You know how when you've been married to someone for a while, even 2 days in some cases, you eventually stop hearing them when they go on and on about something you've heard a thousand times before?
Actually, I don't know what that's like, but I've been told it happens. Anyway, the reason I mention that waning response to steady and persistent stimulation is because in a way, that's what's been happening to bacteria, too: you might say they've stopped paying attention to many of the antibiotics we've thrown at them with such wild abandon.
And that's got us in a lot of trouble because even our second-line antibiotics are becoming ineffective against many bacteria.
The latest proof that our antibiotic arsenal is fast dwindling comes from a study published in that riveting journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly, in which researchers examined the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, better known as strep, an important cause of pneumonia, meningitis, and other common infections such as ear infections in kids.
They found that Strep pneumoniae is developing increasing resistance to fluoroquinolones, a class of antibiotics that have long served as a comforting second-line therapy for some strep infections (except meningitis), and as first-line therapy for others, such as some types of chronic bacterial prostatitis.
Why is Strep pneumoniae developing resistance to these medications?
Because we've been dispensing them far too freely, and bacteria have developed techniques to stay alive even in the presence of drugs meant to kill them. What's worse is that it's the more resilient bacteria that survive a course of antibiotics and they then pass their resistance genes on to future generations of germs, so resistance steadily worsens with time and with more antibiotic usage.
And if that hasn't bummed you out enough, here's another shot: we don't have good new antibiotics on the horizon because for years, pharmaceutical companies didn't pay attention to research in that area - it all comes back to paying enough attention, doesn't it?
But before I leave you so depressed about how bacteria might get you that you turn into a Michael Jackson clone, a sculpted ghost walking around wearing a face mask to avoid catching any stray germs, let me tell you that first, most bacterial infections are still treatable, and second, we can do something to slow down this seemingly inexorable drift to antibiotic resistance.
The next time your doctor starts writing a prescription to treat your kid's ear infection, for example, or your bronchitis, stop them to ask these questions:
- Are you sure this is a bacterial infection and not a viral one?
- If it is bacterial infection, might it go on its own anyway (ear infections, for example, often do)?
- If I need an antibiotic, why are you choosing that one?
You may find that, when challenged, your doctor can't justify the use of an antibiotic in your case, and by not using that medication when you don't need it, you will be doing all of us a favor.
Of course, you may also find that, when challenged, your doctor prefers that you find yourself another doctor, but hey! you have to take risks sometimes.