Taking antibiotics when they’re unnecessary, or in the wrong dose or timeframe, fuels rising rates of antibiotic-resistant infections. Suggesting a need to step-up efforts to raise awareness about this risk, results of a 2018 survey found parents commonly saved leftover antibiotics and gave them to others within and outside the family. An abstract of the… Continue reading An Alarming Percentage of Families Share Leftover Antibiotics
Tag: antibiotic resistance
Probiotics May Play a Role in Fighting Antibiotic-Resistant Infections
A good bacterium commonly found in probiotic digestive supplements helps eliminate Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that can cause antibiotic-resistant infections, according to new research. The finding comes from National Institutes of Health scientists and their Thai colleagues. The researchers, led by scientists at NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), unexpectedly found that… Continue reading Probiotics May Play a Role in Fighting Antibiotic-Resistant Infections
Too Many Antibiotics Still Being Prescribed
Although it’s well known that antibiotics are over-prescribed, the drugs are still given to patients at surprisingly high rates, according to a new study. The findings, by researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, were published in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. The study was based on an analysis… Continue reading Too Many Antibiotics Still Being Prescribed
Some Bacterial Infections Could Benefit from Alternative Therapies
Developing alternative therapies for mild infections could slow the spread of antibiotic resistance, a problem that can severely hamper the treatment of more severe bacterial infections, according to researchers. The proposal was made by Georgia Institute of Technology researchers Kristofer Wollein Waldetoft and Sam P. Brown in an essay that was published in PLOS Biology.… Continue reading Some Bacterial Infections Could Benefit from Alternative Therapies
A New Weapon Against Antibiotic Resistance
Researchers at the University of Rochester’s Medical Center are developing a genetic tool to help doctors prescribe antibiotics to patients who actually need them – and that could help the rising problem of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance, caused by the overuse of antibiotics, is one of the world’s most crucial health threats. According to the… Continue reading A New Weapon Against Antibiotic Resistance
Time to Drop “Complete the Course” Message for Antibiotics
The deeply embedded message that patients should “complete the course” of antibiotics to avoid antibiotic resistance for themselves and others is not backed by evidence and should be dropped, according to Professor Martin Llewelyn at Brighton and Sussex Medical School and colleagues who published their article in July 2017 in The BMJ. A release from… Continue reading Time to Drop “Complete the Course” Message for Antibiotics