by Lucien Beauley

Created on: March 30, 2010   Last Updated: April 01, 2010

Will Probiotics Replace the Increasingly Ineffective Antibiotics?

On an almost daily basis both world and national news gives us an update on the increase in hospital infections that are not responding to even the best antibiotics available in our medical arsenal.

Why are antibiotics becoming less effective in treating bacterial infection each year?

One of the first reasons given is simply abuse. One cause of abuse is simple patient suggestion from friends or advertisement after coming down with symptoms of some bacterial illness. Sometimes even the doctor is at fault by listening to these suggestions and without testing the patient for proof of exact infection cause prescribes a "standard" antibiotic because of similar symptom observations from the past. If this one prescribed works each time the patient visits with similar symptom the doctor prescribes the same antibiotic even if the patient visits just to get a day out of work. The antibiotic administered will kill even the "good" bacteria in the intestinal tract, and the bacteria it was designed to eradicate will actually develop a resistance to this drug. If the actual disease causing bacteria is present it will over time develop resistance to the antibiotic similar to the way staphylococcus aureus, a common cause of skin infection a few decades ago was killed by using penicillin but is now resistant to it.

It is mainly when taking or being prescribed an antibiotic for a viral infection which is of no use and will have no effect that actually contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Unfortunately, this is happening on a grand scale simply because there is insurance to cover it. Nevertheless, it is happening and we are seeing the results, antibiotics are becoming more and more ineffective and of course tens of thousands of innocent people are losing their lives or much of their income simply because insurance coverage sometimes reaches its cutoff point of coverage.

MRSA is still on the rise not only in our hospitals, but also in our schools at all levels and even in our communities nationwide, causing tens of thousands of people each year to lose their lives. We are told that there has been a tenfold increase in hospital admissions since 1995. MSRA is now resilient to several of our most powerful standby antibiotics such as penicillin and of course methicillin. We are told that MRSA will also become resistant to the best antibiotics in a very short time. In the past, MRSA affected predominately those that had a weak immunity that had been hospitalized, but today those people considered healthy in the community are being found with increased cases, now being referred to as CA-MRSA.

Is there a promising cure or a possible solution?

There seems to be a silver lining from all recent efforts. Manuka honey-based dressings seems to be one solution that may be able to stem the runaway increase in the MRSA epidemic. The dressings heal the wounds as well as bacterias inability to develop a resistance to Manuka honey. We are told that most doctors prefer the pharmaceutical approach but because antibiotics are no match for Manuka honey, there is no choice. We are told that no bacteria will be able to develop a resistance against Manuka honey because it kills the bacteria by dehydration.

For further help see below: Resources...Supporting Links

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/741027/manu ka_honey_destroys_mrsa_and_heals.html?cat
http://www.gate2biotech.com/antibiotics-vs-probiotic s/

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