Read This before You Pop Another Big Pharma Antibiotic

[donnay]

Read This before You Pop Another Big Pharma Antibiotic

by Paul Fassa
October 10th, 2014

A study published by Mayo Clinic found that almost 70% of Americans are on at least one pharmaceutical; antibiotics top the list, followed by antidepressants, and opioid pain killers. This is a problem in of itself, as it the United States has transformed into a pill-popping, medication-dependent nation. What’s worse is that antibiotics in particular are doled out in copious, unnecessary amounts, so much so that bacteria are developing major resistance to this conventional treatment. This is now a potential danger of antibiotics, and a serious grand-scale side effect of antibiotic use.

Even the WHO is calling this resistance a global health crisis, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the age of antibiotics must come to an end. That is the first (1) reason to avoid antibiotic use.

While antibiotics have helped greatly with modern medicine, it seems that we need to start looking for alternative solutions. Here are 9 more compelling reasons to just say no to antibiotics.

9 More Reasons to Refuse Antibiotics

2. IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)

According to a 2011 article published by Fox News, a scientific link has been established between antibiotic use and colitis. Antibiotic-induced colitis is caused by the toxins exuded by the bacterium Clostridium difficile following antibiotic treatment. While the majority of other intestinal bacteria have been killed off by the antibiotic, Clostridium difficile grows rapidly and releases toxins that damage the intestinal wall.

In fact, Crohn’s disease which has spread epidemic like over the past 50 years parallels the introduction and widespread use of antibiotics. There’s even a theory postulated by a couple of German scientists that Crohn’s is actually the mutation created from normal gut bacteria by antibiotics.

3. Liver Damage

A new study published in the journal Gastroenterology found that although all types of prescription drugs are linked to liver damage, antibiotics in particular were the worst offenders - the drug class most likely to cause serious harm to the liver. John Gever, Senior Editor of MedPage Today reported one researcher stating, “antimicrobial agents are the most common cause of drug-induced liver failure, with most cases ending in death or transplant.”

4. Cancer Link

One study found that those who had taken 6 or more antibiotic prescriptions had a 1.5 times greater risk of less common cancers compared with study participants who had the lowest antibiotic exposure.

Taking some antibiotics may slightly increase the risk of developing colon cancer, one study suggests. After controlling for known risk factors for colorectal cancer including obesity, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol, researchers found that those who had taken antibiotics, including penicillins, quinolones, and metronidazole, were 8 to 11% more likely to develop colorectal cancer.

A 2008 study by the International Journal of Cancer reported, “those who had taken 2-5 antibiotic prescriptions had a 27% increase in cancers compared to those who took none. Those who took six or more prescriptions had a 37% increase in cancers.”

Continued...

[Working Poor]

I don't doubt any of the reasons not to use antiBs.

[Zippyjuan]

The "almost 70% of Americans are on at least one pharmaceutical" claim is confusing. What is considered "on a prescription drug"? They include vaccines. On one hand, the report does say:

Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug, and more than half take two, Mayo Clinic and Olmsted Medical Center researchers say

Yet on the other hand,

The percentage of people who took at least one prescription drug in the past month increased from 44 percent in 1999-2000 to 48 percent in 2007-08.

Taking a prescription in the last month would seem to cover people "currently taking prescription drugs". If you haven't taken a prescription drug in the last month, how can you be counted as "currently taking" them and thus part of the 70% claimed?

http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/di...l-center-find/

[donnay]

The "almost 70% of Americans are on at least one pharmaceutical" claim is confusing. What is considered "on a prescription drug"? They include vaccines. On one hand, the report does say:


Yet on the other hand,



Taking a prescription in the last month would seem to cover people "currently taking prescription drugs". If you haven't taken a prescription drug in the last month, how can you be counted as "currently taking" them and thus part of the 70% claimed?

http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/di...l-center-find/

Overall, 68.1% of the population (n=96,953) received a prescription from at least 1 drug group, 51.6% (n=73,501) received prescriptions from 2 or more groups, and 21.2% (n=30,218) received prescriptions from 5 or more groups. The most commonly prescribed drug groups in the entire population were penicillins and β-lactam antimicrobials (17%; n=23,734), antidepressants (13%; n=18,028), opioid analgesics (12%; n=16,954), antilipemic agents (11%; n=16,082), and vaccines/toxoids (11%; n=15,918). However, prescribing patterns differed by age and sex. Vaccines/toxoids, penicillins and β-lactam antimicrobials, and antiasthmatic drugs were most commonly prescribed in persons younger than 19 years. Antidepressants and opioid analgesics were most commonly prescribed in young and middle-aged adults. Cardiovascular drugs were most commonly prescribed in older adults. Women received more prescriptions than men for several drug groups, in particular for antidepressants. For several drug groups, use increased with advancing age.

http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org...357-1/abstract

[Zippyjuan]

Thanks for the link. So they looked at citizens of one county in Minnesota and how many had been given a prescription or was vaccinated (getting a flu shot would count as being on a prescription drug) in the previous year of 2009 (which means they weren't necessarily on a prescription the whole year). Which also can mean that less than half were on a prescription at any one time. It did not include people not registered in their health system.

Objective
To describe the age and sex patterns of drug prescribing in Olmsted County, Minnesota.

Patients and Methods
Population-based drug prescription records for the Olmsted County population in 2009 were obtained using the Rochester Epidemiology Project medical records linkage system (n=142,377). Drug prescriptions were classified using RxNorm codes and were grouped using the National Drug File–Reference Terminology.

The county is mostly white and older (almost 40% 45 or older)- groups which may be more likely to be on meds. http://www.culturecareconnection.org...stedCounty.pdf

According to the 2010 Census, the number of
Minnesotans age 65 and older increased 15% while the
number of those over 85 increased almost 25% since the
2000 census. The median age in Olmsted County was
36.3 years compared with 37.4 for the state. The overall
age composition of the state has become much older in
the past ten years

Under 15 years: 21.2%
15 - 24 years: 11.8%
25 - 44 years: 27.8%
45 - 64 years: 26.4%
65 and older: 12.5%

Minnesota’s population is considerably less diverse than
the U.S. population. Minnesota’s populations of color
accounted for 14.7% of the population in 2010, compared
with 27.6% of the national population.

[Acala]

I wouldn't take an antibiotic unless I was at risk of my life from a known bacterial infection.

[CPUd]

I wouldn't take an antibiotic unless I was at risk of my life from a known bacterial infection.

That's generally the only time someone should take one. But another problem is that people don't take them over the entire course of an infection. Too many people stop taking them when they feel better, but the bacteria in question might not all be dead yet. This gives some of them the opportunity to develop resistance to the antibiotic, then get released back out into the wild.

[Deborah K]

[Working Poor]

I wouldn't take an antibiotic unless I was at risk of my life from a known bacterial infection.

May you never get antiB resistant gonorrhea...

[mtr1979]

I believe that antibiotics are over prescribed this day and age, but this article lost me on reason number five:
"Perhaps it is no accident that the same group with the highest incidence of so called AIDS (view the video: “House of Numbers”)is also the group that uses more antibiotics than any other group in America."
So now we are taking aids aids denialism seriously?

[Dr.3D]

So now that I've read this, what am I supposed to do when I'm diagnosed with Helicobacter Pylori eating my stomach from the inside out?

[navy-vet]

So now that I've read this, what am I supposed to do when I'm diagnosed with Helicobacter Pylori eating my stomach from the inside out?

If I had it, I'd develop a taste for cultured yogurt which I have heard is a good choice and has been known to clear it up. And if it got out of control or caused a peptic erosion then I wouldn't hesitate to go on a course of antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor until it cleared up. A peptic ulcer is nothing to fool around with, the gastric lining is surprisingly thin and stomach cancer is an excruciatingly painful way to go. My brother in law went out like that and it was a nightmare.
I am a strong advocate for the prevention of such maladies and believe that proper nutrition and stress management are essential keys.

[Dr.3D]

If I had it, I'd develop a taste for cultured yogurt which I have heard is a good choice and has been known to clear it up. And if it got out of control or caused a peptic erosion then I wouldn't hesitate to go on a course of antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor until it cleared up. A peptic ulcer is nothing to fool around with, the gastric lining is surprisingly thin and stomach cancer is an excruciatingly painful way to go. My brother in law went out like that and it was a nightmare.
I am a strong advocate for the prevention of such maladies and believe that proper nutrition and stress management are essential keys.

Well, time will tell. I had a biopsy taken from my stomach a couple of weeks ago and I'm still waiting for the results.

[navy-vet]

Well, time will tell. I had a biopsy taken from my stomach a couple of weeks ago and I'm still waiting for the results.

I wouldn't worry about having an ulcer unless you are in a lot of pain and for awhile doc.

[navy-vet]

I wouldn't worry about having an ulcer unless you are in a lot of pain and for awhile doc.

More likely gastroenteritis, GERD or something manageable I would think which is quite uncomfortable and makes you feel lousy.
I take 75 mg of Zantac when I have a stomach upset and it responds almost immediately.

[Dr.3D]

More likely gastroenteritis, GERD or something manageable I would think which is quite uncomfortable and makes you feel lousy.
I take 75 mg of Zantac when I have a stomach upset and it responds almost immediately.

Well, the pictures showed erosion and I can't read what the physician wrote. I don't know why they have such atrocious handwriting.

[navy-vet]

More likely gastroenteritis, GERD or something manageable I would think which is quite uncomfortable and makes you feel lousy.
I take 75 mg of Zantac when I have a stomach upset and it responds almost immediately.

The longer it takes to get the results back the less likely it is that there's anything to worry about, usually.

[navy-vet]

The longer it takes to get the results back the less likely it is that there's anything to worry about, usually.

Sounds like you have a copy of your medical record? That's a very good idea. They have to give it to you by federal law now, on request and most are digital. It can save you a lot of problems if you have it and something happens. I keep a copy on a memory stick on my key ring. It even has two CT scans and some chest xrays on it with all my charts. Amazing technology.

[Dr.3D]

Sounds like you have a copy of your medical record? That's a very good idea. They have to give it to you by federal law now, on request and most are digital. It can save you a lot of problems if you have it and something happens. I keep a copy on a memory stick on my key ring. It even has two CT scans and some chest xrays on it with all my charts. Amazing technology.

LOL, you should see the record of one of the fellows on the ship I was on. He was watching a teletype machine running without the cover on it. It just happened, the little head that hits the type broke off of it's spring and flew up and hit him in the corner of his eye. He went up to see the corpsman and in order to write up what happened, they called me up down in the radio room and asked me the technical name of that part. I looked it up in the book and told him, the technical name for the part is a "pecker head." Well, that's what the corpsman wrote in the guys records. "He was hit in the eye with a pecker head." LOL

[navy-vet]

LOL, you should see the record of one of the fellows on the ship I was on. He was watching a teletype machine running without the cover on it. It just happened, the little head that hits the type broke off of it's spring and flew up and hit him in the corner of his eye. He went up to see the corpsman and in order to write up what happened, they called me up down in the radio room and asked me the technical name of that part. I looked it up in the book and told him, the technical name for the part is a "pecker head." Well, that's what the corpsman wrote in the guys records. "He was hit in the eye with a pecker head." LOL

oh no! That will follow him for life lol...you devil!

[donnay]

So now that I've read this, what am I supposed to do when I'm diagnosed with Helicobacter Pylori eating my stomach from the inside out?

Roberts Formula works.

More info:
http://medherb.com/Therapeutics/Gast...htens_on_H.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Integrative-Th...eutics+RF+Plus

[Dr.3D]

oh no! That will follow him for life lol...you devil!

Hey, I didn't lie, it's in the teletype parts book. It really is called a "pecker head."

[Dr.3D]

Roberts Formula works.

More info:
http://medherb.com/Therapeutics/Gast...htens_on_H.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Integrative-Th...eutics+RF+Plus

Thanks, I'll look into getting some of that.

[navy-vet]

Hey, I didn't lie, it's in the teletype parts book. It really is called a "pecker head."

[NorthCarolinaLiberty]

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db42_Fig1.png

[donnay]

Thanks, I'll look into getting some of that.

You're welcome. I hope you can get some relief, withOUT conventional antibiotics.

[Dianne]

What timing !! I have an ear infection and was thinking of heading over to the CVS Minute Clinic for antibiotics. So now that pharma antibiotics are out, is there a natural antibiotic to treat this?

[donnay]

What timing !! I have an ear infection and was thinking of heading over to the CVS Minute Clinic for antibiotics. So now that pharma antibiotics are out, is there a natural antibiotic to treat this?

Oil of Oregano

Ear Infection

Rub a 50/50 mixture of organic oregano oil and organic olive oil on the outside of the ear. For children, a 25% oregano oil and 75% olive oil mix should be used. Never put oregano oil directly in the ear canal!

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/n...mmon-problems/


Some other info:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/36...ar-infections/
http://kulamama.com/holistic-remedie...ar-infections/

[Dianne]

Oil of Oregano


http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/n...mmon-problems/


Some other info:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/36...ar-infections/
http://kulamama.com/holistic-remedie...ar-infections/

Oh wow, thanks much for the info !! Will order on Amazon tonight.

[Dr.3D]

Here is another for ear infections.
Grapefruit Seed Extract

Ear Infections - Thoroughly mix 1 drop in 6 oz. of distilled water. Apply 1 drop of the solution in each ear. See your doctor if the infection does not resolve quickly.

http://barbarahasen.hubpages.com/hub...enifits---Uses