My doctor recently prescribed me antibiotics, which I am paranoid about as I have taken a lot recently. Is taking a lot of antibiotics bad for me personally, like I will be less able to fight infection with antibiotics later on?
Or, is it almost like pollution, where people as a whole are just using too much of it for it to be sustainable?
Other way of saying it I guess: Is 5 people taking 1 unnecessary antibiotic each a year the same as 1 person taking 5 unncessary antibiotics a year?
In: 6
The main worry is that with the prolific use of antibiotics and the fact that not everyone uses them as prescribed, the bacteria can evolve resistance to the antibiotics creating strains that we have no recourse against. This can turn even common bacteria into great threats under the right circumstances.
This is probably not a personal worry, however you should always eat all of your prescribed antibiotics since not eating all of them can give the bacteria an opportunity to survive while still exposed to the drug. This is a prime environment for resistance to develop.
Here is a cool video if you are interested! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yybsSqcB7mE&t=3s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yybsSqcB7mE&t=3s)
That being said there can be side effect for eating a lot of antibiotics. The loss of the beneficial bacteria in your gut being one that quickly comes to mind. This is something that your doctor takes into account when prescribing your drugs.
The main worry is that with the prolific use of antibiotics and the fact that not everyone uses them as prescribed, the bacteria can evolve resistance to the antibiotics creating strains that we have no recourse against. This can turn even common bacteria into great threats under the right circumstances.
This is probably not a personal worry, however you should always eat all of your prescribed antibiotics since not eating all of them can give the bacteria an opportunity to survive while still exposed to the drug. This is a prime environment for resistance to develop.
Here is a cool video if you are interested! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yybsSqcB7mE&t=3s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yybsSqcB7mE&t=3s)
That being said there can be side effect for eating a lot of antibiotics. The loss of the beneficial bacteria in your gut being one that quickly comes to mind. This is something that your doctor takes into account when prescribing your drugs.
Part of the problem is due to overly prescribing it which leads to the other part of the problem: people feeling like they’re cured so they stop taking the antibiotics and don’t finish the prescription. This can lead to situations where there’s a tiny amount of bacteria that survived the partial-course of antibiotics and mutate, evolving into a strain of bacteria that’s resistant to the antibiotic that the idiot just stopped taking.
Finish your prescription. If you feel strongly about not doing so talk to your doctor first.
Part of the problem is due to overly prescribing it which leads to the other part of the problem: people feeling like they’re cured so they stop taking the antibiotics and don’t finish the prescription. This can lead to situations where there’s a tiny amount of bacteria that survived the partial-course of antibiotics and mutate, evolving into a strain of bacteria that’s resistant to the antibiotic that the idiot just stopped taking.
Finish your prescription. If you feel strongly about not doing so talk to your doctor first.
Part of the problem is due to overly prescribing it which leads to the other part of the problem: people feeling like they’re cured so they stop taking the antibiotics and don’t finish the prescription. This can lead to situations where there’s a tiny amount of bacteria that survived the partial-course of antibiotics and mutate, evolving into a strain of bacteria that’s resistant to the antibiotic that the idiot just stopped taking.
Finish your prescription. If you feel strongly about not doing so talk to your doctor first.
When you take antibiotics, some bacteria may have a mutation that lets them survive, and if that population grows, you have a resistant bacteria. Those bacteria are bad for anyone, because they’re harder to kill. When you take a lot of antibiotics, the chances of one of the bacteria becoming resistant is higher (the chances of one population surviving all antibiotics exist, and if it happens, they’re super resistant to multiple antibiotics, which is really dangerous and harder to kill it). So it’s bad for everyone, but you could be at a higher risk personally IF you didn’t take the antibiotics as prescribed.
When you take antibiotics, some bacteria may have a mutation that lets them survive, and if that population grows, you have a resistant bacteria. Those bacteria are bad for anyone, because they’re harder to kill. When you take a lot of antibiotics, the chances of one of the bacteria becoming resistant is higher (the chances of one population surviving all antibiotics exist, and if it happens, they’re super resistant to multiple antibiotics, which is really dangerous and harder to kill it). So it’s bad for everyone, but you could be at a higher risk personally IF you didn’t take the antibiotics as prescribed.
When you take antibiotics, some bacteria may have a mutation that lets them survive, and if that population grows, you have a resistant bacteria. Those bacteria are bad for anyone, because they’re harder to kill. When you take a lot of antibiotics, the chances of one of the bacteria becoming resistant is higher (the chances of one population surviving all antibiotics exist, and if it happens, they’re super resistant to multiple antibiotics, which is really dangerous and harder to kill it). So it’s bad for everyone, but you could be at a higher risk personally IF you didn’t take the antibiotics as prescribed.
You are much more likely to be harmed by antibiotic resistant bacteria that developed their resistance outside your body (as in inside someone else’s body, or in livestock) than inside your body. This is because once resistance develops, it can spread widely because the microbes with resistance are better at surviving than those without resistance.
One thing that I have not seen mentioned yet is that microbes can share genes for resistance with other microbes, not just with their offspring. Many resistance genes are carried on small circular pieces of DNA called plasmids. Microbes can make copies of these plasmids and trade them for their neighbors’ plasmids. This means that antibiotic resistance can spread fast, and it is relatively easy for microbes to pick up resistance genes for multiple antibiotics.
You are much more likely to be harmed by antibiotic resistant bacteria that developed their resistance outside your body (as in inside someone else’s body, or in livestock) than inside your body. This is because once resistance develops, it can spread widely because the microbes with resistance are better at surviving than those without resistance.
One thing that I have not seen mentioned yet is that microbes can share genes for resistance with other microbes, not just with their offspring. Many resistance genes are carried on small circular pieces of DNA called plasmids. Microbes can make copies of these plasmids and trade them for their neighbors’ plasmids. This means that antibiotic resistance can spread fast, and it is relatively easy for microbes to pick up resistance genes for multiple antibiotics.
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