Antibiotic Overuse Creating a Serious Problem

A recently published study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that, “antibiotics are vastly over-prescribed for sore throats caused by viral infections.” The study found that only one in ten cases of sore throat among adults resulted in an appropriate antibiotic prescription.

In other words, nearly nine out of ten times an antibiotic prescription is written for this condition, the drugs are not needed. Not only are they not needed, but antibiotic overuse poses grave risks to society.

According to an ABC News article, an infectious disease specialist explains that a mis-educated public demands antibiotics of their MDs and that MDs basically lack the backbone to tell the truth. First do no harm…

“From the perspective of the physician, it’s actually a lot easier to give antibiotics to someone with a viral infection than not, because a lot of times that’s what the patient expects. It takes a fair amount of time to explain to a patient the facts about a viral infection-what it is, the fact that antibiotics don’t work for viral infections, and that they will most likely get better anyway. Many busy physicians do not have the time to explain these things to patients.”

They (the patient) will most likely get better without the use of drugs. Is it better to tell the truth or give people what they expect?

And remember, antibiotics are not benign. Besides the increased risk of bacterial resistance there are other factors to be concerned about such as yeast infections, stomach upset, severe diarrhea, and allergic reactions that can be deadly.

The MD interviewed by ABC News feels that doctors don’t really understand the ramifications of prescribing these antibiotics and it’s, “our own fault for not educating ourselves and educating others.” He further stated, “that patients think that they are educated, and sometimes feel very strongly about their demands for treatment.”

Are we doing the same thing in chiropractic? Are we educating our patients as to what we do or are we providing care according to their expectations? Those that are merely being rub-a-dub-dubbed are likely dying from vertebral subluxation. That is a serious problem.

ABC News: Overusing Antibiotics: A Serious Problem