To Your Health
September, 2013 (Vol. 07, Issue 09)
Antibiotics: Not As Safe As You Think
Antibiotics have been credited with saving thousands of lives, these days antibiotics are also in the news for not being as effective. According to the Centers for Disease Control, up to two million Americans fall ill from antibiotic-resistant bacteria every year and that at least 23,000 die from those infections.
Why is this so significant? It happens to be the first time that federal authorities have quantified the effects of organisms that many antibiotics are powerless to fight.
This is something serious to think about.
In 2007, the C.D.C. estimated that about 100,000 people died every year of infections they developed while in hospitals. Most of those infections were believed to be resistant to some antibiotics, but not necessarily the most widely used ones. And it was unclear how many of the deaths were caused by the drug-resistant infections until now. The report also said that about half of antibiotic use in people is inappropriate.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
Make sure to talk to your doctor about the risks involved in taking an antibiotic and make sure to be aware of natural ways to fight off certain infections. Many things such as the common cold can be fought off without antibiotics. Be aware of what you are putting in your body.