiative.

    Currently, there are only about 2,200 Test to Treat sites in pharmacies and other clinical settings, the White House said. But the federal government is working to ramp up that number.

    “These sites will be targeted to meet demand and increase equitable access to lifesaving COVID-19 treatments and will function in direct collaboration with state and local health agencies,” the administration said in its release.

    And Paxlovid is being distributed directly to clinics, community health centers, long-term care facilities and veteran health centers.

    The White House’s COVID.gov website also shows locations where Paxlovid is available, as well as sites providing testing, vaccines and more.

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    How To Help Relieve Cold And Upper Respiratory Symptoms

    As I said earlier, viral infections can linger for two weeks or more. You may feel terrible for three or four days, but then the symptoms tend to fade away. During this time, you can try over-the-counter medications and home remedies to help relieve your symptoms:

    If you experience more than one of these symptoms, there are many medications that offer multi-symptom relief. Along with taking medication, stay hydrated and get rest. I know you want to get back to work and your daily life, but your body needs time to heal plus you want to avoid giving the virus to someone else.

    If you have a fever that lasts more than two or three days, go to the doctor. If your symptoms last more than 10 days, or if you start to get better and then get sick again, see your doctor.

    Antibiotics are not evil, and we shouldnt fear them. But we do need to use them responsibly to ensure they continue working when we need them for years to come.

    • Cough: Expectorant or cough suppressant, steroid nasal spray, humidifier
    • Nasal congestion and sinus pressure: Nasal or oral decongestant, steroid nasal spray, humidifier
    • Sore throat: Lozenges, humidifier, warm teas with honey and lemon, warm water with salt gargles
    • Fever: Acetaminophen,ibuprofen, or aspirin

    Our doctors can assess whether an antibiotic would work for you. Schedule an appointmentonline or call .

    The Risk Of Taking Antibiotics Without Prescription

    One thing to take note is the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. According to World Health Organization , two of the reasons that they continue to emerge that make it harder to treat common diseases like pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, and salmonellosis, is misuse and overuse of antibiotics in humans and in animals.

    Antibiotics-resistant bacteria means higher medical costs, longer hospital stay and higher chance of complications in infections. Aside from misuse and overuse, lack of infection prevention and control increases chance for the bacteria to be resistant.

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    How Do Antivirals Work

    An antiviral drug can block any of the steps a virus uses to copy itself. To do its dirty work, a virus must attach to a host cell, sneak inside and trick that cell into copying viral genes and crafting viral proteins after that, the newly made viruses must escape to infect new targets. At each step, viral genes or proteins need to interact with various host molecules, and each of these interactions offers an opportunity for antiviral drugs. The drugs often mimic those host molecules and act as decoys to interfere with the viral life cycle and reduce its spread.

    A common approach is to interfere with the copying of viral genes into DNA or RNA to form new viral genomes. Viruses frequently have their own versions of proteins, called polymerases, for this task. The polymerases add individual building blocks called nucleotides, one by one, to the new genome as its being built.

    For example, the drug acyclovir, used to treat herpes, goes after this genome-copying step. To the viruss polymerase, the medicine looks like just another building blockbut its not. Once the decoy gets into the growing strand, it prevents the addition of any more nucleotides. For the virus, its game over.

    Another drug, oseltamivir for influenza, acts at the stage of viral exit from the infected cell. The virus uses a key protein called neuraminidase to dissolve its way out, but oseltamivir sticks to the neuraminidase and stops it from working.

    The Important Role Of The Small Bowel

    Can anything be done to stop the growing threat of antibiotic ...

    The small bowel plays an important role in digesting food and absorbing nutrients. It is also an important part of the immune system, containing an impressive network of lymphoid cells .

    The normal bacteria that are an essential part of the healthy small bowel also perform important functions. These beneficial microorganisms help protect against bad bacteria and yeast that are ingested. They help the body absorb nutrients, and also produce several nutrients and vitamins like folate and vitamin K. These bacteria help maintain the normal muscular activity of the small bowel, which creates waves that move the intestinal contents, like food, through the gut.

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    The Overuse Of Antibiotics

    • A fifth of antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessary, Public Health England says
    • Coughs or bronchitis may take three weeks to clear on their own, but antibiotics reduce that by just one to two days, it says
    • An estimated 5,000 people die in England each year as a result of drug-resistant infections
    • Worldwide, if unaddressed, drug-resistant infections could kill more people than cancer by 2050
    • Animals consume a large proportion of antibiotics – as much as 80% in the US

    Tips For Patients To Use Antibiotics Responsibly

    We need your help as well. There are three ways you can help fight antibiotic resistance:

    We also often field calls from patients who want an antibiotic prescription but dont want to come in for an exam. Its important we evaluate you in person because so often these illnesses are viral, not bacterial. We may not be able to tell the difference on the phone.

    Its not unusual for patients to tell me, Well, last time I had this, antibiotics cleared it right up. I explain to them that every infection is different. They may have had a bacterial infection last time, in which case the antibiotics would have been effective. Its also possible that it was a viral infection and their symptoms disappeared after a couple days not because of the antibiotic, but because thats how viral infections work. The symptoms subside on their own.

    If you are prescribed an antibiotic, follow these guidelines:

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    Why Should I Care About Antibiotic Resistance

    Antibiotic resistance can affect any person, at any stage of life. People receiving health care or those with weakened immune systems are often at higher risk for getting an infection.

    Antibiotic resistance jeopardizes advancements in modern health care that we have come to rely on, such as joint replacements, organ transplants, and cancer therapy. These procedures have a significant risk of infection, and patients wont be able to receive them if effective antibiotics are not available.

    Aside from healthcare, antibiotic resistance also impacts veterinary and agriculture industries.

    What Are Resistant Bacteria

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    Each time you take an antibiotic, bacteria are killed. Sometimes, bacteria causing infections are already resistant to prescribed antibiotics. Bacteria may also become resistant during treatment of an infection. Resistant bacteria do not respond to the antibiotics and continue to cause infection. A common misconception is that a person’s body becomes resistant to specific medicines. However, it is the bacteria, not people, that become resistant to the medicines.

    Each time you take or give your child an antibiotic unnecessarily or improperly, you increase the chance of developing medicine-resistant bacteria. Therefore, it is critically important to take antibiotics only when necessary. Because of these resistant bacteria, some diseases that used to be easy to treat are now becoming nearly impossible to treat.

    Bacteria can develop resistance to certain medicines:

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    World Antimicrobial Awareness Week

    Held annually since 2015, WAAW is a global campaign that aims to increase awareness of antimicrobial resistance worldwide and to encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. Antimicrobials are critical tools in helping to fight diseases in humans, animals and plants. They include antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiprotozoa. WAAW takes place every year from 18 to 24 November. The slogan has previously been, Antibiotics: Handle with Care but changed to Antimicrobials: Handle with Care in 2020 to reflect the broadening scope of drug resistant infections.

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