Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

In this country we have always had the privilege of going to the doctor when we get sick and if we had any kind of bacteria infection at all, the doctor would prescribe an antibiotic and we would take them as directed and in a few days all would be well again. The antibiotic the doctor prescribed usually worked very well and if it didn't the doctor would either adjust the dosage or give us another kind of antibiotic.

Now the problem is that the kinds of bacterial infections that are on the raise have become resistant to the drugs we have available for our use. Not to mention the new strains of bacterial infections that keep popping up one such germ is Acinetobacter baumannii. This bacteria kills thousands of patients in hospitals each year in this country and yet it seems that there is not much if anything at all that we can do about it. Another bacteria that is drug resisant and starting to cause problems is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA for short. MRSA is a bacteria that can be found in pork and yes it has been found in 3% of pork that has been bought in some grocery stores in this country. Now if pork is cooked thoroughly it will kill the mars bacteria. The problem is that you can become infected with MRSA simply by touching pork that has the bacteria on it. MRSA kills more people per year then AIDS.

The FDA and CDC at this point have no real plans for testing store bought pork to detect for pork containing MRSA. We also have bacteria that at one time were very treatable with antibiotics. Now it is somewhat a different story. It seems that with time bacteria can and become drug resistant. At one time strains of Escherichia coli commonly known as E. Coli, and strains of the Staphylococcus bacteria were very easily treated with antibiotics. Today these bacteria's do show strong signs of having drug resistant strains. there are also many others that are becoming more difficult to treat with the antibiotics we have available today.

Part of the reason for this lack of antibiotics that work on the infections that we get are

the drug makers no longer put a lot of effort into making new antibiotics because it is not very profitable any more for them o do so . Most patients that come down with a bacterial infection take the prescribed antibiotic for only a week or two and then they are cured. so it is not very profitable any more for the drug companies to make the effort to develop new, stronger , antibiotics. It is sad but true that the all mighty dollar and profit is considered more then our health and well being.

Another reason for antibiotics not working as well as they once did is the miss use of them. Doctors prescribe them to their patients even at tie when antibiotics are not needed to treat an infection. I would think this is because some antibiotics can and are used to treat other conditions. However, I do think that doctors have to be very careful in doing this because of the chance of becoming immune to the antibiotic . One more reason that our antibiotics have become less effective when we take them is the simple fact that for years now a lot of people would run to their doctor and demand a course of antibiotics for a simple scratch on their finger or arm or even if they fell and skinned their knee. You might find that hard to swallow but, I have known a few people in my life time that have done just that.

Still, another reason for our antibiotics not doing the good job they used to do is very simple. In the United States farmers all across the country ad antibiotics to the feed of beef, chicken and, pork. this not only helps make the animal itself immune to antibiotics but when we eat that meat we also digest whatever antibiotic that was fed to that animal. Thus we get even more antibiotics in our bodies. Several government agencies such as the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations are fighting to have this unhealthy practice stopped.

It makes sense that we should only use antibiotics under a doctors supervision and the doctor should only prescribe antibiotics to patients only when the use of an antibiotic is warranted. it may surprise a lot of people to learn that a few antibiotics are also made illegally to be sold on the streets and in back alleys just as drugs such as Oxycodone, Vicodin and, a host of other drugs that really have no antibiotic value but just the same can be bought on the streets of almost any city in this country.

In closing I am including a link to a well written and very informative article by Richard J. Whitley, titled "Saving-Antibiotics-so-Antibiotics Can Save Us".

Until next time take care and stay healthy

Should Welfare Recipients Be Drug Tested

Today's issue is a tricky one. There has been a lot of talk lately about if welfare recipients should be drug tested before receiving their checks each month? To answer that one would have to be able to determine if the folks that receive welfare checks each month use illegal drugs more then anyone else. That would be very hard to do plus the fact that drug testing is expensive.

It is also important to remember that according to early studies, the number of welfare recipients that were using illegal drugs were not that large at all. As far as my personal thoughts are concerned, I myself think that illegal drug use among welfare recipie

nts is just about the same as illegal drug use of non welfare recipients. To take that one step farther, I would think that some of the rich folks in our country have just as much problem with illegal drug use if not more then the folks on welfare. Simply because they have more money. However, some states are in favor of mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients as reported by fox news.

I am sure we do have illegal drug use in this country by welfare just as I am sure we have illegal drug use in this county by non welfare recipients. Lets take a brief look at some of the people who made it into our homes every week via television and the ones that made the silver screen light up larger then life. These people were neither poor or on welfare and they all had serious drug issues. First one that comes to mind was John Belushi master comic. Then there was one that really shook me up because he was so young and so talented his life looked so good for him and that was River Phoenix. There is also Heath Ledger, Brad Renfro.

People like this can often do as they please and avoid the law for long periods of time. Even when they are caught for the use of illegal drugs,

they have very good high priced lawyers that can get them lighter sentience .

Now one thing we all need to remember is that because one might take drugs does not necessarily make that person a bad person! What makes someone good or bad is just what they have in their heart and soul. It is sort of like liking a person but not liking what they do or not liking that person's actions at the time.

Do drug user need help to kick the habit? The answer is yes but so do most cigarette smokers and heavy alcohol users. Also, it is important to understand that alcohol is indeed a chemical and that makes it a drug. The same go's for the nicotine in tobacco. The only real difference is alcohol and tobacco are legal for adults. However both can be addicting and hard to stop using.

However, the question is should welfare recipients be required to pass a drug test to be able to get their welfare checks? In this writers opinion the answer would be Yes. Most employers already require a pre-employment drug screen before one is hired. So if we accept that then, I think that a drug screen should be done to anyone applying for welfare, food stamps, medical card or government housing. Any government assistance program should have drug screening as a regular procedure.

Most states already have the legal right to do so but some states do not want to go that far. The 1996 Welfare Reform Act authorized - but did not require - states to impose mandatory drug testing as a prerequisite to receiving state welfare assistance.

I would think that as this recession worsens and I am almost sure that it will because believe me, The United States is far from being out of the woods as far as this recession is concerned.I would think we will see more and more states require a periodic unannounced drug screening on different recipients of government assistance programs. The reason is this The government is looking to save money anyway it can and even though some say that drug screening is racist or unconstitutional, I myself do not believe it is either. I happen to think that it makes good dollar& sense to do so.

Let me say that it is OK if you do not agree with me because that is what this great country we live in is all about. Different ideas, different ways of thinking and different ways of looking at things.

Until next time folks, have a great one and take care.