Heavy use of antibiotics in nursing homes may raise risk for all residents

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Heavy use of antibiotics in nursing homes may raise risk for all residents
Topic Started: Jul 1 2015, 12:47 AM (397 Views)
Darcie	Jul 1 2015, 12:47 AM Post #1
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	Quote: A new study suggests antibiotics are likely being overused in some nursing homes in Ontario — and that misuse is putting all residents of these facilities at risk. With most drugs, inappropriate use only threatens the health of the person who takes the medication. But with misuse of antibiotics, the problems that arise — drug-resistant bacteria, C. difficile infections — are not restricted to the people who have been taking the drugs. "[Nursing] homes with higher use put patients at higher risk," said Dr. Nick Daneman, first author of the study. "Unlike other medication classes which can harm the individual recipient of that medication, antibiotics have the capacity to do harm even beyond the individual that gets the medication." http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/heavy-use-of-antibiotics-in-nursing-homes-may-raise-risk-for-all-residents-1.3132458?cmp=rss&cid=news-digests-toronto Good information to have.



Trotsky	Jul 1 2015, 12:52 AM Post #2
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	I am beginning to mistrust the interminable chant of "too many antibiotics." The pendulum has swung the other way and I am sure more are killed by withholding antibiotics rather than overprescribing them. As for development of resistant strains of bacteria the cause is likely the gazillion tons of antibiotics specifically to fatten chickens, pigs, and steers. Old Mrs. Murphy having her bronchitis properly treated with antibiotics in a nursing home so that it doesn't progress to pneumonia is NOT the problem. I swear the next doctor who tells me "Oh, it's PROBABLY a virus" is risking getting the back of my hand.



Darcie	Jul 1 2015, 12:56 AM Post #3
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	I am happy my doctors have not given me antibiotics for so long I can't remember, probably in the environments of 1998, even then it did not do any good because I really had viral pneumonia. My immune system to doing well thank you, and I am happy my doctor is not pill obsessed with antibiotics or any other pill for that matter. I would hope that your doctor does do the proper testing to ascertain if it really is bacterial before making you pop pills. Mine does.



Trotsky	Jul 1 2015, 02:37 AM Post #4
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	Quote: I would hope that your doctor does do the proper testing to ascertain if it really is bacterial before making you pop pills. Mine does. You are lucky, Out of a dozen GP's I have NEVER had one test for bacterial infection. Nor have I ever known anyone who has had it done. I even suffered with a severe strep infection that persisted for 2 decades and the best treatment I ever got was a huge penicillin shot, one a day first left arm, then right...for 30 days. I have probably had more penicillin in my lifetime than an entire infantry division in WW2. But never a test or a culture, not once. Edited by Trotsky, Jul 1 2015, 02:39 AM.



Darcie	Jul 1 2015, 02:40 AM Post #5
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	I have been allergic to penicillin since I first had it as a child for ruptured appendicitis. Yes, the two times I have gone for a sore throat and also gone with my granddaughter we both were given culture tests. This was in Montreal. I have never had a sore throat in London.



wildie	Jul 1 2015, 03:17 AM Post #6
Veteran Member Posts: 12,173 Group: Member Member #442 Joined: October 11, 2006	Trotsky Jul 1 2015, 12:52 AM I am beginning to mistrust the interminable chant of "too many antibiotics." The pendulum has swung the other way and I am sure more are killed by withholding antibiotics rather than overprescribing them. As for development of resistant strains of bacteria the cause is likely the gazillion tons of antibiotics specifically to fatten chickens, pigs, and steers. Old Mrs. Murphy having her bronchitis properly treated with antibiotics in a nursing home so that it doesn't progress to pneumonia is NOT the problem. I swear the next doctor who tells me "Oh, it's PROBABLY a virus" is risking getting the back of my hand. I do agree with you 100%. Over the course of time, I have come down with many bacterial infections. When I have such an infection, I know from the taste that its a bacterial infection. I receive my medical attention from a clinical group that specializes in the training of family doctors, after they have finished their residency in hospitals. I always have the same doctor in charge, but am examined by a continuously changing number of interns. The last one, was adamant that I had a virus and sent me away, untreated. Immediately, I walked across the street, to a walk in clinic, had an examination. They did give me a prescription for an antibiotic, but also took a swab, to be tested. A few days later, I had a call, informing me the test confirmed a bacterial infection. In Canada, we have a good medical organization, and the use of antibiotics is well controlled. As you say, unmonitored use of antibiotics in our food and the worldwide, indiscriminate use in 3rd world country's is the root cause the problem. Not the provision of antibiotics by qualified practitioners.



FuzzyO	Jul 1 2015, 03:29 AM Post #7
Posts: 16,968 Group: Administration Member #710 Joined: March 30, 2010	The trouble is it takes a few days for the results of a culture to come back. The doc has to decide in the meantime whether to prescribe a broad-spectrum anti-biotic in the meantime or to wait it out until the results confirm the suspicion.



Darcie	Jul 1 2015, 04:24 AM Post #8
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	Apart from the use of antibiotics in the food there is the use of estrogen given to cattle to fatten them up so they can become pregnant. I inadvertently found out about this when my Alberta niece sent a post from the cattlemen s group saying that the increased cause of estrogen in children and adults was due to increased weight gain. I asked them that if estrogen gave weight gain to cattle why would it not give weight gain to humans who ate the estrogen they gave to the meat that was eaten. When I asked if they dumped the responsibility on the the eater for this I received no reply. As I told them, they soon will be selling so little beef when people know about this that they won't have to give estrogen to hurry maturity.



Trotsky	Jul 2 2015, 01:46 AM Post #9
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	Quote: The last one, was adamant that I had a virus and sent me away, untreated. Immediately, I walked across the street, to a walk in clinic, had an examination. They did give me a prescription for an antibiotic, but also took a swab, to be tested. A few days later, I had a call, informing me the test confirmed a bacterial infection. I hope you rubbed the dimwits face in that bacterial confirmation.



Trotsky	Jul 2 2015, 01:49 AM Post #10
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	Quote: As I told them, they soon will be selling so little beef when people know about this that they won't have to give estrogen to hurry maturity. That's true. With current prices I seem to be eating about much beef as I do anchovies or oysters.Unfortunately, the major problem might be with chickens. Antibiotics in Our Meat Edited by Trotsky, Jul 2 2015, 01:54 AM.



wildie	Jul 2 2015, 04:58 PM Post #11
Veteran Member Posts: 12,173 Group: Member Member #442 Joined: October 11, 2006	Trotsky Jul 2 2015, 01:46 AM Quote: The last one, was adamant that I had a virus and sent me away, untreated. Immediately, I walked across the street, to a walk in clinic, had an examination. They did give me a prescription for an antibiotic, but also took a swab, to be tested. A few days later, I had a call, informing me the test confirmed a bacterial infection. I hope you rubbed the dimwits face in that bacterial confirmation. I think he was posted to Zimbabwe, as some other miserable place. Good riddance!



margrace	Jul 2 2015, 09:17 PM Post #12
Gold Star Member Posts: 5,367 Group: Member Member #723 Joined: April 1, 2010	Chickens apparently are given anitbiotics before they are born or so I am told so for people wanting organic of drug free birds unless you have a hen setting it is impossible to get ones who have not has some form of drug. I have forgotten exactly what or how the drugs are given maybe some on on here knows. Milk cows milk, if they are given any type of drugs, is disposed of and they do not put the milk back into the system until it tests drug free. However that is not to saythat there is other types of poisons in the feed. Trying to get away from the overuse of drugs in our food is pretty hard unless you have the ability to completely grow everything yourself. My husband and I have never had antibiotics in years.



Trotsky	Jul 3 2015, 12:10 AM Post #13
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	Quote: My husband and I have never had antibiotics in years. Well, not since your last chicken anyway. laugh123 Edited by Trotsky, Jul 3 2015, 12:11 AM.



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