The End Of Antibiotics

[vt]

We've overused antibiotics; now many may have no protection from Superbugs.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2477273/Weve-reached-end-antibiotics-Top-CDC-expert-declares-miracle-drugs-saved-millions-match-superbugs-people-overmedicated-themselves.html

[shiny!]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

I just watched Frontline's "Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria" mentioned in the article you linked. It's absolutely chilling. The rise of superbugs is happening at the same time pharmaceutical companies are getting out of antibiotic research. All the money is made with Viagra and Zoloft.

FIRE is now killing us. Factory farms with their reliance on antibiotics, products like anti-bacterial hand cleaners directly contribute to antibiotic resistance. They should have been banned years ago, but they make too much money for shareholders. Big Pharma is unable or unwilling to pursue unprofitable antibiotic R&D because investors demand high returns in their portfolios.

This is a very serious situation that needs action NOW, but all we'll get is lots of talk about how something should be done before it's too late, until it's too late. My take after watching Frontline is that government needs to spearhead R&D in this area. Nationalize the pharmaceutical laboratories, hire back all the antibiotic researchers that got laid off. Make this the #1 public safety priority. But that won't happen. What will happen is a lot of people are going to die.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

We've covered antibiotics on this forum before.

Cipro was/is the only broad spectrum "silver bullet" and it's starting to lose.

Not much in the pipeline, nor any Son of Cipro likely to hit the market for the foreseeable future.

A bit of a hole.

I guess one good part is that contracting antibiotic resistant bacteria is likely to be egalitarian.

[BadJuju]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

Just face the music. You are all dead anyway.

[gwynedd1]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

No surprise. For some reason what I thought was an established fact when I studied as a kid, I grew up to see natural selection has been ignored. Monsanto has accelerated BT resistance in just a few years. Amaranth did the same against round up. Turning to feminism, no one noticed why there are men and women in the first place and why nature selected it that way. How could anyone give birth to six children and work like a dirt farmer? They couldn't. Now I see with no surprise career women have fewer children. What will that mean year after year ? But against big money on the right and identity politics on the left natural selection has been ignored. Its just too inconvenient.

I continue to be embarrassed for humanity more every year. We have demonstrated we are not fit to be the gods we seem to think we are.

[Milton Kuo]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

We've covered antibiotics on this forum before.

Cipro was/is the only broad spectrum "silver bullet" and it's starting to lose.

Not much in the pipeline, nor any Son of Cipro likely to hit the market for the foreseeable future.

A bit of a hole.

I guess one good part is that contracting antibiotic resistant bacteria is likely to be egalitarian.

Two years ago, I could not believe that an uncle of mine was given a prescription for Cipro to use in case he got diarrhea during a vacation he was going to take in South America. Cipro was the magic antibiotic that people were trying to acquire during the anthrax scare and, a decade later, it was being prescribed by incompetent doctors for dealing with the runs.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

Two years ago, I could not believe that an uncle of mine was given a prescription for Cipro to use in case he got diarrhea during a vacation he was going to take in South America. Cipro was the magic antibiotic that people were trying to acquire during the anthrax scare and, a decade later, it was being prescribed by incompetent doctors for dealing with the runs.

Simply unbelievable.....a big contributing factor to the problem.

I DO carry Cipro and other emergency scripts with me when traveling some places overseas, but haven't used it yet.

Loperamide, rehydration salts, and hand sanitizer(if you pack in checked bags) are probably FAR better to carry in your luggage and FAR more likely to be needed than Cipro.

It's like using a late model Ferrari to take trash to the dump....you may or may not get the job done better/faster, but you're highly likely to be ruining the Ferrari.

[vinoveri]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

it's a bit of a challenge to think of public health when one feels the grim reaper cold steely grip.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

The post WWII generations may be the only humans who did not worry about bacterial disease.
Before then we had no antibiotics, and looks like soon we have none again.

[Forrest]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

Hydrogen Peroxide is still the best all round anti-bacterial agent...works great in wounds, and for washing hands, and it's cheap. I'm also fond of Clorox wipes, but nothing is 100% effective. Even when first arrived, there were things that just didn't respond to it.

From Wikipedia
Resistance to Penicillin

Four years after drug companies began mass-producing penicillin in 1943, microbes began appearing that could resist it.The first bug to battle penicillin was Staphylococcus aureus. This bacterium is often a harmless passenger in the human body, but it can cause illness, such as pneumonia or toxic shock syndrome, when it overgrows or produces a toxin.



As for the bugs we might catch...isn't that why we need to start building better immune systems by eating properly?

Prevention is the only remaining key.

[photon555]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

Hydrogen Peroxide is still the best all round anti-bacterial agent...works great in wounds, and for washing hands, and it's cheap. I'm also fond of Clorox wipes, but nothing is 100% effective. Even when first arrived, there were things that just didn't respond to it.

From Wikipedia
Resistance to Penicillin

Four years after drug companies began mass-producing penicillin in 1943, microbes began appearing that could resist it.The first bug to battle penicillin was Staphylococcus aureus. This bacterium is often a harmless passenger in the human body, but it can cause illness, such as pneumonia or toxic shock syndrome, when it overgrows or produces a toxin.



As for the bugs we might catch...isn't that why we need to start building better immune systems by eating properly?

Prevention is the only remaining key.

+100

Eating healthy and using natural remedies that don't select for superbugs. Saturated Solution of Potassium Iodide can be used as a topical and taken internally when diluted; when used to purify water only a small amount is needed.

Various essential oils have different anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-disease properties. Ancients kept their skin protected by oils. Natural oils (stinky) or plant oils like olive oil were used to reduce disease causing agents from penetrating the skin barrier.

I have found tea tree oil very effective in treating skin injuries and helpful for colds when rubbed under the nose so that the vapor is inhaled. It is very reasonably priced if you shop around online. It's also just fun to try out different oils for their scents. Have you ever smelled Frankincense or Myrrh?

Warning: most essential oils should be diluted with a carrier oil before application. Tea Tree oil is one of a handful you can use straight. There's a lot of info on the web about how to use eo's and which are most effective against which germs. Educate yourself and get some before you need it.

[seanm123]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

Save the Robots! +1 if you get that reference.

Nanobots to the rescue....

http://www.ibn.a-star.edu.sg/researc...p?expandable=1

[Forrest]

Re: The End Of Antibiotics

+100

Eating healthy and using natural remedies that don't select for superbugs. Saturated Solution of Potassium Iodide can be used as a topical and taken internally when diluted; when used to purify water only a small amount is needed.

Various essential oils have different anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-disease properties. Ancients kept their skin protected by oils. Natural oils (stinky) or plant oils like olive oil were used to reduce disease causing agents from penetrating the skin barrier.

I have found tea tree oil very effective in treating skin injuries and helpful for colds when rubbed under the nose so that the vapor is inhaled. It is very reasonably priced if you shop around online. It's also just fun to try out different oils for their scents. Have you ever smelled Frankincense or Myrrh?

Warning: most essential oils should be diluted with a carrier oil before application. Tea Tree oil is one of a handful you can use straight. There's a lot of info on the web about how to use eo's and which are most effective against which germs. Educate yourself and get some before you need it.

I always did wonder why Frankincense and Myrrh were so valued...and I love the two when mixed as a scent, with a little musk. As long as I need to use essential oils, I might as well smell terrific!

Thanks for the info!