General Medicine

» Anthony Lee - Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria?

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is becoming more of an issue as it is becoming less limited to hospital-acquired infections. What do you think of this growing threat? Are you also concerned in general about antibiotic resistance in bacteria?

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» Alicia Mae Prater - Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria?

In response to Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria? posted by anthonylee06:

I think it's something that was bound to happen. Bacterial evolution occurs continuously. Unfortunately overuse of antibiotics forced the transition of drug resistant forms. If we had kept up with the research for alternatives treatments at the same pace, rather than being caught up in back clapping and false security, it wouldn't such a big deal.

I think we need to get back to public health and preventative medicine as the most important focus of the healthcare system. And not just blanket prevention, but actually fine tuning our understanding of the different infectious agents. We need to learn from the "treat everything with an antibiotic - the miracle cure!" mentality of 50 years ago.

As to whether I'm afraid of it...well, it's nature. They fight us and we fight them. Sometimes people win, sometimes they don't. Even though it's not pleasant, it IS the way things work. I accept that and do what I can to avoid being a statistic. Fear is only going to create anxiety which then makes a body more susceptible to infection.

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» Anthony Lee - Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria?

In response to Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria? posted by aliciaprater:

This is where preventive measures become important. Better to wash your hands and practice good hygiene than to take antibiotics for infections that could have been prevented. It doesn't always happen, of course, but there's never harm in prevention.

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» Alicia Mae Prater - Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria?

In response to Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria? posted by anthonylee06:

Yes, preventive measures, like I said. Laurie Garrett's "Betrayal of Trust" is a very interesting read about the status of the public health infrastructure. She starts with the history, goes through the expectations and how it should be, then investigates how it is and that the problem is global. One region or country can do everything possible, but if doctors everywhere don't wash their hands, sterilize their instruments, and develop or follow treatment guidelines then we all lose.

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» Anthony Lee - Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria?

In response to Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria? posted by aliciaprater:

I can give you a bit of clinical insight from my past experience in medicine. MRSA exists because penicillin had been overused in treating infections by Staphylococcus aureus. These days, doctors use the antibiotic vancomycin to treat MRSA infections in the hospital. Every time I see this, I think that MRSA will eventually become VRMRSA. The antibiotic linezolid can also treat MRSA, but that's a nasty medication because of its toxicity to the kidney.

Something has to be done or else these microorganisms will overwhelm people.

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» Alicia Mae Prater - Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria?

In response to Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria? posted by anthonylee06:

There already are VRMRSA in other countries such as the former Soviet Union.

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» Anthony Lee - Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria?

In response to Are you afraid of MRSA or other resistant bacteria? posted by aliciaprater:

It's only a matter of time before it becomes commonplace.

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